The three winning cover designs were announced tonight (Wednesday 21 June). The winners of the 2017 Student Design Award from each of the award categories will receive a work placement within the Penguin Random House UK design studios and £1,000 cash prize
The 2017 winners are:
- Adult Fiction Cover Award – Madalyn Farley, Kingston University (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
- Adult Non-Fiction Cover Award – Elliot Lee, University of Northampton (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote)
- Children’s Cover Award – Beth Ewens, Leeds College of Art (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend)
The winners were selected from a shortlist of 30 designs (10 in each category) by three judging panels consisting of Penguin Random House designers and Managing Directors and guest judges from across the design industry.
According to the judges, the winning covers were chosen from a competitive field of 2,100 submissions because they each demonstrated an original interpretation of the brief, showed a good understanding of the marketplace and appealed to a contemporary readership. The judges were also impressed by the imaginative approaches and competent execution taken by each of the students.
The award, now in its eleventh year, aims to find the next generation of book cover designers by giving students the opportunity to experience real cover design briefs first-hand.
Commenting on this year’s award, Penguin Random House Art Director and one of the judges in the Adult Non-Fiction category, Jim Stoddart, said:
“Design is hugely important to everything we do at Penguin Random House. Great design helps to bring our authors’ words to life; it gives our books an identity and ensures they stand out whether on the bookshelf or a small screen.
“Working as a book cover designer is a challenging and sometimes demanding job, but it’s also deeply rewarding. There aren’t many design careers that let you experience so many diverse, exciting and creative briefs.
“The Student Design Award is a brilliant opportunity for our design teams to see what new and fresh perspectives young designers can bring to our iconic books.
“I want to congratulate all our winners for the bold, eye-catching designs they produced - and encourage them and all the shortlisted students to consider a career in cover design.”
2017 Student Design Award winning entries
Adult Fiction Cover Award: Madalyn Farley, Kingston University
“The left hand is significant in To Kill a Mockingbird as a key symbol of innocence, whereas the open palm suggests vulnerability – two key themes of the story that inspired me.
“I included the small bird-foot detailing in the creases of the hand to subtly reference the title without using the obvious mockingbird imagery. The writing in the creases of the hand refers to fate and is my way of linking the title to the story. The bold contrast in colours refers to racial divisions in 1930s America, another core theme in the book that inspired me to create this cover.”