Showing posts with label Context Publication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Context Publication. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Monday, 16 May 2011
Friday, 13 May 2011
Light and Shadow Image
Procession of the Dead
Author: Darren Shan
Designer: Catherine Casalino
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Typeface: The title and author type are shadows cast by small metal letters. The spine is set in Trade Gothic and the flaps and back are in set in Whitney.
Specials: The cover is printed on Neenah Linen stock. (see detail shot of the paper texture) It was a 4-color job with an extra hit of black. I got to go on press at Coral Graphics when it was printed and that was great.
Thank you so much to Catherine for her patience. I've been wanting to post this for a while. It's difficult to pick a favorite of all our posts but this is the top for me. I love this jacket. It's beautiful.
—Charles Brock
How did you become a book cover designer?
I moved to New York the Summer of 2003 to participate in NYU's Publishing Institute. I had an English degree and wanted to work in magazines, because of my interest in photography. During the NYU program, Rodrigo Corral and John Fulbrook came in to talk about book cover design. I really liked their presentation and wrote them both emails. Rodrigo invited me to drop by his studio to show him my photography portfolio. I had no graphic design experience (aside from a Pagemaker class in high school) but, miraculously, he asked me if I wanted to intern with him.
I started out doing image research and retouching because I knew some Photoshop. I remember the first day I was there, Rodrigo handed me a stack of New Yorkers and had me cut out images I liked and file them according to illustration or photography style.
I ended up working at Rodrigo Corral Design for about 3 years, getting promoted from intern to junior designer to designer. It was a phenomenal education. When I left Rodrigo's, I went to work with at Simon & Schuster where John Fulbrook was an Art Director— another phenomenal education. Imagine if I had skipped class the day of their NYU presentation! My life would be totally different!
What do you enjoy about your job?
The variety . . . and the books! I get to work on so many different kinds of books, so every day I have a completely new problem to solve. It really keeps you on your toes. I also like that I get to work with so many great photographers and illustrators.
What is Procession of the Dead about?
It's a post apocalyptical thriller that is set in a gotham-esque city. The main character, Capac, works for the city's ruler, a dark and mysterious man called The Cardinal.
Were there any constraints from the client?
Darren Shan is also the author of a very popular Young dult series called Cirque du Freak, so it was important that this book did not look too YA.
Were there any steps taken before you started designing?
I read the book and did some mood-boarding— pulling various images that I thought reflected the tone of the book. And lots of thinking!
Was there a clear working process that led to the final?
The process on this cover was a bit different than my normal process— very stop and start. The idea for the cover came right out of the book— there's a scene where Capac visits The Cardinal's office and notices that he has all these puppets hanging from the walls. And in the midst of all these puppets, The Cardinal is playing with this shadow puppet theater. While Capac is watching, The Cardinal moves his hands away from the shadow puppets . . . and they continue to move. I read that scene and thought, "Wow, something else is going on here . . ." I wanted to evoke that mood with the cover— something creepy that makes you wonder what's going on.
Shadow Puppet image research
So, I had this idea that I really liked. And then I didn't know how to take the next step, how to translate the idea of shadow puppets into a book cover. I finally came up with the idea that I could make "shadow puppets" out of the letters in the title. And then I had to figure out how to achieve that.
As a graphic designer, I'm a huge collector of "things that might be useful." I had several boxes of small metal letters that I had picked up a few years ago at a Marshall's in Connecticut, and they ended up being perfect for the project. (I think they're intended for scrapbooking). I taped the letters to thin wooden skewers and stuck them in florist's foam. I placed the set up behind a sheet and lit everything from behind.
Did you collaborate with anyone? How was that process?
No. Although one sort-of collaborative thing happened: After I shot the cover, I showed my Creative Director, Anne Twomey, the images and explained where the idea came from. I had photoshopped a shadow puppet into the frame. It turned out that Anne had an actual shadow puppet from Thailand at home! She brought it in and I re-shot the cover with the puppet in place.
Were there any known influences that led to your solution?
I loved puppets as a kid! My mom still has them all.
Did the project have any unique struggles?
It took me a long time to get to the point where I started executing the idea— I really had to figure out how it would work technically, first. Getting the title and author name to be legible was really tough since the whole set up was so delicate. You'd move one letter and it would screw up the shadow of the letter next to it. It took many hours to get the set-up how I wanted it.
