Book design and mobile phone app scoop top D&AD Student Awards prize

The honour was jointly presented last night to Micheline Mannion from Central St Martins College of Art and Design in London, and Petra Muda and Harri Leppala from Berghs School of Communication in Sweden.

Mannion created a solution to a Faber & Faber book cover brief (pictured), which incorporates the publisher’s new print-on-demand service to create personalised covers.

Muda and Leppala created Find It, a mobile phone application that allows users to send a photo of any item they want to buy to the eBay website, which will reply with its best match.

Greg Quinton, D&AD education chairman, says, ‘The D&AD Student of the Year judging panel enjoyed the “wow moment” not once, but twice this year, first with Petra and Harri’s Find It idea for the eBay brief. So simple it was instantly and unanimously loved. We all want eBay to launch it – now.

‘Micheline’s idea for the Faber & Faber brief was quieter but no less compelling. It answered a very real issue – is it possible to create beautiful books using new print-on-demand technology? Micheline found the solution within the problem and crafted it elegantly.’

A total of 18 first prizes and 36 second prizes were awarded. All the winners can be seen at www.dandad.org/studentawards09.