Penguin Design Awards

12/20/2021

My sad, Welsh face during the entirety of this project

I think I spotted a few new gray hairs on my head during this project. I really did not enjoy this one, I found it very difficult as these book choices weren't entirely something I'd go for, but hey, that's part of being an illustrator. Gotta push yourself out of your comfort zone and try your best through the tears.

Obligatory Pinspiration

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

About the book

Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty's world. From spring and through a year in his home patch in Northern Ireland, Dara spent the seasons writing. These vivid, evocative and moving diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are raw in their telling. "I was diagnosed with Asperger's/autism aged five ... By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system." Diary of a Young Naturalist portrays Dara's intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and friendships alongside a life of campaigning. "In writing this book," Dara explains, "I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere." -Goodreads.com

Provided Template

Texts that are required on the cover are as following:

FRONT:
Dara McAnulty
Diary of a Young Naturalist
'An extraordinary voice and vision’ Robert Macfarlane
‘Really, really special’ Chris Packham
Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing
[Penguin logo – as supplied on template]

SPINE:
Dara McAnulty
Diary of a Young Naturalist
[Penguin logo – as supplied on template]

BACK COVER:
‘Miraculous memoir . . . profoundly moving’ Observer

Evocative, raw and lyrical, this startling debut explores the natural world through Dara McAnulty's eyes, an autistic teenager coping with the uprooting of home, school, and his mental health, while pursuing his life as a conservationist and environmental activist.

Shifting from intense darkness to light, recalling his sensory encounters in the wild – with blackbirds, whooper swans, red kites, hen harriers, frogs, dandelions, Irish hares and more – McAnulty reveals worlds we have neglected to see, in a stunning work of nature-writing that is a future classic.

‘This is writing at its wild and unruly best . . . sentences race, roar, and overflow with joy’ Rachel Clarke

‘Extraordinary’ The Times, Nature Books of the Year

‘Dara captures the essence of why we all spend time in nature. The excitement, the peace, the solace, the escape’ Mya-Rose Craig (AKA Birdgirl)

[Barcode box containing barcode, prices, website address, logo and FSC logo. All as supplied on template – box can be repositioned on the back cover, but overall box design, size and elements within, should not be changed]

[Please include a copyright line if you have used an image in your cover design that was created by a third party. For example: ‘Cover photograph by Joe Bloggs’]

Research

When in doubt go to Youtube. I found some pretty useful stuff here as well as clips from the author himself, this helped me get a feel for what he was like, all very important stuff for book cover research. Furthermore, these book reviews did help me with the main features of this book.

These are the types of things you'd expect to see in a nature diary. Creepy bugs and stuff, but I do like butterflies. I wanted to incorporate elements of these visuals into my final piece somehow, considering the use of collage or just placing different components of the images onto the book cover design.

Thumbnails

These are some quick sketches, possible cover design and also placement of title. I don't really know what I'm doing here, I'm just trying to create a few things to get my ideas flowing.

This is where I got stuck, I hated the text but couldn't find one that I liked, the colours were all wrong, everything was all wrong and I had no idea where to take it all. I wanted to create a scrunched up diary page-like cover, however I did not achieve this whatsoever. After creating this abomination, I decided to leave it for a few days and come back to it after a break.

Trying again!

A bath, some essential oils and slice of cake later, I came back to this project with a determination to make something acceptable. After the feedback session we had I decided to look at the use of lined paper, as well as crumpled 'scrap' pieces of paper in order to create the feel of a diary page. I also revisited the text, I think this one is better but somehow I still don't feel its right. I do however like the text used for the author's name and also the title, this to me has a likeness to something that has been written by hand- it isn't too tidy or perfect.

This is my final outcome. I do like how it turned out despite all the struggle it took to get there. I'm glad that I continued to push myself and make something that I was satisfied with. I took elements from the previous piece however I decided to use a solid colour for the background and add bits of paper behind the title and for parts of the text, I think this looks better overall. I also think that the text is a lot more pleasing to the eye than the previous texts.

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

Provided Template

Text required is as following:

FRONT:
[A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery series logo]
Murder Most Unladylike
Robin Stevens
There’s been a rather shocking murder at Deepdean School for Girls . . .

SPINE:
[A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery series logo]
Murder Most Unladylike
Robin Stevens

BACK:
When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up A SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any real crimes to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t.)

Then Hazel discovers the body of Miss Bell. And when she and Daisy return five minutes later, THE BODY HAS DISAPPEARED.

Not only do they have a murder to solve – they must PROVE ONE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE . . .

THE FIRST MARVELLOUS MYSTERY IN THE BESTSELLING, AWARD-WINNING SERIES.

‘Thrilling’ Guardian
‘Ripping good fun’ The Times
‘A delight’ Daily Mail
‘Enormous fun’ Irish Times

Research

Videos found on Youtube where the author talks about the book...I find her very irritating, but maybe that's because this project has put me in a bad mood... For your viewing pleasure (low volume recommended.)

I went back to the videos after completing the project , I still find her irritating