The husband-and-wife team of Simona Dall'Argine and Simone Salardi from the design firm kimejoe.com, based in Sardinia, Italy, will be awarded $5,000, Zondervan officials said.

The contest, hosted by Zondervan and announced via a Twitter posting by Warren on Sept. 16, drew 3,542 entries despite the tight deadline of Sept. 19. Warren worked with a team of creative leaders to narrow the field and make the final decision.

"I am thrilled to present the artistic talent of Simona and Simone," said Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of The Purpose-Driven Life (Zondervan). "The Lord's prayer is profound, yet simple. Not a single word is wasted. I wanted an uncluttered cover to communicate the straightforward message inside the book: Hope is available to anyone."

The new book--a hardcover that will retail for $24.99--centers on lessons learned from the Lord's prayer.

"The response to this contest was tremendous," said Zondervan CEO Moe Girkins. "We had so many creative designs to choose from that it made the final decision a tough one. But in the end, kimejoe.com's design stood out among them all as the one that perfectly fit what Zondervan and Rick Warren wanted to convey."