Upstart Press Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book 2023
Finalist
Designer: Keely O’Shannessy
Title: House & Contents
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Format: 230 x 165mm, 112pp, paperback with flaps. Cover printed both sides and matt laminated, with 120mm flaps. Text printed 4c throughout on 115gsm creamy Yulong Pure (FSC) to accommodate the artwork alongside the poetry.
Typography: Cover and title page: Söhne Schmal Kräftig and Söhne Schmal Halbfett by Kris Sowersby / Klim Type Foundry. Internal font: Arno Pro bold display, Arno pro regular and Arno pro italic Smtext by Robert Slimbach / Adobe Originals
“I chose Söhne Schmal for the cover/titles as it reminded me of the small, careful, elongated uppercase lettering in some of Greg’s paintings. Arno pro worked well for the poems as it has a classic elegance to it but with a bit of extra lyrical character that spoke to the lowercase cursive lettering in some of the paintings. The combination of these two very different typefaces together seemed like a good fit with Greg’s work. And Arno pro included the fleurons/line dividers that have been used in the extended poems, which have a lovely dialogue with elements/structures/motifs in Greg’s paintings.
A slightly unusual structure, the format of a poetry book but with the paintings of the author/artist running throughout, presented as a collection of new poetry and new paintings, with the reader intended to ‘read’ both. The work needed a natural flow, rather than poem and accompanying painting sitting opposite each other. The book opens with two paintings, and the Table of Contents sits at the back as a sort of index to the work.”
Judges’ comments The design of this book has a soft warmth that is appealing from the outset. The pastel colourways of the cover artwork continue throughout the book complimenting the text. The typography is assuredly and subtly handled – with an extra-condensed sans serif grotesque beautifully pairing with the almost abstracted cover illustration, before shifting to the elegantly set traditional serif chosen for the poetry and prose.
