University Press Coverage, June 2025
The Uni Press round-up is back! We welcome you to our ongoing feature, now penned by designer and photographer Giles Hoover, in which we periodically highlight a selection of recent university press cover designs, with commentary. Please enjoy this celebration of amazing work.
This list is in alphabetical order by press. Where possible, credits are listed in the captions.
As with all cover designs we feature, we encourage you to head to your local library and/or bookstore to view the work in its full splendor.
June, 2025
Harvard University Press.
19th-century hair styles: the absolutely fantastic world of university press cover design briefs … absolutely nailed here, with pen-and-ink illustrations and aged type handled perfectly. (Great title, too.) Read more about this title.
A celebration of text and texture, with just-right choices in color, blending, and typography. (“Poems” is perfect.) Read more about this title.
Mercer University Press.
Composition, typography, illustration, winner. Southern maritime history, beautifully presented: what a pleasure to find this across the ’net when it’s published only a few blocks away. (Read more about this title.)
(Full disclosure: I’m not affiliated with Mercer and haven’t done work for them.)
Michigan State University Press.
Poster style at its absolute best, with compelling color and a strong title treatment — one where the “this,” rather than being an afterthought, is additive in every way. (Read more about this title.)
University of Texas Press. Cover design by Lauren Michelle Smith, art director Derek George. Cover image, “Hybrid Paper Gods & Queens,” by Julius Poncelet Manapul.
Every time I look at this cover, I see something new — a clear sign that it’s something special. An examination of the “racial uncanny” that’s impossible to not examine further thanks to this amazing design choice. (Read more about this title.)
Wilfrid Larier University Press.
A study of “comics about refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and detainees” is another of those book design briefs you’ll only get from a university press — here handled with incredible aplomb. Not quite a woodcut, not quite watercolor, with an appropriate dose of sadness, it conveys the antithesis of “funny paper” in exactly the right way. (Read more about this title.)
Yale University Press. Cover design and illustration by Sarah Schulte, art director, Dustin Kilgore.
A controversial Swahili classic — banned on publication — translated into English, published by Yale, and represented with a cover best described as a gift. A design that belongs in every “best of” list. (Read more about this title.)
Bonus: May, 2025
Putting together this post involved several titles from May that I couldn’t leave behind. Enjoy this one-off bonus month of university press goodness as we settle back into a regular posting schedule.
University of Illinois Press.
We all know the house. Time to understand why it’s glass. (Read more about this title.)
University Press of Kentucky.
Before Pearl Harbor, American aviators were fighting in China — and that history could not be better summarized by a book cover than here. Action, flak, fire, and escape, perfectly presented. (Read more about this title.)
MIT Press.
It may be set in a “kaleidoscopic, hyperreal Japan circa Y2K,” but this long-awaited translation presents a wonderfully-retro style that’s instantly compelling. Bonus points for the incredible title treatment. (Read more about this title.)
Penn State University Press.
Color and texture you can almost hear: exactly right. (Read more about this title.)
Black book covers are unusual — and hunting is a difficult subject to translate into design (tastefully, at least). Here, illustrations and aged type combine with the striking color choices to guarantee further investigation. (Read more about this title.)
Are you a book cover creative, art director, or publicist? If you want your work, or the work of your press, to be reviewed be sure to get in touch with us.
Please include the cover designer’s name, the art director’s name, any additional details like illustrator or photography credits, and the publication date. (Yet-to-be-published titles are welcome, with embargo dates if applicable.) Images should measure 1200-1500px on the long side, preferably in JPG format and the sRGB color space.
We look forward to featuring your work soon!
A freelance designer and photographer, Giles has been writing about book design for nearly thirty years. During his spare time, he walks, enjoys a great stereo, and explores architecture. He lives in Middle Georgia with a dog and cat.