Also, at first, they wanted to credit the author as "D. B. Shan" to differentiate from his YA books, but later they changed it to "Darren Shan," so I had to reshoot the whole thing. You can see some of the earlier process photos have the first version of the author name.
Were there any other solutions outside the final?
This was the only direction I pursued
What 's something unique you learned while working on this project?
Taking the time to plan out a cover is really important. I also think it's important not to compromise your vision, even if it means a lot more work. I could have done something like this in Photoshop, but it wouldn't have been as strong and natural looking.
Design set of books
Designer: Jim Tierney
Typefaces: Hand Drawn, Memphis and Bodoni for flaps.
Around the World in 80 Days
Journey to the Center of the Earth
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
From the Earth to the Moon
Jim talks about his process.
In the illustration department at the University of the Arts, a major portion of the senior year is dedicated to a 4-part thesis project. The project culminates in a class-wide exhibit and competition for the William H. Ely award. Thusly is this project affectionately known as “The Ely”. Each student must choose a market to work in, and prepare a project proposal.
Being equal parts book-nerd and design-nerd, I naturally decided to re-design some classic Jules Verne novels. I‘m a big Verne fan, but a chance to re-design any classic book is always exciting. Classics usually allow for a more personal interpretation, since most people are already vaguely familiar with the premise of the books, and I didn’t have to compete with one well-known cover, as I might have with a more recent book.
I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate some extra elements into this series. My first idea was to have a uniform construction for all four, consisting of a patterned jacket that would unfold into a poster, and a book-band.
I still like the idea of this series, but it didn’t really allow me to go as far as I wanted to with the concepts for each book.
Still clinging to the idea of uniformity, I tried a more illustrative approach, with each book featuring a half-jacket and full-color cover. At this point I was only focusing on rough sketches the first two books of the series: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Once again, the uniform construction really limited the concepts. My instructor, Joe Didomenico, suggested I forget about the construction and focus solely on concept for each book. That night I filled a sketchbook with brand new ideas, and finally things started to come together
The breakthrough came when I decided to handle each book with a different construction (an ambitious and tiring task, I would soon realize). For 20,000 Leagues I stuck with the half-jacket idea. The idea to use Captain Nemo’s diving helmet on the jacket, with the emerging tentacles works well to hint at Nemo’s subtle, sinister nature, while the sunken ruins and monster squid hidden below the jacket mimic the book’s constant atmosphere of mystery and exploration.
For Journey to the Center of the Earth, I decided to print the soil color on a jacket of translucent film. The film, placed against the light colors of the cover, shows dinosaur bones and fossils. Printed on the cover itself, and barely visible through the film, are some more peculiar artifacts, like giant skeletons and weapons, which hint at some of the more surprising discoveries made in the story.
Working with these new concepts, my sketches came together pretty quickly:
From this point, the rest of the work went pretty smoothly. For Around the World in 80 Days, I decided to use a spin-wheel featuring destinations visited by the characters. The idea is that as you read the book, you can turn the dial to match your progress. I wasn’t too happy with the trompe l’ouille look of the cover sketch with envelopes and money. Luckily, my brilliant girlfriend Sara suggested making the cover one big stamp, since I was already using postage as a theme. This beautiful solution really pulled the piece together.
I had a specific Idea for From the Earth to the Moon right away, and sketched it out pretty quickly. I stayed with the “interactive papercraft” idea, and used a sliding tab to reveal the rocket. After a day or two, however, I wasn’t happy with how the hand and rocket were pointing downward, so I switched the position of the Earth and the Moon for a better read.
The Ely exhibit will show at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from April 6th to 20th, with the reception on April 18th. The show will be full of talented young illustrators, so if you can make it to Philadelphia, you should really come and see it.
Typefaces: Hand Drawn, Memphis and Bodoni for flaps.
Around the World in 80 Days
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
From the Earth to the Moon
Jim talks about his process.
In the illustration department at the University of the Arts, a major portion of the senior year is dedicated to a 4-part thesis project. The project culminates in a class-wide exhibit and competition for the William H. Ely award. Thusly is this project affectionately known as “The Ely”. Each student must choose a market to work in, and prepare a project proposal.
Being equal parts book-nerd and design-nerd, I naturally decided to re-design some classic Jules Verne novels. I‘m a big Verne fan, but a chance to re-design any classic book is always exciting. Classics usually allow for a more personal interpretation, since most people are already vaguely familiar with the premise of the books, and I didn’t have to compete with one well-known cover, as I might have with a more recent book.
