The Unicode Consortium is pleased to announce the new design selected for the cover of the forthcoming print-on-demand publication of The Unicode Standard, Version 9.0. This is the first time the Unicode Consortium issued an open call for artists and designers to submit cover design proposals. All submitted designs were reviewed by an independent panel.


The selected artwork is an original design by Gabee Ayres, a student and teaching assistant at the University of Pennsylvania with a background in fine arts, design and logic. Of her design, Ms. Ayres says, “I wanted to create a cover that reflected the technology inherent in Unicode without looking impassive or unwelcoming.”

Two runner-up designs by Jiachen Hu and Laura von Husen were also selected. Jiachen Hu is a computer science student at the University of California, Berkeley. Laura von Husen earned a Master’s degree in graphic design and illustration, and currently lives in Hamburg, Germany.

Jiachen Hu:

Laura von Husen: