Poetry Society

The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry was created by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and the Poetry Society. An award for bold and innovative use of poetry, whether in a blog, a play or a printed collection, it needed an identity to match.

To reflect that boldness, DC&CO used the crow image by American artist Leonard Baskin, from Ted Hughes’ breakthrough collection of the same name. The result: an identity that signals permission to innovate and treats poetry as a noisy, mischievous artform that ruffles feathers.

Following this work, DC&CO were commissioned to create the identity for the internationally revered National Poetry Competition.

“David Carroll & Co’s idea was absolutely inspired: the design clearly suggests permission to innovate and that poetry can be a noisy and mischievous artform that ruffles feathers.”
Judith Palmer, Director, Poetry Society

What we did

We created the identity for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, commissioned by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and the Poetry Society. Using the crow image by American artist Leonard Baskin — taken from Ted Hughes’ seminal collection of the same name — we designed an identity that signals permission to innovate and positions poetry as a bold, mischievous, and noisy artform. Following this success, DC&CO were commissioned to create the identity for the internationally revered National Poetry Competition.