HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover 2017
Finalist
Designer: Duncan Munro
Title: Ann Shelton: Dark Matter
Publisher: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Format: 305 x 230mm, 316pp, section sewn, hardback in slipcase. Spot gloss on cover.
Typography: Oort – a custom created font especially for this project and named after Jan Oort the earliest theorist of dark matter. The font tries to express the invisible nature of dark matter by making parts of the letter ‘invisible’ leaving us to infer the whole from the bits we can see.
Judges’ Comments The juxtaposition of the title ‘Dark Matter’ with the vibrancy of this book makes it an intriguing object. The playful interplay between the custom made typeface and the image is as much about the unseen as the seen, reflecting the photography within. The colour palette is fresh and unusual, with the orange slipcase giving way to a grey cover inside, carrying a different image. The bright teal inside the slipcase was a particular surprise and delight.
