The cover of Mercy House features an angel door knocker hung on a red door, with a woman’s hand reaching for it. In the book, the angel is Mercy House’s identifying feature, signaling to victims of domestic violence that they’ve arrived at safety. Quite early in her process, designer Elsie Lyons came across a similar image, of a red door with woman’s reaching for a knocker. “At the time, I thought it might be too straightforward,” she told Spine. And so she passed.

We welcome you to another in our ongoing feature in which notable book cover designer Jordan Wannemacher periodically highlights a selection of recent university press cover designs. Please enjoy this celebration of amazing work.

Designer, letterer, and illustrator Emily Courdelle infuses texts and images with unadulterated joy. Emily Courdelle earned her First Class Honours Degree in Design for Publishing from Norwich University of The Arts. Since then she has worked in house at London based publishers. She now works as a freelance designer/lettering artist. A cursory glance at Courdelle’s portfolio reveals enchanting scripts, inviting layouts, and dazzling motifs. Spine recently chatted with Emily about three of her most recent covers: Jeffrey Boakye’s Black, Listed, Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses, and Nicola Mostyn’s The Love Delusion. Additionally, Courdelle got real with us about her creative process, her life as an artist, and her decision to go freelance. 

For this episode Holly Dunn talks to Miraphora Mina, who along with Eduardo Lima, make up the design duo MinaLima. Mina is responsible for designing elements for the Harry Potter Films, as well as the Fantastic Beasts series, including The Marauders Map, The Daily Prophet, and all the text books. She and Holly also discuss MinaLima’s work on interactive classics for HarperCollins.

We welcome you to another in our ongoing feature in which notable book cover designer Jordan Wannemacher periodically highlights a selection of recent university press cover designs. Please enjoy this celebration of amazing work.

For this episode Holly Dunn interviews Sarahmay Wilkinson, Associate Art Director at W. W. Norton. They discuss some of Wilkinson's book cover designs, including the fascinating backstory to her design of Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls. Also talked about is Wilkinson's journey into publishing after having first established herself as a designer in the beauty industry.

We welcome you to a new feature on our site in which notable book cover designer Jordan Wannemacher periodically highlights a selection of recent university press cover designs. Please enjoy this celebration of amazing work.