Allen & Unwin
Award for Best Commercial Book for Adults 2024

Winner

Designer: Carla Sy

Title: Fungi of Aotearoa
Publisher: Penguin Random House NZ
Format: 210 x 155mm, 336pp. Flexi bound artboard cover, matt lam with spot UV, and matt art internal paperstock.

Typography: Recoleta Alt (Header fonts), Cotford Text (serif copy), Tellumo Var (sans serif).

Judges’ comments This book truly puts the ‘fun’ in ‘fungi’! Fungi, once a niche topic, is thrust into the spotlight here, transforming an unlikely subject into something sexy and accessible. With its practical, colourful design this book invites readers to take it outside and explore the dirt. The spot UV and vibrant palette, hinting at a glow-in-the-dark cover, perfectly capture the curious and adventurous spirit of the guide. The use of the Recoleta typeface for headings fits with the content, and is matched with clean, approachable typography in the body copy.