What has winning a Book Design Award meant ?

Last year we were lucky enough to have our design for Year 9 Graphics chosen as the Best Book Design for an Educational Book at the PANZ Book Design Awards and the design for Wonky Donkey gained a High Commended Certificate in the Picture Book category.

Apart from being totally gobsmacked (I really thought Geography on the Edge was taking away the big Educational Book prize), we were totally unprepared for the impact this award would have on our business. We’d received a Highly Commended in 2009 and this had certainly raised our profile, but it was nothing compared with 2010.

I’ve heard publishers say that winning awards doesn’t necessarily increase sales. Being shortlisted might, but not the big event. We found that our business became more reputable over night. It gave us credit, which helped open doors, that we had trouble previously opening.

All these have positively affected our bottom line and have given us the opportunity to grow. With more staff, better servers and more opportunities, almost 12 months later we are prepared to take an even bigger step and open another branch in Auckland.

The best bit though, is being held aloft by your peers. The fantastic comments from designers and illustrators whom we have admired for years, just makes all the hard work seem worthwhile. Design is like most service industries, you are only as good as your last book. But gee, the next great book is what makes us get out of bed each morning. Bring it on!

Thanks so much for PANZ and all the sponsors who make these awards possible for our industry. Here at Book Design, we really appreciate the opportunities you are giving us.