Responsive- Penguin Book To Kill A Mockingbird development

DESIGNERS:

Maxim Leurentop

David Watson

REFLECTIONS:
- Leurentop's work holds a strong position between digital print and handmade, which is a strong juxtaposition which I would like to exist in my design to reflect the conflict within the book
- I also love the overlay and mixing of layers, as I feel it is a beautiful way to show the primary information in a complex manner without being overcrowded
- Watson's work seems reminiscent of the time in which the book was set, with an almost newspaper feel to it, which I would like to extend to my design
- Also, I feel that the empty space allows the words to breathe on the page and ensures the composition is not crowded. I need to ensure I consider my text placement thoroughly



MY WORK:

INTENT:
- Main aim was to reveal the beautiful writing inside
- I wanted to avoid the obvious iconography of the mockingbird as much as possible, as I feel this has been overdone with the past covers
- To create a bold, simple and dynamic cover for a timeless classic

HOW:
- By roughing to get a broad idea of composition, I moved into designing on screen to quickly develop a design, as I was running short on time
- Through using simple black and white, with just a splash of colour, I could echo the prejudice and racism of the time
- By playing around with typefaces and kerning I could create a letterpress esque feel to it

WHY:
- I wanted to show an old style but modern side to the book, as it is such a timeless novel
- I also found reading the book to be incredibly useful, as it struck such an emotional part of me, and I really wanted to show off the beauty of the book without over complicating anything
- Using the black and white made the type fairly illegible, so I had to change my design ideas slightly to compensate

REFLECTIONS:
- I feel like my main struggle with this is legibility, which needs to be incredibly clear on a book design
- I'm fairly happy with the direction this is heading in, as I feel like I have changed my decisions a lot throughout this process in order to make it suitable to the brief
- I still really like the idea of using mirrored type to subtly hint at the wings of the mockingbird, but I don't think I will pursue it, as I really want to go with a design completely different to the mockingbird iconography