Student's 'edgy' book cover design impresses judges - The Coventry Observer

Student's 'edgy' book cover design impresses judges

Coventry Editorial 9th Jul, 2014 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A STUDENT at Coventry University has taken the runner up slot in a prestigious design competition.

Mila Spasova, who is in her second year studying BA (Hons) in Graphic Design, earned second place at the 2014 Penguin Random House Design Award.

The illustrious competition challenges art and design students from across the UK to come up with new book cover designs for classic titles.

Mila, who is originally from Sofia in Bulgaria but now living in Coventry, was one of just 10 students shortlisted for the Puffin Children’s Prize in which entrants were challenged to design a cover for S E Hinton’s coming-of-age novel The Outsiders.




The 21-year-old’s design, which members of the judging panel described as ‘arresting’ and ‘edgy yet personal’, earned her joint second spot overall and a £350 cash prize.

“I heard about the award from my university tutors and I immediately decided to participate as I saw it as a great opportunity to get my work noticed by some big names in the industry.” said Mila.


“The aim of my design was to represent the protagonist’s rebellious, rock ’n’ roll attitude towards life. Throughout the novel I noticed several major recurring motifs so I decided to combine these into one by illustration.”

This is the fourth year running a Graphic Design student has been shortlisted and the second year running a student has excelled in the competition.

Simon Bell, course director at the university’s School of Art and Design, added: added: “She only just missed out on the top spot and given the high profile of the award and the volume and high standard of entries submitted, she’s done brilliantly to finish as runner up.”

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