Book Design Awards Best Non-Illustrated Book: Mirabile Dictu
Designers Keely O'Shannessy (cover), Katrina Duncan (interior)
Hachette New Zealand Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book: PANZ Book Design Awards 2010
JUDGES ’ COMMENTS
The non-illustrated book category this year had fewer strong non-fiction books, but this was counteracted by the quality in poetry and fiction. It was noticeable that production values sometimes let down otherwise well-designed books – an effect, perhaps, of the recession. The best of the category transcended the gloom, however, and the finalists are all highly effective in different ways.
In a Word takes the normally workaday subject of a thesaurus, and complements the innovative approach of the author with gutsy headings, page numbers and section pages, whilst the more restrained type sits beautifully on the page and helps create a thoroughly useful reference book with attitude.
Dead People’s Music is that rare beast: a book in which the author and designer are totally in sync – because the author is one of the designers! As one might expect, the typography and lettering are wonderfully balanced and cohesive, and the quirky musical section markers animate the pages. The paper, ink and cover all contribute to a wonderfully satisfying tactile object.
If the paper choice of Dead People’s Music helps convey a luscious and expansive quality, the rougher, whiter paper of the winner, Mirabile Dictu, suggests more slippage between the lyrical and the taut. The typographically complex poems sit effortlessly on the page. Grid, type and numbers are all balanced, and the cover conveys a sombre yet transcendent tone. What sets this book apart, however, is its use of a potentially dangerous element. Several entries floundered when thin paper allowed the text on the reverse to intrude and distract. Here, this see-through effect works both visually and conceptually. It reinforces the grid, and also, in a book that is a journey, provides a subtle reminder of the past and a hint of the future.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Sarah Laing (cover) and Kate Barraclough (interior) for Dead People's Music by Sarah Laing
Spencer Levine for In a Word by Mark Broatch
DESIGNERS’ COMMENTS
Michele Leggott had a strong idea of what she wanted for this cover – ‘a jewel-like image on a dark ground’. So I chose an image from a poem in the book – ‘the world goes dark/I look into the eyes of my stone bird’. I added the light refractions to further explore ideas of ‘ways of seeing’ while
giving the cover a dreamlike, ethereal quality. (O’Shannessy)
Quality paper and a large format allowed plenty of room for the poems to breathe. The font is Dante, classic and beautiful with, I think, just the right rhythm for the poems. (Duncan)
TITLE Mirabile Dictu by Michele Leggott
PUBLISHER Auckland University Press
FORMAT 230mm x 165mm, 160pp, paperback with flaps
