Penguin Random House New Zealand
Award for Best Illustrated Book 2023
Finalist
Designer: Tyrone Ohia, Extended Whanau (cover & art direction) & Katrina Duncan (layout and typography)
Title: Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art
Publisher: Penguin Random House NZ in association with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Format: 300 x 240 mm, 392pp, 3-piece case, black cloth to spine plus white foil, debossing to front and back case. Most of the book printed on matte art; 88pp black-and-white pages printed on 120gsm woodfree; machine gloss varnish to all images throughout.
Typography: Cover and divider: Parabole.
Essays & captions: Söhne Buch
“Toi Tū Toi Ora needed to be a powerful, dynamic and extensive new book about contemporary Māori art; the first of its kind in over 20 years.
With our publishing partners Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, we knew the book needed to strongly reflect, but also to stand alone from, the successful AAG exhibition of the same name, which had closed by publication.
More than a catalogue of the exhibition, and not in any way a textbook, our shared vision was for a book that could embody and express the te ao Māori-centred kaupapa and content of the expression, but in stand-alone book form, and intended to remain in print for a long time.
It also needed to work commercially – i.e., to powerfully foreground art and image and aimed at the intelligent, popular NZ and international reader, while also being highly readable and legible, and useful at a variety of educational levels.”
Judges’ comments The stunning and original cover design features the striking typeface Parabole, simply and playfully set white on a black ground. The internal design grid breaks from tradition delivering lively but very readable typography. The images are beautifully presented and printed. The essays and images are beautifully paced in a pleasing narrative. This is a complete book that pleases at every page turn.
