You may work in color, you may include textures, patterns, and other graphic applications. However, neither photographic images nor icons/symbols may be used. Nothing representational. In other words, if you are designing a book cover for a book titled Astronomy Past, Present, and Future, you cannot use stars, rocks, planets, nor anything similar to the shape of those things. Type only. Be mindful of appropriateness, contrast, and readability of images; also beware of any denotation or connotation.
Preliminary Design Research
- Absorb the content: get to know your material, your book; conduct field research looking at related books; interview students, readers, experts
- Analyze the content: understand what's important, what the "big idea" is; how to differentiate your idea from others, how to make your cover unique and appropriate
- Understand your audience
- Have a concept, define that concept
- Render your visuals: draw, collage, set type; revise as needed
- Test: get feedback in class; via peers
Choosing Type: Suggested Approaches
- Direct: using a font that appears as if it is a "close match" to the content in your book
- Simple versus Complex (contrast): using a simple font in conjunction within (or with) a busy environment; or using a complex font within a simple environment
- Historical Relevance: the font can have historical connection to the material in your text, such that it was designed during a period of significance in your text's content, or maybe it originated near a country of significance
- Atmospheric: uses textures, patterns, overlapping, layering, transparency, collage, etc. to evoke the sense of that topic; evoke, verb: 1. bring or recall to the conscious mind: the sight of baseball evokes pleasant memories of going to baseball games with my dad; 2. to elicit a response: the awkward kid who evoked giggles from his sisters via Oxford English Dictionary
For additional suggestions and creative paths, read the very wonderful Type, Image, Message by Skolos and Wedell, and consult your Typographic Design textbook from VCOM 258 as well. Also, you can make your own type!
Goals
- use style to inform message, and enhance your concept
- use typography expressively and to further your concept, manipulating it where needed with the use of Illustrator and/or Photoshop and/or traditional and non-digital media
- render type and various styles using color to enhance message, concept
- use principles of semiotics
- use your visual and formal vocabulary with regard to glyph rendering, drawing, editing, and making
The final product will be a front book cover and spine of the book, produced as a high-quality mock-up that is physical (printed and in 3D) and also digital (photographed professionally). Physical book must be a 3D mock-up made with a printout of your design, wrapped around the book or a book. Digital files must be presented as PDF (flat layout from Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.) and photograph of your 3D work (PNG or JPEG).
Related Work
Worth 100:
- 20 points craft
- 40 points composition, originality
- 20 points concept
- 20 points presentation/professionalism