I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate some extra elements into this series. My first idea was to have a uniform construction for all four, consisting of a patterned jacket that would unfold into a poster, and a book-band.
I still like the idea of this series, but it didn’t really allow me to go as far as I wanted to with the concepts for each book.
Still clinging to the idea of uniformity, I tried a more illustrative approach, with each book featuring a half-jacket and full-color cover. At this point I was only focusing on rough sketches the first two books of the series: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Once again, the uniform construction really limited the concepts. My instructor, Joe Didomenico, suggested I forget about the construction and focus solely on concept for each book. That night I filled a sketchbook with brand new ideas, and finally things started to come together
The breakthrough came when I decided to handle each book with a different construction (an ambitious and tiring task, I would soon realize). For 20,000 Leagues I stuck with the half-jacket idea. The idea to use Captain Nemo’s diving helmet on the jacket, with the emerging tentacles works well to hint at Nemo’s subtle, sinister nature, while the sunken ruins and monster squid hidden below the jacket mimic the book’s constant atmosphere of mystery and exploration.
For Journey to the Center of the Earth, I decided to print the soil color on a jacket of translucent film. The film, placed against the light colors of the cover, shows dinosaur bones and fossils. Printed on the cover itself, and barely visible through the film, are some more peculiar artifacts, like giant skeletons and weapons, which hint at some of the more surprising discoveries made in the story.
Working with these new concepts, my sketches came together pretty quickly:
From this point, the rest of the work went pretty smoothly. For Around the World in 80 Days, I decided to use a spin-wheel featuring destinations visited by the characters. The idea is that as you read the book, you can turn the dial to match your progress. I wasn’t too happy with the trompe l’ouille look of the cover sketch with envelopes and money. Luckily, my brilliant girlfriend Sara suggested making the cover one big stamp, since I was already using postage as a theme. This beautiful solution really pulled the piece together.
I had a specific Idea for From the Earth to the Moon right away, and sketched it out pretty quickly. I stayed with the “interactive papercraft” idea, and used a sliding tab to reveal the rocket. After a day or two, however, I wasn’t happy with how the hand and rocket were pointing downward, so I switched the position of the Earth and the Moon for a better read.
The Ely exhibit will show at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from April 6th to 20th, with the reception on April 18th. The show will be full of talented young illustrators, so if you can make it to Philadelphia, you should really come and see it.
Monday, 9 May 2011
30th Anniversary Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Series
30th Anniversary Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Series
Author: Douglas Adams
Art Direction: Carl Rush
Designer: Chris Pelling from Crush Creative
Illustration: Jonny Mac from Crush Creative
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Science Fiction/Comedy
I was blown away when I first saw this series. So much fun. I need to track down a set of these. Amazing work by Crush Creative. Thank you Carl for taking time to share your process. Truly inspiring work. —Charles
How did you become a book cover designer?
My Background in design started working for the music industry designing record covers. When I set Crush up 11 years ago this was the area I worked in mostly, but after about 2 years the record companies started to struggle and the days of decent budgets for designers in the music indusrty was over. I’m sure there are a few jobs still around, but at the time I couldn’t risk sticking to what I knew... It was time to look for other avenues of work. In 2002 I had a lucky break and won a big project for Heineken in Amsterdam. This job lasted for for 4 years and paid all the bills. Because I had regular work which paid well it meant I could take on some smaller (less well paid) interesting jobs - This took the form of book cover design.
What do you enjoy about your job?
With book cover design it really gives us a chance to think laterally. We work in lots of areas of design but book cover design probably produces our most visually stunning work. For us Book covers are replacement for record cover design.
ABOUT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY HITCHHIKER'S SERIES:
Who do you see as the audience for this book?
The audience was massive. This is a HUGE book in the UK. There are Hitchhiker conventions, countless number of fan sites, blogs, TV series, movies! You name it - People are NUTS about these books. Over 15 Million copies have been sold!
What is the book about?
Now there’s a tricky one to explain. Best head to Wiki
Were there any constraints from the client?
No - The brief was totally open -Do what you like...
That made the job a little daunting. Chris who worked on the project was a big fan of the books, so it felt like a great pressure to come up with something stunning.
PROCESS:
Were there any steps taken before you started designing?
