WINNER
i.Detroit
by Studio Sutherl&, for Marcus Lyon
i.Detroit is a research-based exploration of 100 individuals from the City of Detroit. The three-year project was built on the foundation of a six-month nomination process: Detroiters nominated people from their own communities who “represent the very best of service to society and are making significant contributions to Detroit, the region and beyond”. Studio Sutherl&’s brief was to create a “human atlas” focussing on this select group of people.
Bringing together art and science, the project maps these Detroit individuals through photographic portraits; app-based image-activated oral histories; ancestral DNA and actual maps of the streets, neighbourhoods, intersections and journeys taken around Detroit to photograph everyone to create a deeper understanding of the city. The work is available as a book, a museum exhibition and in digital formats.
The free i.Detroit app enables users to scan the portraits onscreen or from the book to hear original soundscapes created by Detroit-born techno artist Derrick May, and Brian Eno, who produced a seven-inch single that samples the street sounds of modern Detroit and is housed within the book. Each featured nominee also chose a track that was collated into a Detroit playlist.
The judges said: “Beautiful piece of work on every level. You can see the love that has gone into this.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
End of Year Books
by Peter & Paul, for Leeds Arts University
Leeds Arts University briefed Peter & Paul to create a book showcasing the work of its 2020 graduates in a year when traditional end-of-year exhibitions were impossible. The books were given to graduating students as a physical keepsake and could also be used by the University for potential stakeholders and new audiences.
With 500 undergraduates and 30 postgraduates to accommodate, the studio created two volumes – one for undergraduates and another for postgraduates – that became companion pieces. To accommodate the number of students, the undergraduate book is a small, thick, 500-page “objet d'art that sits in your hand like a miniature white sculpture,” says Peter & Paul. With a minimal cover, the studio wanted the book to echo the “visual language of the white cube gallery, so each graduate’s name was embossed onto the cover to create a plaster-cast aesthetic.
For the postgraduate book, a smaller page count and larger physical size gave the edition a more “mature student feel”, says Peter & Paul, with each student given a double page spread for images of their work, alongside a short explanatory paragraph.
The Kumbak II
by Roald Dahl Story Company
Each Christmas, The Roald Dahl Story Company releases a small, limited-edition, high-end book as a gift for employees, partners and important company contacts designed in-house.
The Kumbak II is a previously unpublished short story written by Roald Dahl, while he was still at school, in striking fountain pen script. This story details the invention of a time-travelling sound machine from which listeners uncover secrets such as the gunshot sound that solves a murder case.
The cover and slipcase are blind embossed with a sound wave design inspired by the vocal pitch from a line in the song Pure Imagination from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film; while a bullet slices through the negative space as if travelling in time. The sound waves travel across the book as it's opened and it pulls away from the slipcase; while different paper stocks were selected for different sections.
The handwritten papers of the original story are on off-white to recall sketchbooks, and typed manuscript pages are on bright white “as if fresh from a typewriter”. The book cover, slipcase and gift card are on a deep blue paper stock to “reflect outer space”, with text highlighted in a copper foiling.
National Food Strategy: Part One
by 10 Associates, for National Food Strategy, Defra
The National Food Strategy Part One launched in July 2020, bringing together an independent review of the food system led by Henry Dimbleby, founder of restaurant chain Leon and lead non-executive board member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The National Food Strategy had just been rebranded, and so 10 Associates needed to enhance and expand on the existing work, including an animated film by illustrator Tom Kilburn, without access to any fixed brand guidelines. The agency first broadened the colour palette and mark-making aspects of the brand DNA, drawing inspiration from the illustrations within the film adding hand-drawn elements to the data graphics. A vertical footer and pre-defined chapter colours are used as anchor points for the near-40,000 words of copy, looking to create a sense of pacing and energy. Kilburn’s illustrations were used as leads into the four main chapters of the report, linking it to the film.
The report was launched digitally and in a tactile, physical version printed on Fedrigoni Arena Natural Rough paper. The book uses three different A3 cover wraps featuring stills from the film with complimentary spine options.
The Road to Completion
by Uncommon Creative Studio, for Habito
Online mortgage company Habito’s research found that one in 10 couples didn’t have sex throughout the mortgage application process. Together with Rocky Flintstone of podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno fame and illustrator Sebastian Schwamm, Habito and Uncommon released an erotic novel ahead of Valentine's Day 2021 titled The Road to Completion, “to help reignite intimacy among stressed-out couples on the brink of homeownership”.
The book follows “frothy first-time buyers Sylvia and Tom as they embark on the girthiest project of their lives,” says Uncommon, adding that the story gives “a whole new meaning to property porn.” Illustrator Schwamm was chosen for his “intricate and abstract approach” to imagery, which is used alongside a “jarring colour palette,” says Uncommon.
All proceeds from the limited-edition print run of the books and the digital version were donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust. Uncommon also created a suite of advertising to promote the book launch. The book hit No.2 in the Amazon Kindle Charts for Erotica within a week of launching.
WePresent 2020 Annual
by WeTransfer
WePresent, the editorial arm of WeTransfer, creates an annual print magazine that brings together highlights from the artists, illustrators, photographers, musicians, writers and directors featured on the digital-only platform over the past year.
The 2020 edition features work by photographers Renell Medrano, writers Roxane Gay and Raven Smith, artists Edel Rodriguez and Esiri Erheriene-Essi and special collaborations including Michel Gondry and the UN.
The magazine's design looks to create a visual connection with the online platform, and “plays with the contradiction of an online magazine and a printed magazine,” according to the team. Imagery is placed both vertically and horizontally; and a colour system is used that adds an extra Pantone spot colour based on content and the length of an article. The magazine's size is based on the 16:9 screen proportion.
Editorial Design
shortlisted
Editorial design