A graphic design student will see her work adorning the front covers of books as the runner-up of a competition run by a prestigious publisher.

Melisa Hasan, a student at Epsom's University for the Creative Arts (UCA) designed a range of patterns to be used on the jacket covers by Palgrave Macmillan, which publishes books in print and online, and received £130 worth of Apple vouchers. She said: "I have a passion for patterns, and have previously explored this within my previous design work.

"When I saw the Palgrave Pivot competition advertised I felt as though it was practically made for me. The design guidelines were quite open, so I researched into previous Palgrave Pivot front cover designs, and took inspiration from them.

"I had the feeling ‘what have I got to lose’ in entering, so winning was pretty unexpected."

Sallyanne Theodosiou, senior lecturer in graphic design at UCA, added: "I am extremely pleased to see Melisa's self-initiated work receive this level of recognition. She is a great student who has been able to apply her learning in a real world situation."