Studio Brief 1 - Animal Farm design development

After researching into the different possible ways in which propaganda can be used and examples of the styles, it was then possible to interpret a cover design for Animal Farm. The next step would be to create another interpretation of the book in a different way. As the time period of the Russian Revolution was during 1917, it was necessary to look at the publications that were released at the time. One publication that was particularly interesting was the soldier led newspaper The Wipers Times, which originated in the trenches during the first world war. This newspaper was created as a way to lift the spirits of the other soldiers, who would be surrounded by tragic circumstances every day. The paper was mostly comical in its approach to information as it would make viewers happier than just reading ordinary informative news.

As a result of The Wipers Times, a modern day theatre production was created to reenact the original story of the newspaper. For the advertisement of the show, a poster was created that payed homage to the original cover design of The Wipers Times, using the same typeface and imagery.

One way that Animal Farm could be interpreted would be to recreate the aesthetic of a 1917 publication. This way the cover would look more as though it were created during the time period of WW1, whilst appealing to a new generation. This process could be completed by staining paper with coffee, folding it several times and then scanning it. This way it can imitate old paper that has survived for years, much like the book itself. This surface could then be developed by adding the design digitally or by printing onto it.

Trying this style out, the process for the design began by scanning a brown paper envelope to use as the background. This was then applied to the design, replicating the style used by The Wipers Times. A mix of sans serif font and serif font allowed for the design to look as though it would be used on a newspaper. A layer of red was also applied over the paper background, replicating the red found in many Russian propaganda posters. As a result of this experimentation, the design did not work as successfully as anticipated, as it did not feel as though it communicated the ideas of the book. Instead it made the cover look as though it was imitating a publication or newspaper, which was not the intention for the design. Most peers also agreed that in order to develop the cover for Animal Farm the previous style should be pursued further.

In response to this, an alternative version of the barn design would be made in order to see whether a different avenue should be taken at this stage. This meant creating the design in the same minimalistic style, but using different imagery for the design.

This design was then shown during discussion with peers, but was decidedly not as strong as the original barn design. Therefore, this design was also not pursued further.

Going back to the choice of typeface was also another way to find more alternative options for creating a cover design of Animal Farm. This would allow for more discussion when it came to the group critique, on which typeface would most suit the cover and where it should be applied within the design structure.

By including a mix of serif and sans serif fonts, it would be possible to see whether the traditional approach should be taken or if a modern update would work better. Personally, the best option in my opinion would be to either use Cheltenham or Georgia Regular, as they were almost seen as a compromise between legibility and traditional value. Georgia Regular in particular showed letters that were easy to read, but also stuck to the traditional format.