University Press Cover Round-Up
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.
This list is in no particular order. Credits are listed below.
If you are a book cover creative and want your work or the work of your department reviewed by Jordan be sure to get in touch with us!
As with any cover design we feature in our publications, we encourage you to head to your local library and/or bookstore to view the work in its full splendor when possible.
After a pandemic Summer hiatus, the UP Round-Up is back! Fall is such a busy time for UP publishing and I'm so thrilled to see all the gorgeous new titles coming out. As always, feel free to drop us a line if you have a cover that you want considered!
University of California Press
Designer: Faceout Studio, Amanda Hudson
Art director: Claudia Smelser
Faceout Studio's never ceases to wow me with their innovative and endlessly creative cover designs. Political covers these days are starting to all look the same (in my opinion) so this new direction is refreshing.
University of Nebraska Press
Designer: Lindsey Auten
I love this haunting cover image paired with the delicate type. It feels so intimate and overwhelming at the same time. Story collections can be tough to capture a singular mood when they're so varied and this cover is so evocative.
Ohio State University Press
Designer: Nathan Putens
Art Director: Juliet Williams
I love the warm tonality this cover gives, and the delicate colorful illustration is so bold yet simplistic. The color palette is just lovely.
Stanford University Press
Designer: Rob Ehle
What a fitting cover to feature a month before election! The illustration is so simple yet so illustrative of the concept. The bold orange is a great choice and really makes this mostly-type driven design pop.
Columbia University Press
Designer: Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich
Art Director: Julia Kushnirsky
I have featured this series design once before, I really love the whole design system Roberto built for this excellent Russian Library series. I just can't help myself but to feature the latest installment, it's such a clever illustration and I love its pairing with the Victorian wallpaper background.
Cornell University Press
Designer: David Drummond
Art Director: Scott Levine
This unexpected combination of the blue baseball hat on classical sculpture is so playful and striking. I don't think I've seen anything like it!
Minnesota University Press
Designer: Heng Wee Tan
Art Director: Rachel Moeller
I love the clinical approach this cover takes as a nod to the medical and healing nature of psychedelic research. Too often covers on this topic resort to stereotypical psychedelic imagery or patterns, so this is refreshing. The integration of the type with color is so clever.
Princeton University Press
Designer: Michel Vrana
Art Director: Jess Massabrook
I love how bold and heavy this cover is, the perfect tone and weight for this topic. The detailed pattern is perfectly overlaid to take center stage but not reduce legibility. I love the texture it adds!
Jordan Wannemacher is a book designer based in the NYC area. She was born and art school educated in the Southeast at the Savannah College of Art and Design where she focused on graphic design and creative writing. Currently, she is running Studio Jordan Wannemacher, a boutique book design studio based out of her home in Montclair, New Jersey.