AS the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. But for one graduate, the evocative photography and artistic flair which goes into creating a beautiful book is a passion that is rapidly becoming a career.

Camilla Fellas, of Hemsby, has seen her first book cover put into print after being commissioned by Unicorn Press to create the design for the non-fiction work The Lion and the Unicorn.

The 21-year-old, who graduated with a first class honours degree in Design for Publishing, was given the breakthrough while studying at the Norwich University College of Arts.

She was approached by publisher Hugh Tempest Radford to pitch a proposal for the book, which focuses on the architecture of the Festival of Britain in the 1950s.

And going up against a fellow student in her fight to secure the contact, she was successful, and spent only four weeks revising and polishing her creative ideas to complete the finished article.

Speaking about her route to success, Camilla admits she may have never seen her ideas realised in print because she was desperate to ditch graphics in favour of food technology at high school.

But in hindsight, she feels it was a “happy accident” that she had to take graphics, because it gave her the building blocks she needed to discover her true talent.

Camilla, who is also recognised by the International Society of Photographic Designers for her outstanding photographic work, said: “It was a great experience – even if it was a little difficult at times.

“There was so much to get done and the deadlines were pretty tight, but it is amazing to think that I have now done it. I’ve always loved reading books so much, and now I have designed one.

“The next challenge is to try and do more freelance work and keep pushing for books as much as possible.

“I am hoping one day I will get the opportunity to delve into book illustration – but that is something to achieve in the future.”

The Lion and The Unicorn: The Symbolic Architecture For the Festival of Britain 1951, focuses on the Lion and Unicorn pavilion at the great London festival, which sought to emulate the talent and achievement showcased in the Great Exhibition of 1851 .

Camilla was also invited to the Royal College of Art in London where she attended the book launch with the author Henrietta Goodden.

For more pictures, click on the link to the picture gallery on the top right hand corner of the page.

To see more of Camilla’s work visit www.camillafellas.com