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Exercise: Judging a book by its cover

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Exercise: Judging a book by its cover

Choose a book by an author you are familiar with. You are going to design two different covers for it, one using illustrations or photography and the other using just type. Design the whole cover including the spine and back page.

The hardest part of this exercise was choosing which book to work with! After a couple of false starts I decided to use ‘The Third Plate’ a book by Dan Barber. It has been published by Little Brown Book and Penguin in different editions.

The book that, perhaps more than any other in recent times, laid out the urgent imperative that to look after the land we grow our food on is to eat as best we can and vice-versa. It redefined nutrition, agriculture and flavour, and established Barber as the preeminent voice in food that is as ethical as it is excellent (The Guardian)

The book documents the research of Chef Barber as he explores the state of food production and the options we have going forward. He had been a proponent of the Field to Fork food movement (the second plate) but realised this was not a fundamental enough shift as it replaced high meat based diets with better meat rather than a more balanced diet which in turn creates more sustainable production methods. The third plate refers to the need to completely rethink our diets and move towards a more plant based focus. It is a fascinating and at times funny read, laying out the issues but doing so in a gentle tone. The book is divided into four sections – soil, land, sea and seed.

In terms of the brief I worked on the following parameters:

  • Non-fiction title
  • Paperback version
  • Based on the dimensions of the existing book
  • House styles of the published editions vary
  • The readership could be quiet varied – young people with an interest in environmental sustainability and food (probably 18-25yrs), chefs with an interest in the future of food, vegetarians/vegans, generalists with an interest in the future of food (probably 35yrs+ and female)
  • Sold online and in major bookshop chains

As usual I did a few sketches to start the design process.

Based on the above assumptions and sketches I created six designs:

  1. Literal representation of three plates against a wheat field (wheat is covered in detail in the book). Contemporary font against a photographic background. I decided to colour the title “Third’ green to reflect one of the premises of the book about moving towards a more plant-based diet. I took the colour of the sky and used that across the spine and back. (n.b. the black lines either side of the spine are just place markers and are not part of the design concept). I took the three plates and echoed them under the title on the back cover. Typeface: Myriad Pro (12,24,18,36,120 pt.).
  2. Same basic concept as version one but I wanted to make the ‘Third’ more prominent. I changed the typeface and extended it across the page. I shifted the plates down so more of the wheat is shown and added some drop shadow under the top plate (I suspect this might be a design crime from comments I have read online but I wasn’t sure how else to bring the plate forward!). I also used a lighter tone of blue. Typeface: Modern No 20 (150, 28 pt.) and Myriad Pro Regular (36, 18, 15, 12pt), Myriad Pro Regular semi bold (24pt)
  3. One of my sketches suggested a layered text approach to signify the three plates. I struggled to get the effect I wanted in Illustrator so ended up with a tiered version of different size characters in a chunky typeface to catch attention. They are red (meat based), white (farm to fork, to me a more neutral approach), and green (plant based diets). I used a lighter grey colour for the typeface on the back so it is a bit gentler. Typeface: TW Cent MT (12,18 pt.), TW Cent Condensed (48, 24 pt.), Rockwell Extra Bold (117pt)
  4. Another tiered typeface version, this time they are stacked like plates and I have added some drop shadow. I changed the cover to green and reversed out the rest of the text. I also added a large ‘Third’ on the back cover which might attract attention if the cover were face down on a table or shelf. Typeface: Rockwell Extra Bold (130pt), TW Cent MT Condensed (48, 30,15 pt.), TW Cent MT (24, 18, 12)
  5. This version was taken directly from one of my sketches. I wanted to make it quite loose so added watercolour effects in Photoshop to give the impression of falling soil and water. I initially used a san serif typeface in dark grey but wasn’t sure it worked very well so I went back to a serif font for the main title. The illustration is repeated on the spine. Typeface: Modern No 20 (24, 80 pt.), Source San Pro (12,15, 18, 24, 36 pt.)
  6. I changed the typeface for a more contemporary feel and ran the type in a circle as a metaphor for the plate. This was then set against an orange background to make it stand out. I took the circle as a motif and added it on the spine and on the back page. Typeface: TW Cent MT (12, 18, 24, 28, 75), TW Cent MT Condensed (28)