Chris had read all the books, I had read the first, so it was a case of refreshing ourselves with the stories, work out what some of the key storylines were and get a list together or what was important.
Was there a clear working process that led to the final?
I guess so... We submitted 3 different routes, one of which was the idea that we produced a cover with no design on the front. Radical yes! The idea was there there wouldn’t be a design but a sticker on the front would announce: DON’T PANIC - DIY COVER - STICKERS INCLUDED INSIDE. The reader was then encouraged to create their own cover from a set of stickers...
Did you collaborate with anyone? How was that process?
We created everything in house.
Were there any known influences that led to your solution?
YES. - In the series, DON'T PANIC (always upper-case) is a phrase written on the cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.[26] The novel explains that this was partly because the device "looked insanely complicated" to operate, and partly to keep intergalactic travelers from panicking.[27] It is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words "Don't Panic" in large, friendly letters on the cover.[26]
Did the project have any unique struggles?
You know what... This was such a dream to work on. What was most important about this job was the faith of the publishers. It was the publishers that made this happen. We always try to push the boundaries of design and will always submit a range of ideas from 'safe' to more 'radical'. Sadly publishing companies will often go for the safe option. This is not the decision of the art directors or the designers that commission us, Oh No! they ask Crush to come up with ideas because they know they will get the unexpected. The problem seems to come when the sales teams get hold of the designs. If it’s not something they have seen before, or know that a cover style worked last time, so lets just do it again... Then Sales are less likely to take a risk on a cover design. However saying that The Hitchhikers project was different. The Creative Director worked hard to get it past sales and then once the cover was approved the marketing department really got behind it.
Some of the initial ideas.
(and the idea that was developed into the final look) blank covers with attached stickers.
Once the covers were done and approved, the marketing department approached us to create all the digital and print marketing. Firstly we designed the website. We also created an animation (a book trailer).
And then they asked us to create an online game of some sort. We thought long and hard about this but realized to build a little flash game - maybe a shoot em up or something, might not be the best approach. Would it be fun? Would it be funny? Most importantly Would it sell book? So we brainstormed the idea a little longer and came up with a marketing plan to create a twitter account for Marvin the paranoid android.
You can follow him here: Marvin
We asked our friends at Modern Toss to write 400 tweets in the style of Marvin (miserable) and then gave those lines to the marketing department to tweet out on the build up to the release of the book.
I’ve joined an online dating agency. I’ve listed my main hobby as staring into the black void of infinity. No takers so far.
Had a nice chat with a set of traffic lights. Bit formal. Got the feeling he was stuck in a bit of a rut.
Pardon me for breathing, which I never do any way so I don't know why I bother to say it, oh God, I'm so depressed.
Wearily on I go, pain and misery my only companions. And vast intelligence, of course. And infinite sorrow.
Caught myself staring at the wall again. Even the wall’s starting to look a bit uncomfortable about it.
We also created all the printed marketing materials and even an embroidered beach towel (if you know the books, this makes perfect sense)
MEANING:
What is the message behind the design?
The essence of the story (I hope)
What would you say makes this an effective design?
The publishers having the courage to go with a new idea.
What’s something unique you learned while working on this project?
Don’t be frightened to submit real ideas. Sometimes they do stick.
Designer: Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design
final cover
full productioncover details
interior details
original sketch
Listening to Trees
Author: A.K. Hellum (Dr. Andreas Kåre Hellum)
Designer: Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design
Publisher: NeWest Press
Genre: Environment & Ecology
Typefaces: FF Seria (serif and sans) with hand drawn lettering
Cover Illustration: Natalie Olsen
Interior Illustration: A.K. Hellum
Printing: The jacket is a one spot colour job (Brown: Pantone 161U) on 80lb Rolland Opaque Natural, no varnish. The interior was printed 1/1 black ink on 55lb 100% PCW Rolland Opaque Natural.
Even if I were responsible for pumping millions of gallons of oil into the ocean and wanted desperately to avoid any guilty feelings for my acts… I would still pick this cover up…
—Jason Gabbert
How did you become a book cover designer?
I completed a 4-month-long internship at a small literary publisher called NeWest Press during my 3rd year of art school. My first book took me about 300 hours to design, but I got a little quicker and they asked me to stay and make more books after their art director resigned that same year.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy being among the first to read a new manuscript and collaborate with the author, editors, and publisher to give that black 12-point Times New Roman some life on the page.
What is this book about?
