The goal of this class project was to redesign a cover for a book. I chose Julia Stuart’s The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise. I read the book from front to back and took notes on major themes, characters, and settings. The final product was a cover, a spine, a back cover, and two end flaps that appealed to an adult audience with a more muted color palette and a sense of structure. I began sketching out several ideas for the cover. Some were more simple with character illustrations, and others more complex with patterns of animals. I ruled a few out, as they appeared more childlike. I wanted a more mature approach for the cover. I also drew out the idea of a sad albatross to portray the theme of grief in the book.

I wound up choosing concept #1 and #7. Both were different, but I was excited to take different approaches with them. I moved forward with creating two tight sketches.

For concept #1, I approached with a structured and rigid composition. I drew inspiration from British illustration and design, most notably, Edward Bawden. I wanted the colors to reflect both the more lighthearted and somber tones of the book. There is a range of muted blues and greens with splashes of red and yellow. The main character, Balthazar, stands on the cover surrounded by a busy and tight background. There were also experimentations with type. I wanted to reflect the chaos of the story.

For concept #7, I approached it with a more playful style. I drew inspiration from Mid-century British illustration and design. I wanted the animals to be piled up on top of Balthazar’s to portray the stress and amount of work he has to deal with in the book. The type was rendered by hand to create a playful, yet chaotic look. The back features some of the birds of the manager with emphasis on the sad albatross. There is a theme of grief prevalent in the book.

Concept #1 was chosen to finalize. I tightened up my rendering and experimented with the type for the final. I added more white areas around focal points to make them stand out from other aspects of the piece.