Design Principles - Studio Brief 2 - Development of book covers

A Rage in Harlem
After gathering initial ideas about ways to create the cover, the silhouettes of the cutouts were then compiled together in order to create a backdrop for the front and back covers of the design. By showing the colours being fractured in this way, it was possible to describe the conflict within the book. This also added a more updated aesthetic to the cover design as it focuses primarily on digital enhancement.

After both the front and back covers were created the other layers could then be applied over the top. This included the imagery of the street sign, the text on the pages and the Marber grid to position them.

This would be the font used for the design as it is frequently found in USA street signs and in particular the ones found in Harlem, USA.

Here is the result of the additional imagery and text on the front and back covers. After creating these designs it was possible to gather feedback from peers on what areas have succeeded and what areas would need to be improved in order to reach the final outcome. Several suggested that the text should be positioned differently and an alternative could be made separating the text from the street signs in order to make the designs look less frantic.

A Clockwork Orange

After gathering initial ideas for A Clockwork Orange book cover, several of the silhouette designs were then altered to be included in the development. Shown here, is the silhouettes of the watch, however it has been added one of the cutouts shaped like a machine cog. By positioning these silhouettes in this way, it make the image look like the gears within a watch. Also the musical notes have been altered so that they can be positioned over the lines of the Marber grid, similar to how they would be shown on music sheets.

When looking for a typeface to use for the cover, the first idea that came to mind was to either use a classical and traditional font that showed formality or to use a chaotic font which was reflective of the violent nature of the characters within the novel. The alternative was to mix both ideas and find a font that could display both at once. Therefore, I chose Dirty and Classic for the development stage. However after the critique, it was clear that the font would need to be changed so that it was more legible and more minimalistic.

Here is the developed book cover, which allowed the Marber grid system to be a part of the design. After receiving feedback on the design it was clear that a new approach would have to be taken in order to make the book appear modern and updated.

A Christmas Carol 

For the cover of A Christmas Carol, the use of illustrations using basing shapes was the first idea. However, this would be changed so the the design could include the use of the cut-up paper techniques. As a result the illustration of the candle would then look more hand drawn rather than digital. By choosing to visualise a candle from Victorian Era, this would reference the object that would have been used during the time that the book was written, as well as the mention of the object in the story.

By using Broken Planewing font, it was possible to reference the time period in which typefaces such as this would have been used. Also it shows the viewer how the cover would be taking inspiration from original cover designs of the book. However, after peer critique, it was evident that the font would need to be changed in order to look more modern and up to date.

Here is the developed design for A Christmas Carol, showing the use of Broken Planewing font and the colours associated with traditional Christmas designs.