Addlands cover

Background This suite of works contributes to the field of communication design practice, specifically book cover design for works of literary fiction. Unaffected by technological change, a requirement of this field is the continual invention of unique visual expressions of literature. Whilst graphic diversity characterises the artform’s history, the inventive strategies of its practitioners has had minimal attention. Research contribution The portfolio of designs addresses this issue by examining the innovative capacity of a book cover design practice that makes a sustained, critical, material enquiry. Themed as ‘co-respondence[s]’ between mind and matter (Ingold, 2012), where significations of authorial concepts are evoked from reactions of different material types, and digital tools are relegated to their reproduction, these works develop an innovative material-based approach. Research contribution The contribution of this research is that sustained material enquiry is a strategy for re-invention in contemporary graphic design practice. Attesting to their value the works submitted here; satisfied the independent selection processes of editorial boards of internationally acclaimed publishing houses; Granta Books (UK), Editions Gallimard (France), Scribe Publishing (UK, Australia), 20|20 Editora (Portugal), Catapult (New York) featured in my PhD publication awarded ‘Best Designed Independent Book’, ABDA Design Awards 2019 added bases to my PhD research and its introduction of the concept of ‘material literacy’ to design discourse, likely to influence future research in the field. helped shape the national and international community of graphic design practice, as evidenced by interviews at public outlets and with key organisations such as; State Library Victoria, Australian Graphic Design Association, Australian Book Designers Association, the leading graphic design publication, Eye Magazine (UK). Impacted research into the visibility of internationally recognised women in design conducted by research peers (Jane Connory, 2017, 2018, 2019).