Design Principles - Studio Brief 2 - Initial ideas (1) for book covers

After researching the ways in which grid systems can be applied to design and the Marber grid system's use in Penguin books, initial ideas were needed to start the design process. The first step was to look at different existing Penguin books that have been designed, including ones that use the Marber grid in their layout.

Books looked at

• A Clockwork Orange
• A Christmas Carol
• A Rage in Harlem

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess, about a violent gang that terrorise the streets of a dystopian future. A Clockwork Orange was met with controversy for its depiction of graphic "ultra violence" both in the book and in the 1971 film adaptation of the same name. When looking at the cover designs previously made for A Clockwork Orange, we can see that there is an clear use of minimalism for the portrayal. In this way, creating a version alternative to this or in a similar manner could work for the book cover design. Another approach could be to use a colour swatch to identify certain colours and use them for the design element of the project.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is an 1843 novel by Charles Dickens, about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who tries to make right the wrongs in his life after being visited by ghosts of christmas past, present and future. The book itself is well known as a classic christmas story and has been approached in many different ways in terms of a book cover design. Many of the designs that had been looked at, tend to show an aesthetic of the Victorian Era, including traditional typography and typical colours associated with Christmas. One way to approach this would be to add a more modern look to the cover, while referencing traditional imagery used in other book covers.

A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes

A Rage in Harlem is a 1957 novel by Chester Himes, about a man named Jackson who loses money he borrows from his boss. In an attempt to retrieve the swindled money, Jackson approaches his brother who informs two Harlem police officers  Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson to track down the swindlers. Many of the design covers for A Rage in Harlem show a particular use of photography or images of the streets of Harlem. As the idea for my own covers would be to create minimalistic design, it could be possible to include elements of the original design ideas. For example, the use of Harlem street imagery could work well for communicating the design ideas.