Computer Arts cover contest 2015: top 12 shortlist revealed

Mohd Fairiz

• Mohd Fairiz
• Age: 29
• Education: BA Graphic design at KLMU, Malaysia
• Concept: Mohd's cover concept plays on the idea that new designers are talented but not yet the finished product. “It's a canvas for designers to create an identity for themselves,” he says. “The idea is that each cover will differ from each other.”
• Print/digital enhancements: Mohd suggests a non-gloss print on the drawing part of the cover: “This enables designers to draw their artwork on the canvas. The digital version could come with a PDF of the cover so that designers could open it in Illustrator/Photoshop and create their design.”

Rui Canedo

• Rui Canedo
• Age: 23
• Education: Communication design at ESAD, Portugal
• Concept: Rui approached the cover under the key concept of passion: “New talent is driven by the never-ending passion that is felt throught the early stages - the feeling that everything is possible, and that you can grab everything by the horns and do the impossible,” he says. “It’s quite a strong word in the hands of a young graphic designer. What does passion feel like? You have this heat inside of you that starts growing until you're on a run, full of ideas and will power, smoking hot,” says Rui. “To showcase this idea I explored an electric grill.”
• Print/digital enhancements: Rui had the idea of a thermochromatic finish so that when applying pressure with the fingers the bars of the grill would begin to turn red. For digital, he animated the grilled type so that it heats up and cools down, as you can see here.

Sean Steed

• Sean Steed
• Age: 20
• Education: Architecture and fine arts (graphic design) at Cornell University
• Concept: Sean’s detailed cover illustration plays on the idea of 'standing out from the crowd', tying it in with the concept of being 'hand-picked'.
• Print/digital enhancements: Multiple potential finishes were envisioned by Sean: “A laser-cut cover page followed by a dramatic black page that highlights the individual 'standing out from a crowd' (notice he is a little quirky and dressed in a dinosaur costume: weird is good)."This individual would glow in the dark (spot UV) to further reinforce the concept. “Lastly, the 'New Talent' title and circular icon could be die-cut and filled with a glossy black paper or have a rough matt finish.”For digital, Sean offered the idea of animating the 3D title. “It could go through twists and flips that show depth. Eventually the title becomes bigger to clearly show the theme for this issue.”

Sophia Potamitou

• Sophia Potamitou
• Age: 23
• Education: BA Illustration at Plymouth University
• Concept: “The concept I chose for the Computer Arts front cover depicts the classical board game 'snakes and ladders', which is symbolic of the steps a design student has to go through during university that will determine their success (or decline) in the work place,” says Sophia.
• Print/digital enhancements: Sophia envisions having the main ladder and connecting flash containing the title 'New Talent' embossed or UV coated in print. For digital, she animated the icons on the board to make it potentially interactive and to capture attention (seen below).

Tess Smith-Roberts

• Tess Smith-Roberts
• Age: 18
• Education: Art, history and photography 'A' level, (currently enrolling for an Illustration degree at Kingston University)
• Concept: “Toothpaste is something that makes you feel instantly fresh,” says Tess. “But because it's part of everyone's routine it also suggests that anyone could potentially be this new talent.”
• Print/digital enhancements: “The design would work well with spot varnish on a raised title,” says Tess. “A textured matte background would work well to contrast this, making the title stand out even more. It could then be printed with a mint fragrance to represent the freshness.” She continues: “On the digital edition, the toothpaste could be squeezed, out of shot, to shoot out the title before being placed down in the sink.“

Wendy Ma

• Wendy Ma
• Age: 25
• Education: Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University
• Concept: Wendy's illustration portrays a designer's mental space and “reflects the process of creating new designs by using creativity and inspiration from the world around them,” she explains. “Each object in the image represents an insight that is used in the unique perspective of the designer.”
• Print/digital enhancements: Wendy suggests lenticular printing for the black blobs to increase reactivity: “The stars will move when you change the angle of perspective.” Coated textures could also be applied to other illustrated vectors, she thought, as well as embossed printing, giving the background a more grainy texture for contrast.For digital, Wendy submitted the animated example you see below, with lightbulb illuminating and subtle movements of the geometric shapes and stars. Wendy also had the idea of introducing an interactive page on flipping the cover, where the reader could trace letters which would be translated into 3D fonts.