Adult Non-Fiction Cover Award 2020, A live brief set by Penguin
In Bill Bryson's quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation – A Short History of Nearly Everything, is a journey through time and space. It is the biggest-selling popular science book of the twenty-first century and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen before.
The brief was to create a cover design that is smart but accessible, as this is a science book with popular appeal. The cover should feel timeless, confident and appeal to a whole new generation of readers.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/16378ab0-b78e-419e-b88c-6db6c4b93b3c_rw_3840.jpg?h=81f86aacc6358f2d09e391495403a97d)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/5e022d8e-cb51-4219-8192-93ef0f25a549_rw_3840.jpg?h=5198804eb71f43db9da8f0906c6d7afa)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/865e7abf-64aa-48bb-9ca3-304d41dd849e_rw_3840.jpg?h=88b2e63b9523e8e9909449294602d6c8)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/ec7ac90a-9f7b-4c52-aaab-4733538c53c9_rw_3840.jpg?h=86e517c2c120fe80ff0e42d5c3c9f87e)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/8719a62e-3be5-4814-961d-73dffacb0bb3_rw_1920.png?h=b45b100f242bb9f00c2212c7d441550a)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/662bfd89-cf88-47e8-a245-8ab57671bb9d_rw_3840.jpg?h=9f508c683e963e0234bcc19d041f6445)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/783429f1-8d0a-4172-b5ed-4124bd74b822_rw_3840.jpg?h=0fe32b898c64f21950f8119fd55b9f51)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/2011b863-9bb6-490c-adf8-cf8602495b6c/ca421ea2-b53c-4ec0-9338-39cff598d6db_rw_1920.jpg?h=b866fd17149c7ee96915272df07bbfa1)