OUGD603 - Penguin Student Design Award - Brief Research

- Adult fiction cover: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
- Adult non-fiction cover: The Establishment by Owen James.
- Children's cover: Wonder by R J Palacio.

The winning design will need to:

- have an imaginative concept.
- be an original interpretation of the brief.
- be competently executed with strong use of typography.
- appeal to the broadest possible audience for the book.
- show a good understanding of the marketplace.
- have a point of difference from other books that it will be competing against in the market.
- be able to sit on the shelves of a supermarket or ebook store as easily as it sits on those of more traditional bookshops.

DEADLINE: 5th March @ 2pm
Application form open: 3rd December.

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Norwegian Wood:
- a nostalgic story of loss and burgeoning sexuality.
- character Toru Watanabe looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo. The story sees him develop relationships between two different women - beautiful, yet emotionally troubled Naoko, and outgoing, lively Midori.
- set in late 1960's Tokyo, when Japanese students were protesting against the established order (this serves as a backdrop to the story).
- the original title Noruwei no Mori is the standard translation of The Beatles' song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" which is the favourite song of character Naoko. Mori in the title translates to "forest". Forest settings and imagery are significant in the novel.
- the original Japanese edition colour schemes were: first edition, red and second edition, green.

The Brief:
- the author's writing is 'vivid, dazzling, experimental and imaginative' and your cover design should reflect this.
- design a cover for a new generation of readers, avoid obvious cliches.

Wonder:
- the author wrote 'Wonder' after an incident wherein her son noticed a girl with a severe facial deformity and started to cry. The author attempted to remove her son from the situation as to not upset the girl and her family, but ended up worsening the situation.
- Natalie Merchant's song "Wonder" made her realise that the incident could illustrate a valuable lesson. The author used the song's chorus as the prologue of the first chapter.
- August "Auggie" Pullman is a 10 year old living in North River Heights in Upper Manhatten who has a medical condition often equated with Treacher Collins Syndrome, which has left his face disfigured.
- homeschooled, but enrolled into Middle School for the experience by his parents, where he is then bullied for his appearance.
- the book explores the nature of friendship, tenacity, fear and kindness, explores fundamental truths about how people behave and how they should behave.

"Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten year old. He does ordinary things - eating ice-cream, playing on his xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go".

The Brief:
- the design should ensure that the book remains important and a must-read for every child.
- should also engage adults to want to buy it.