Design Principles - Studio Brief 2 - Book Cover Outcomes

Outcomes
After developing the ideas of the book covers into several different designs and receiving feedback, it was clear that in order to reach an outcome, there were elements that needed changing. Therefore, the approach to the designs were changed, so that the book covers could in some way relate to one another visually.

As a result of this, separating the text from the imagery was one way that helped to improve the design of the covers. In this case, by making the background a flat red colour it was easier for the other colours to then contrast it. Using the Marber grid also allowed for the text to be better positioned on the page, with the title of the book clearly standing out, due to the black backdrop. By identifying the title and author in white, this would show correlation with the white text found on the street sign. The street sign had also been changed so that the directions displayed on it may be familiar with the viewer, as they are areas found in Harlem, USA.

 For the back page of the design, it was important that the text would be more visible, and one way that this was done was by enlarging it and using the ClearviewHwy font, the same as the front page. The street sign was also made to look less recognisable, so that the attention of the viewer is drawn to the text. As a result of the changes made to the book cover of A Rage in Harlem, it was possible to receive a feedback on the final outcome. The feedback showed that the new ideas were more successful than the developments, as they separated imagery from text using the layout, which made the pages more legible and appealing aesthetically.

A Clockwork Orange

After rearranging the text at the top of the page, using the Marber grid, the design could then start to look more modern and up to date. The font had also been changed after feedback showed the title was not as legible as anticipated. Instead of using Dirty and Classic, Garamond was used as it was a clear and classic serif font. This would be suitable for this design, as the idea was to make it look minimalistic and simple, while including elements of the traditional styles used in Penguin books.

The illustrations have also been simplified further, so that the colours used reflect the visuals of the text. For example, by limiting the illustrations to just black and a white, it was possible to allow the attention of the viewer to be drawn to both the imagery and the text equally. 

As for the back page design of the book, the Marber grid was removed and replaced with parallel lines to act as a music paper stave, with the music notes running along the lines. As a result of this the design looks more simple and less chaotic on the page.

A Christmas Carol
 For the outcome of A Christmas Carol, the background colour was changed to a traditional green colour which could be associated with one of the 3 main colours of Christmas. This also made the illustration and the text more visible to the viewer, as well as keeping with the modern aesthetic of the other two book covers.

I think that by limiting the designs in this way it was possible to communicate a more modern visual representation of classic books. 

For the back cover of the book, the colour has also been changed, however the Marber grid has remained as a way to demonstrate the information included on the back, about Romek Marber. Feedback from peers showed that after creating the designs in this way, the process was reflective of the skills learned during the initial stages of design principles. For example, after creating a colour booklet for studio brief 1, it was possible to identify colours as having certain meanings as well as ways that they can be represented. One example of this happening was through the use of red in the cover of A Rage in Harlem, as the colour identifies as being dangerous or representative of conflict.