Buried Not Dead by Fiona McGregor (book cover design)

Background The research contributes to the field of communication design practice, specifically book cover design for works of nonfiction. Continuous invention of unique visual expressions of literature is an historical requirement of the field, yet little is known about the generative strategies of its practitioners. Contribution The design contributes knowledge about thinking metaphorically as a catalyst in the book cover design process and its use to encode meaning in the semiotic structure of an image, (Hall in Rose, 2016). Buried Not Dead is a collection of essays on art, literature and performance, sexuality, activism and the life of the city. Use of typography and a square represents McGregor’s archive of a world rarely recorded but very alive. The square is a reference to an essay that features Mike Parr’s ‘buried alive under a layer of bitumen’ performance, interpreted to incorporate the author’s request for a sensual cover and a reference to ‘skin’. An abstract code, the design invites the viewer to decipher its meaning in relation to the text. Significance I was commissioned by Giramondo – high-profile publishers of prominent Australian literary authors, including Alexis Wright, Gerald Murnane and Brian Castro, and recipients of an Australia Council Grant 2021-2024. After undergoing the company’s editorial processes, including consultation between designer, publisher and author, the published design supports the concept that the tacit exploration of abstract images and objects and their composition is a strategy for visual ‘meaning production’ in communication design practice (Drucker, 2014). Demonstrating excellence in the publication design field, the cover and internal design for the book was commissioned by Giramondo Publishing – its significance has been recognised by the longlisting of Buried Not Dead for ‘Best Designed Non Fiction Cover’ at the 2022 ABDA Awards. Buried Not Dead was longlisted for the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Award in 2022.