Adult Penguin design competion....

The Adult Penguin design competition -

Competition brief -

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

One of the twentieth century’s enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude has sold over 30 million copies worldwide in thirty-seven different languages.

‘Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.’

Pipes and kettledrums herald the arrival of gypsies on their annual visit to Macondo, the newly founded village where José Arcadio Buendía and his strong-willed wife, Úrsula, have started their new life. As the mysterious Melquíades excites Aureliano Buendía’s father with new inventions and tales of adventure, neither can know the significance of the indecipherable manuscript that the old gypsy passes into their hands.

Through plagues of insomnia, civil war, hauntings and vendettas, the many tribulations of the Buendía household push memories of the manuscript aside. Few remember its existence and only one will discover the hidden message that it holds …

The brief

Your cover design should reflect the richness of Márquez’s writing to appeal to a contemporary, discerning, literary readership.
Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy as supplied and be designed to the specified design template (B format, 198mm high x 129mm wide, spine 26mm wide).

Tip:

The author name and the title are both immediately recognizable to the target market and as such are crucial elements in the design.
The front cover quote should help position and place the book for the market.

What the judges are looking for:

We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover needs to be able to work on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

The winning design will need to:

1. - Have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief.

2. - Be competently executed with strong use of typography.

3. - Appeal to a contemporary, literary readership.

4. - Show a good understanding of the marketplace.


5. - Have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against.



Competition Deadline :

1. DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES
The closing date for entries is 5 p.m. on Friday 15 April 2011.
This site will accept entries from Monday 17 January 2011.

(Submission details are the same as those of the puffin children's design award.)

The judges -


1. - Joanna Prior - Managing Director, Penguin General


2. - Jim Stoddart – Penguin Press Art Director


3. - John Hamilton – Penguin General Art Director


4. - Guest Judge - David Gentleman (Illustrator)


If I were to enter this competition, then I think that it would be important not only to research previous winners of this award (as well as current illustrated book jackets of 'One hundred years of solitude.') but also the judges - a good place to start may be the illustrations of David Gentleman. Researching the judges may help to give me some insight as to the style / content that is favoured.


As with the puffin children's award, entering this competition alone would at least mean getting exposure of my work to the judges and other creative individuals (potentially many if my work is short listed), which may lead to further opportunities.

The prizes -

1. First Prize -
The winner of the Penguin Adult Prize will be invited to spend six weeks at Penguin in the design studio on a work placement, working with Penguin Art Directors Jim Stoddart and John Hamilton on live briefs. The winner will also receive a cash prize of £1,000. 

2. Second prize -
The winner of the 2nd Prize will receive a £350 cash prize.

3. Third prize -
The winner of the 3rd Prize will receive a £250 cash prize.


All the shortlisted entrants will be invited to an award ceremony where the winners will be announced, and at which an exhibition of all the shortlisted designs will be on display.

Winning this competition would provide a great opportunity to get some work experience that could lead to direct networking with those in the illustration and publishing industry - ultimately it could be the thing which sets up a career as an illustrator. The prestige of winning as well as the exposure work would receive during the awards ceremnoy and subsequent exhibition really does overshadow the cash prize (which obiviously would be useful too!).

However, just being short listed would be a great way to get work seen by those in the creative and publishing industry.

I am less tempted to enter this competition than the puffin children's design award for several reasons. One of these reasons is that I have never read the book which the jacket is to be designed for. Although I know in many cases that the illustrator knows nothing of the story that they are designing a book jacket for, I feel that in order to be able to develop a suitable image which I was pleased with I would have to have knowledge of the story. I would have time to read the story before the competition deadline, however, this would be an extra work load that I am unwilling to take on given that I already know the story of James and the giant peach which is the story featured in the puffin children's design award.


I am also interested in the genre of children's illustration, so therefore am drawn more to the puffin children's design award as oppose to the adult penguin award.  Entering a competition which is targeted at the illustration genre I would like to enter should allow me not only to enjoy the work more, but to produce a superior illustration as the brief is likely to hold my interest.