This was a great exercise for thinking about how design elements work together. Although I have noticed it elsewhere in the course working on this exercise really highlighted a need for attention to detail, which I am not always good at! It also showed me that small changes, different point sizes, adding tints etc, can have a big impact.

While I am still building my Illustrator and InDesign skills I am pleased to recognise that I am getting more comfortable with the programmes and have a better sense of what I can achieve with them.

For me versions 5 and 6 are probably the most successful because of their simplicity. Feedback suggested others preferred version 2 on the basis it was more likely to make them pick it up. I feel this one is a bit too ‘busy’ but could be wrong!

After some initial feedback I approached the Visual Communications Facebook Group. Their preferences were for both the image versions, and as ever they gave me some useful improvements. Suggestions included:

  • Reducing the size of the plates
  • Changing the plates
  • Lining the text up on the spine with the plates
  • Changing the font size of the sub heading on the illustration version
  • Making the green text slightly darker over the illustration
  • Rotating the spine text so it is more in keeping with convention!

These are the amended versions:

Rework

After the feedback from my tutor I have looked again at the relationship between the text and the images. Looking back I’m not entirely sure why I chose to centre everything, I think it was about the title being part of the plate but I don’t think it has been as successful as I had hoped. So I worked on several versions using the type in different ways.

I definitely prefer rework 4 because it gives the illustration room to breath and to attract readers. This has reinforced my learning about the value of feedback and creating different iterations. It has also shown the value of leaving something for a while and coming back to it. I found in doing this I was no longer so committed to the original versions and could more easily make changes. On a more challenging note it has also reconfirmed what seem like almost infinite choices (layout, colours, typefaces) and this can only be addressed by creating some boundaries (which I guess is usually fulfilled by the brief).

‘Job Well Done’ ideas

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Thoughts for a ‘well done on finishing your report/thesis/dissertation’ greetings card, based on quotes and sayings:

  • It always seems impossible until it is done. Nelson Mandela
  • You did it!
  • She believed she could, so she did!
  • The pride in finishing a marathon is much greater than all the pain endured during the marathon
  • The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it. Hemmingway
  • A job well done stays well done forever
  • Facing challenges with strength, determination, and confidence is what matters, and you have done it! Congratulations
  • People forget how fast you did a job – but they remember how well you did it
  • Put on your positive pants!
  • You did great
  • Pat on the back! The final full stop!

These suggest different sentiments that the card could convey visually; the effort, the celebration, a journey, attention to detail and so on. It is also possible that one of the designs could be just typography which is something I hadn’t thought about before.

Exercise: H G Wells book cover design ideas

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Exercise (p.40 OCA Graphic Design 1): Your brief is to design a stunning and contemporary cover for one of the 20th Century’s most acclaimed authors, HG Wells.

I have probably spent more time on this exercise than I needed to but I have really enjoyed getting into the process and exploring the issues it raises. Having done lots of thinking, reading and drawing (noted in my Learning Log) I moved into Photoshop and started experimenting with one of the ideas that had stuck with me – the moth and the moon. This gave me scope to try different fonts and start bringing the design together. The above designs reflect the steps in my process:

  • I decided I wanted to achieve something contemporary but that could also be timeless
  • I used the typefaces to highlight the contemporary feel (both are in grey because white look too dominant)
  • I wanted to keep the designs clear so limited myself to a maximum of two elements each
  • I tried out a photographic approach first because I wanted to see how it would work and decided to carry on rather than do something more illustrative
  • HG Wells’s writing is very descriptive and I was struck by the nature of the light in each of the short stories. This sense of light and dark along with the gothic feel made me decide to go with a dark cover and accentuate the dramatic effect
  • That said I also tried each with a touch of colour to see what effect that had
  • I was also mindful of what might appeal or intrigue a potential reader – what might make someone pick the book up even if they didn’t know the story
  • I wanted to create a sense of coherence, to show them clearly as a set
  • Overall, I think The Beautiful Suit works best but I am quite pleased with the set

What has struck me in conducting this exercise is the number of decisions and choices to be made during the process. This should probably not be a surprise but it was interesting to become more aware of the options at each point. The course materials talk about the need for designers to be problems solvers and this experience has reinforced that, but it also feels like more than problem solving. It’s about knowing when to open out your thinking and when to narrow it down. It’s also about being open to new ideas and where they might emerge from.

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Part Two: Problem solving. Exercise – Working to a brief

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Working to a brief (pp34-35)

These are extracts from briefs set as part of a student competition. Read and analyse each brief.

 

 

Ask yourself:

  • What are you being asked to do?
  • How will the client judge a successful outcome to the brief?
  • What are the keywords?

Log any other questions you would wish to ask the client.

Brief 1

The brief is to design product packaging to appeal to a particular market segment.

The client will judge success by sales of ‘Chilled Creamy Oats’ to young women.

The keywords/phrases I identified are:

  • Packaging
  • Product name
  • Young women
  • Truly delicious snack
  • Juggling jobs & priorities
  • Love treats
  • Hate feeling hungry
  • Natural goodness
  • Bland and unappealing

In terms of additional information I would like to know if the client has sold to this target market before, what their other packaging was like (did they want something to match or very different from previous packaging), if they had views on size and shape, what compliance information was needed if any (nutritional information etc.), logo and company information, and what lifestyle data they have for the demographic they are targeting.

Brief 2

Design a metaphorical journey on the theme of connectedness. Define the market and how it will be targeted.

The client will judge success on an imaginative and surprising response to the brief and it’s clarity in communicating ‘connectedness’ to the viewer.

Keywords/phrases:

  • Long rail journey
  • Dramatic contrasts
  • Changing landscape
  • Interconnections
  • Embark & disembark
  • Dynamic is ever changing
  • Metaphorical journey
  • Theme of connections
  • Take us on a journey (list of connections)
  • Imagination
  • Quality of research
  • Connectedness

Other information I would like would be what the client has done before in this area, whether the design is part of a series, the brand identity of the client, existing colour palettes and media. I would probably want to test whether the brief is really as open as it seems.

Brief 3

Awareness raising and attitude change towards the risks of underage drinking.

Success would be based on young people’s awareness of the effects of drinking and making safe choices about drink.

Keywords/phrases:

  • Awareness
  • Risks
  • Underage drinking
  • Cultural change
  • Attitude towards alcohol
  • Best place to grow up
  • Children and young people happy & healthy
  • Core proposition
  • Parents to talk to their children
  • Avoid
  • Vulnerable situations
  • Think
  • Effects of drinking
  • Creative
  • Ideas
  • Why let drink decide?
  • Aged 13 – 16

I would ask the client what other awareness raising campaigns they have run, how connected they are with the target audiences (parents & young people), what mandatory information is needed (logo etc.), data they have on children/young people and alcohol, colour palette, and the range of media they already use.

In terms of the brief I would be most likely to tackle it would probably be the ‘connectedness’ brief. I like how open it is and can already picture in my mind the sort of approach I might take. I think I would be least likely to attempt the packaging probably because it feels furthest from my experience, but also because I imagine it is the one with the most constraints.

I think the connectedness brief would give more scope for experimentation, playfulness and new ideas. I think it would stretch me because I would have to determine my own parameters and it could take me into a variety of formats. It would also require some creative research, which is very appealing and has the potential for me learn something new in undertaking the brief.