Penguin Random House New Zealand
Award for Best Illustrated Book 2023

Finalist

Designer: Philip Kelly, Philip Kelly Studio

Title: Declaration: A Pacific Feminist Agenda
Publisher: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Format: 245 x 190 mm, 200pp, hardback, section sewn with debossing of main title on front and back covers.
Typography: Titles: Söhne Mono
Text: Untitled Serif for the text.

Publishers requirement: “The design needs to convey the energy and provocation of the artworks featured, the kaupapa or cultural positions of the artists while also communicating the significance of the exhibition the book is associated with. It needs to feel at once inclusive and comprehensible for all readers and highly expressive of and true to the Pacific and Māori content. The book is the first of its type in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific and its design must make it instantly memorable.”

Judges’ comments The design of this book is playful, challenging and inventive. There is strident use of colour, large, bold typography, illustrative contrasts and interesting layering. All of this visual enterprise is held in place by a well-considered layout grid – where even the text only essay pages are lively and structurally surprising.