Press Release - British Book Design & Production Awards 2016
NCAD bring home the gold at the British Book Design & Production Awards 2016
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, 18th November 2016
National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Visual Communication graduate, Aisling Lee was named as the 2016 winner of the Best Student Book category at the prestigious Best British Book Design & Production Awards ceremony held (10.11.16) at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, London.
In recognition for her work, ’17 Times Over’, Lee received a cheque for £500 and a beautiful glass trophy. She will now be offered the opportunity to experience working alongside either a celebrated designer, publisher or printer in the UK. Her work consisted of a series of booklets and 3D installations dedicated to informing Dubliners about the rich history of the 17 bridges which cross the River Liffey.
Speaking in the aftermath of the awards, Lee said “It's still a very surreal experience for me. At a late stage I decided to prepare my submission for this competition and I am very glad now that I did. It just goes to show that you need to be confident enough to enter the most prestigious competitions to ever be in with a chance of winning them. I’m thrilled to have received the award.”
The awards promote and acknowledge innovative book design and expert craftsmanship. A panel of five judges, selected from the areas of design, publishing, production and retail were tasked with the selection process to create a shortlist for each category from a total of 575 entries. During this process, the judges looked for exceptional design, free of typographical errors, with particular emphasis given to excellent layout and standards of typography.
Also shortlisted for the Best Student Book award were NCAD graduates Alexandra Morehead and Diane Dear. The three shortlisted students from NCAD worked closely with technician Jamie Murphy from Distillers Press, the world renowned typography and letterpress print workshop located within the NCAD Department of Visual Communication.
John Paul Dowling, Head of Department of Visual Communication, NCAD, said, “We are delighted for all the students involved. It has been the bookend to a fantastic year, with so many successes for our students across national and international design competitions, awards and assessment schemes. It is a testament to the hard work of both students and staff. Huge congratulations to Aisling who worked tirelessly throughout the year and is now reaping the benefits. The fact that the judges chose to award Aisling with the coveted award is an incredible achievement, not just for herself and the Department of Visual Communication, but for NCAD as a whole on an international stage. The quality and standard of work being produced on the Visual Communication course at NCAD is second to none, we look forward to continuing this success in 2017.”
Jamie Murphy, Letterpress Technician at Distillers Press said “The facilities available at Distillers Press allow our students to elevate their understanding of typography, book design and construction to a level which is simply unachievable without this incredibly valuable resource. NCAD is in the very privileged position of having the foremost letterpress workshop on this Island under its roof, whose enviable working collection is one of the finest in Northern Europe. Each of our shortlisted students made the most of the resources here which in turn allowed them to push their projects further than they originally thought possible.”
ENDS
Contact: David O’Donnell, DHR Communications, 01-4200580 / 086-1081139
Note for Editors:
Images of Aisling’s work and the awards ceremony are available to download here: http://bit.ly/2fnUgwx
Short film of the evening can be viewed here (Aisling Lee 00:59): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a584Z-VK2uQ
View the Best Student Book Winner 2016 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ-LurvWeOE
Media interviews are available upon request with John Paul Downing, Head of Department of Visual Communication, NCAD and Aisling Lee, NCAD graduate and winner of the Best Student Book category at the awards.
About NCAD
The National College of Art and Design occupies a unique position in art and design education in Ireland. It offers the largest range of Art and Design degrees in the State at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and is the only Irish university institution specialising in Art and Design. NCAD has over 1,100 full-time students and a further 450 students who take award and non-award bearing part-time classes. Further information is available at www.ncad.ie
Follow NCAD on: Twitter @NCAD_Dublin, Instagram @ncad_dublin, or Facebook www.facebook.com/NCAD.Dublin.