Listening to Trees is about a forester’s lifelong journey to salvage the world’s declining forests. Hellum speaks to our environment’s fragile state-of-being with stories from Thailand, China, Guyana, and the Philippines, where the forests have been stripped of their resources and improperly regenerated.
Were there any constraints from the client?
We agreed that we didn’t want to produce another environmental title with a picturesque photo of some evergreens on the front.
Were there any steps taken before you started designing?
I always read the manuscript first. I consider it a major job perk and the most thorough client brief a designer could ask for.
Was there a clear working process that led to the final?
The final design is basically just a sketch. I drew the cross section hoping to use it as a texture in the final design somehow. When I got to the outer ring, I incorporated the title and author name, scanned it in, touched it up, and inverted the colours to increase the impact.
I was worried that the imagery was too simple, but the understated drawing and sensitive printing treatment really suits the tone of the book. The natural texture and off-white colour of the cover stock peer through the brown ink to form the image.
Did you collaborate with anyone? How was that process?
The author’s journal notes and sketches were very influential. I didn’t feel any were suitable for the cover, but I wanted to develop an image that felt harmonious with Hellum’s personal style of documenting his experiences.
Did the project have any unique struggles?
Just the desire to have the book stand apart from similar titles released during the same season.
Were there any solutions outside the final you’d like to share?
The initial response from the publisher and the author was very positive, so I didn’t develop any supplementary concepts.
What is the message behind the design?
I suppose, like the author, I just wanted people to consider trees in a different way. To perceive them as fragile. The growth rings work as a symbol of longevity, with the weighted line and tiny imperfections emphasizing how tenuous the lifespan of a forest is.
full production
original sketch
Listening to Trees
Author: A.K. Hellum (Dr. Andreas Kåre Hellum)
Designer: Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design
Publisher: NeWest Press
Genre: Environment & Ecology
Typefaces: FF Seria (serif and sans) with hand drawn lettering
Cover Illustration: Natalie Olsen
Interior Illustration: A.K. Hellum
Printing: The jacket is a one spot colour job (Brown: Pantone 161U) on 80lb Rolland Opaque Natural, no varnish. The interior was printed 1/1 black ink on 55lb 100% PCW Rolland Opaque Natural.
Even if I were responsible for pumping millions of gallons of oil into the ocean and wanted desperately to avoid any guilty feelings for my acts… I would still pick this cover up…
—Jason Gabbert
How did you become a book cover designer?
I completed a 4-month-long internship at a small literary publisher called NeWest Press during my 3rd year of art school. My first book took me about 300 hours to design, but I got a little quicker and they asked me to stay and make more books after their art director resigned that same year.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy being among the first to read a new manuscript and collaborate with the author, editors, and publisher to give that black 12-point Times New Roman some life on the page.
What is this book about?
Listening to Trees is about a forester’s lifelong journey to salvage the world’s declining forests. Hellum speaks to our environment’s fragile state-of-being with stories from Thailand, China, Guyana, and the Philippines, where the forests have been stripped of their resources and improperly regenerated.
Were there any constraints from the client?
We agreed that we didn’t want to produce another environmental title with a picturesque photo of some evergreens on the front.
Were there any steps taken before you started designing?
I always read the manuscript first. I consider it a major job perk and the most thorough client brief a designer could ask for.
Was there a clear working process that led to the final?
The final design is basically just a sketch. I drew the cross section hoping to use it as a texture in the final design somehow. When I got to the outer ring, I incorporated the title and author name, scanned it in, touched it up, and inverted the colours to increase the impact.
I was worried that the imagery was too simple, but the understated drawing and sensitive printing treatment really suits the tone of the book. The natural texture and off-white colour of the cover stock peer through the brown ink to form the image.
Did you collaborate with anyone? How was that process?
The author’s journal notes and sketches were very influential. I didn’t feel any were suitable for the cover, but I wanted to develop an image that felt harmonious with Hellum’s personal style of documenting his experiences.
Did the project have any unique struggles?
Just the desire to have the book stand apart from similar titles released during the same season.
Were there any solutions outside the final you’d like to share?
The initial response from the publisher and the author was very positive, so I didn’t develop any supplementary concepts.
What is the message behind the design?
I suppose, like the author, I just wanted people to consider trees in a different way. To perceive them as fragile. The growth rings work as a symbol of longevity, with the weighted line and tiny imperfections emphasizing how tenuous the lifespan of a forest is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)