Introduction
For this assignment we are going to get our hands dirty ... we're going to build type, making letterforms and alphabets from found and made objects. Typography is more than the formal organization of letters on a page, it can, and is, used as an art-form in its own right. Type can be used expressively, it can convey feelings and emotions, through construction and design. Type can be playful. And in this assignment we are going to play. And have fun. And create something unique.
Let's get started
First of all, think of your favorite book. It should be one you've read recently, it needs to be fresh in your mind. If you select a new book, read it - thoroughly! We are going to work on a book jacket, the first thing you do is read and understand the contents so you can visually represent the story that's inside. What will that book be? One from the Harry Potter collection? Ulysses by James Joyce? Maybe Fight Club? Or Huckleberry Finn? It could be a biography or an autobiography, a cookbook or a travel guide. The choice is yours but it demands interesting content.
Then bear these points in mind:
Think like a reader, not like a writer
Cover images and text must be clearly understood as thumbnails, which is how more books are being sold today. Covers need to make a reader ‘feel’ something rather than ‘tell’ them something. The cover is nothing but a reflection of what is there in the book.
Keep It Simple
People do not have time to understand any hidden meaning in the book design. They simply skip the book and move to the next book in the shelf or library if the design is too complex. It would be good to keep the cover a simple design. It will be even better if you can follow minimalistic design principles, meaning that you keep only those elements that are enough to convey a message or content of the book.
Reveal The Hook
Every story has a hook that keeps the reader engaged and interested. The designer should be incorporating the hook on the cover. There is no need to reveal the entire premise of the story. It is better to reveal only the hook in the cover design.
Create An Interesting And Entertaining Design
Make sure that your book cover design is capable of engaging your potential customers. Visual appeal of the design should be impressive, which is a big factor in drawing your audience’s attention. It should be saying something to the viewers in terms of colors etc elements. The designs ability to make a rapport with the viewers matters a lot.
Avoid Clichés
It should be a unique and memorable book cover. By using cliched elements and stock images, you will only ruin the prospects of the cover. Avoid creating a routine cover that readers have already seen many times around in libraries and bookshelves. The design must catch the eye at the first glance. That will happen only when your design theme and use of colors etc is unique and not cliched.
Stay open-minded
Describe the audience you’re aiming at, the style of the book (adventure, romance, thriller, etc.), the period it’s set in, the mood, as well as important characters or moments. But don’t expect the design you finish with to be what you had in mind when you started.
What's the challenge?
Once you've made a note of the book's content, structure, story, plot, key moments, characters, it's time to start designing. But first you should sketch out your ideas.
You're not going to work with typography in a traditional sense. You will be MAKING type from found objects, constructing the letter forms from physical materials. Of course, this should be relevant to the content of the book. If, for example, you are designing the jacket for Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson, then you may be making the letterforms from fruits. If you are designing the cover for Julius Caeser by William Shakespeare then you'll maybe use mosaic tiles to create your title.
You won't just design the letters for your title, you'll create an entire alphabet!
Then sketch. Always sketch. Begin gathering materials and building. This won't be easy, it'll take trial and error. Your first attempts may not work. You may have to try different things. If your book is The Concrete Jungle by Jamel Daniels you may want to think of casting your title in concrete - it's totally do-able but needs time, patience and materials. Think out of the box. Take a photo of the finished piece. You will import this into Illustrator.
You will be working in Illustrator following this template:
A step-by-step guide will be given in the next workshop. Not all the content will be constructed, so you'll need to select appropriate fonts that will create balance and support the made title.
And when we're done?
- You'll need to create a project in Behance.
- Upload your research and sketching and photos of the construction process.
- Include inspiration and existing versions of the book's cover.
- End the project with your final piece.
- Post the link to the Behance project in Canvas and then post the PNG file of the finished book jacket to Slack. Comment on 2 colleagues' posts.
The workshop slide deck
Some inspiration
Look at these examples just for starters:
Now look at these ...
Requirements
You will create a book jacket that is 22.75"W x 9.5"H in size. The resolution will be 300 dpi.
You will work in Illustrator.
The main requirement is that you will be making 3-D constructed type capturing the essence of the book.
Deadline
March 2nd by end of class .... you will save your design as a png and will upload it to Behance. In Behance you will also take us through the process - initial research, ideation and final product. Copy the project url and paste it into Canvas.
Oh, and also share just the png on Slack.