Alexis Wright cover design series

Background:To draw attention to three major novels written by Australian indigenous writer Alexis Wright, the launch of her 2023 novel, ‘Praiseworthy’ was conceived to coincide with re-releases of her Miles Franklin award winning ‘Carpentaria’ (2007) and ASAL award winning, ‘The Swan Book’ (2014). A series of three designs was required primarily to draw attention to the new novel, whilst reenvisaging the past novels as counterparts, in hardback and paperback formats. Whilst graphic diversity characterises the form, little is known about the generative strategies of its practitioners.Contribution:The ideation of this suite of works pushes the field of post-digital graphic design practice by synergising analogue inquiry with digital tool use in graphic design ideation, (Stiny, 2015, Grigg, 2018, 2020, 2022). A sequence of unfaltering, hand-generated, monochrome ink marks were tested for their capacity to evoke the language that Wright uses to express outrage against oppression and disadvantage of Australia’s First Nations people, the novels’ Australian landscape settings, and identify Australian literature uniquely within global publishing. Related by method, each mark signifies a feature distinct to each book.Significance:The research findings support the concept that a sustained, critical, non-digital material enquiry is a strategy for invention in contemporary graphic design practice.). Attesting to its value the work submitted:• satisfied the independent selection processes of acclaimed publishers Giramondo‘s editorial board and novelist Alexis Wright • is a finalist in the 2023 AGDA awards • helped progress levels of experimentation in Australian book cover design and publishing practice. • drew attention to the unique qualities of Australian writing, evidenced by recognition from key literary awards organisations. ‘Praiseworthy’ won the 2023 Qld Literary awards.• The ‘Carpentaria’ design was purchased and published by Little Brown, UK, in 2023研究背景：为推介澳大利亚原住民作家亚历克西斯·赖特（Alexis Wright）的三部重要小说，其2023年新作《Praiseworthy》的发布活动策划与她此前两部获奖作品的再版同步进行——前者为2007年斩获迈尔斯·富兰克林奖的《卡彭塔里亚》（Carpentaria），后者为2014年斩获ASAL奖的《天鹅之书》（The Swan Book）。本次共需设计三款装帧，核心目标是推广新作，同时将旧作作为配套作品重新推出，涵盖精装与平装两种开本。尽管该系列装帧设计视觉风格多元，但目前学界对其创作者的创作生成策略仍知之甚少。 研究贡献：本系列作品的设计构思通过在平面设计构思环节融合实体调研与数字工具应用，拓展了后数字平面设计实践的研究边界（Stiny, 2015; Grigg, 2018, 2020, 2022）。团队先绘制了一系列稳定统一的手绘单色墨痕，对其表现力进行测试，以期精准呼应赖特在作品中用以抒发对澳大利亚原住民遭受压迫与不公待遇的愤慨之语，贴合小说中的澳大利亚本土景观设定，并让澳大利亚文学在全球出版格局中彰显独特性。每一处墨痕均遵循统一创作方法，分别对应三部小说各自的专属特色。 研究意义：本次研究结果证实，持续开展批判性非数字化实体调研，是当代平面设计实践实现创新的有效路径。该提交作品的价值得到多方印证： • 通过了知名出版社吉拉蒙多（Giramondo）编辑委员会与作家亚历克西斯·赖特的独立遴选流程 • 入围2023年澳大利亚平面设计协会（AGDA）奖项决赛 • 推动了澳大利亚书籍封面设计与出版实践的实验性探索 • 成功彰显了澳大利亚文学的独特特质，这一点得到了主流文学奖项机构的认可：新作《Praiseworthy》斩获2023年昆士兰文学奖 • 《卡彭塔里亚》的装帧设计于2023年被英国利特尔·布朗出版社（Little Brown）收购并正式出版