T-rex cat, a whale and City Hall take top design prize!

A T-rex cat ready to burst off the page, the joyous dance of whales and the coastline featured in the designs chosen as the winners in the Fraser Coast Libraries’ 2023 Design-a-Bookmark competition.

Residents were encouraged to unleash their artistic talent and enter the competition.

The winning entries will professionally printed as bookmarks which will be available for free from the Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Tiaro, Howard and Burrum Heads library branches.

“The range of designs in the entries shows that Fraser Coast residents are very artistic,” Fraser Coast Regional Councillor Phil Truscott said.

“You can feel the enthusiasm entrants had through the choice of vibrant colours and designs.”

Cr Truscott said Fraser Coast residents were embracing the many free services and resources available at local libraries with membership rising from 41,722 in 2021 to 45,327 in 2022.

“It’s such a wonderful service and it’s really heartening to see that about 40 per cent of the region’s population are now Fraser Coast Libraries members with membership growing by about eight per cent in 2022,” he said.

Judge’s comments on the category winners:

6 years and under: Edith Byrne: produced a beautiful abstract design with an elegantly restricted palette. A bold use of negative space gives the vibrant gestures in this work a sense of movement or vibration. Key to the success of this composition is the symmetry created between the top and bottom halves of the work. The imperfections inherent in this mirror-effect lend the work a charming confidence and light-heartedness.

7 – 11 years: Nikita Mitchell: the category contained many impressive designs, and choosing a winner was not easy. My favourite design from this category features a very cute cat character emerging from a rainbow world of squiggles. A strong and clean graphic sensibility gives the design sophistication, while clever use of cropping allows the T-rex cat to appear as if it is ready to burst out of the page, filling the image with life and energy. Similar to the winner of the under 6 category, patterned symmetry at the top and bottom of the bookmark plays a role in the balance and resolution of the composition.

12 – 17 years: Georgia Mulligan: has beautifully captured the spirit of the Fraser Coast in this muted and serene portrait of a whale’s joyous dance. Thorough planning and attention to detail is evident in the composition and articulation of this scene, with the four elements; sky, sun, whale, and ocean perfectly balanced against one another. The artist’s selection of a sunset palette provides a burst of warmth into the scene, creating a stark horizon line between ocean and sky.  

18 years and older: Tien-Yu: I love the creativity that has been displayed in the winning bookmark for the over 18 years category. Unlike many entrants, this winning design opted to treat the bookmark as a super-wide landscape, as opposed to the more common portrait orientation. The resulting design is a brilliant interpretation of the potential for a bookmark to evoke the power of fiction and the imagination. Featuring a smoky, asteroid filled skyline amongst the rough terrain of an alien moonscape, this design is sure to transport the Fraser Coast’s avid readers into another dimension!

People’s Choice: Shanyichun Cai: Received the greatest number of votes from the public.

The winners will also receive a $50 Fraser Coast Gift Card.

“Thank you to everyone who entered; our judge for the four age category winners, Hervey Bay Regional Gallery Curator Llewellyn Millhouse; and everyone who voted in the People's Choice Award,” Cr Truscott said.

Fraser Coast Libraries receives financial assistance from the Queensland Government through State Library of Queensland.