Meet book designer Regine Abos

This Thursday will be an exciting one for our 9-year-old Early Harvest program. 

The children’s fiction book published as a part of the program last year, The Sound of the Dark, has been nominated for the Best Designed Children's Fiction Book at the Annual Book Designers Award 2020 to be announced on the day.

The book has been designed by Regine Abos, a professional book designer with over 17 years of experience as an in-house book designer for publishing companies, including eight at Oxford University Press. For the last five years, she has been working as an independent book designer and teaching book design at RMIT. 

Regine has been a part of the Early Harvest program since 2015, generously working with the young editors in the program to design the annual publication.

Ahead of the Award night, we spoke to Regine about all that she loves about working with the young Early Harvest editors.

When and how did you get involved with the Early Harvest program? 

I was introduced to the program by Miranda Costa who designed the first few early harvest books. In 2006, she, Jenna Williams (a former Board Member of 100 Story Building) and I all worked together at a publishing firm, then called Harcourt Publishing.

We all then left Harcourt at different times. I went on to work at Oxford University Press and Miranda went freelance and ended up working with 100 Story Building. Fast forward 10 years later, I decided to go freelance and Miranda decided to go back to full time work. Funnily enough, Miranda took my full-time job at Oxford University Press and she passed on her 100 Story Building projects to me. Early harvest was one of the first projects I worked on as a freelancer.

Apart from designing the Early Harvest books, you also mentor the young editors on the book design process. What are the key learnings you try to impart to them?

As a mentor, I usually take the editors through the entire process of designing a book; from commissioning the cover and illustrations to the intricacies of laying out the pages. My aim is to show them that even though it looks easy, design is a complex and detailed process.

The most important thing that I emphasise to them is that designing a book is more than just putting the illustrations and text together. It is about creating a connection between the two, so that they appear seamless. It is when design melds into the background that it is working well. 

I also try to relay that design is not about what is said but about how it is said. 

Specifically on The Sound Of The Dark, what were the editors’ inputs in the design of the book?

I was really impressed by the editors last year. Based on our discussion, they gave a very clear design brief to me. The theme of the book was ‘creepy horror’ and they explained how this was a specific kind of horror, different from gory horror or spooky horror. They knew what tone of voice and typography they wanted. 

They also gave a very clear idea of what they wanted on the cover, which really helped Brendan (the program facilitator) and myself who worked closely with the cover designer Daniel Gray-Barnett. 

One of the editors, Raei, had very definite and well-formed ideas about design, and steered the panel well on design decisions. 

What do you enjoy most about the program? 

I really enjoy teaching the young editors about the design process. I don’t often meet children of that age [11 and 12], so it is really interesting to hear their ideas. They are very blunt and honest about what they want and what they don’t. So that’s a novel experience. 

For example, in my first year in the program, I had used a lot of bright colours, and the editors took one look and said they don’t like it. What I hadn’t realised was that children at the cusp of teenage don’t want to be treated as children, they wanted to be treated as young adults. 

What have you learnt from the young editors over the years?

I have learnt that children at that age are more sophisticated in their thinking and mindset that we realise. They really know what they need and want. 

Do you have a favourite Early Harvest book in terms of design? 

The Sound of the Dark, for sure. 

This book marked a big design shift for the Early Harvest books. The publications before that were designed more like magazines. They were full colour and were too busy, I feel. 

The Sound Of The Dark is in a book format and is single colour. I think it offers a more uncluttered reading experience. The aesthetic of a book is in the reading experience, and single colour makes reading much more accessible. 

How does it feel to be nominated for the ADBA award in the children’s fiction book category? 

I am very excited. Especially as the book has been nominated in a prestigious category and is competing against some very established names in the industry. 

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We wish Regine and the young editors the very best for Thursday. 

Join us in watching the ABDA 2020 and cheer for The Sound of the Dark which will go head-to-head against some of the industry's heavy hitters for the Best Designed Children's Fiction Book of the year!

The event will be livecasted on ABDA's YouTube for free on Thursday, 20 August 2020, 6:30pm. 

Visit our online shop for all the previous Early Harvest books, including The Sound Of The Dark.