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Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners
Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners
Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners
Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners
Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners
Visions and Cyphers (English textbook),  | International Design Awards Winners

Visions and Cyphers (English textbook)

Lead DesignersMiriam Ahmed
Prize(s)Honorable Mention
Entry Description

Visions and Cyphers: Explorations of Literacy, Discourse, and Black Writing Experiences is a college English textbook comprised of a collection of academic essays focused on the study and validation of African American linguistic and rhetorical style. The 175-page project had a restricted page-count and an unbelievable 4-day turnaround. The challenge was to create a text-heavy, monochrome design with no art or info-graphics that would nevertheless make salient rhetoric resonate with millennial undergraduates. The strategy of bold typography and unconventional layout makes language jump off the page (without the duplication of pull-quotes). The type treatment also serves as memorable navigation elements - unusual for a text-heavy textbook - that allows students to easily recall and quickly jump to pertinent highlights. The client was Howard University's English Department; the cover art was produced by an Art Department faculty member and selected because of its relevance to the topic of the textbook.