Discover Top Posts Tagged with #book jacket design

Buying Hemingway

Hemingway famously hated the covers of The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell To Arms and I am not much of a fan either. The jackets, designed by Cleonike Damianakes Wilkins for Scribner's, embody Art Deco styling of their time, 1926 and 1929 respectively, and feature vaguely Pre-Raphaelite figures in repose, some clad in togas, some not.

The covers feel like an attempt to soften the prose that they cover, to give them dignity and to ornament the modern, short, declarative sentences inside. They're odd, yes, but what surprises me as a new bookstore owner, fiction buyer, and designer, these Hemingway designs are exactly the same as the designs on the editions available today.

What was wrong then is more wrong now. Though I searched for alternate editions to sell, none were available. I did find a lovely design by Paul Sahre of Old Man and The Sea and a new Vintage Classics edition of In Our Time which was redesigned and reissued when the book came out of copyright.

I'll be curious to hear what our patrons think. Maybe the old designs will sell. Ken Burns' new Hemingway documentary on PBS may introduce Hemingway to a new generation of readers or inspire those who never read him to try. Sadly, we force teenagers to read these books as part of American Lit canon, which seems about five or ten years too soon. If you haven't read them, you are fortunate, I envy you. The craft is unmatched.

#ernest hemingway #book jacket #book jacket design #Scribner's #ken burns #pbs

Challenge 135: YA Book Jacket: Escape

LOOOooved this theme and how tight/ realistic of a prompt Caitlin made it.

For my idea I wanted to depict our 4 main characters on the verge of sneaking out of their private school and into the world they know very little about.

Elizabeth B.

#Elizabeth Beals #Illustration #artists on tumblr #square carousel #Square Carousel Illustration Collective #Challenge 135 #YA book jacket #Book Jacket design #YA novel #Speak Never #young adult novel

PIPPI LONGSTOCKING

Set of books, Redesigning book jacket.

Pippi is the main character in an eponymous series of children’s books by Astrid Lindgren. Since she has traveled the world and has a story to tell from each of the countries she’s visited, the conceptual statement is called; a travel adventure to freedom.

The book cover design is inspired by travel journey scrapbooks, that are often displayed as watercolors, with different sketches, patterns, and colors. Real stickers are included as part of an extension.

#pippi longstocking #set of books #books design #redesign book jacket #book jacket #book jacket design #watercolor design #watercolor #illustrations #illustration #art #book #books #graphic design #design #catalinaosoriodesign

@timebird84, I’m joining the Phandom Masquerade. I had to do mine as a video though to show the cover I did as a design project in college.

Here’s the original post, for anyone interested in participating.

#the phandom’s masquerade #PotO #the phantom of the opera #book jacket design #my face

Challenge 135: YA Book Jacket: The Mysterious Lands of Speak Never

This one was a challenge indeed! Between coming up with something original that hadn’t been done by one of the other nine members and not having the source material to pull inspiration and details from, it was tough to come up with a design. Also drawing hands. That was actually the hardest part. That said, this was such a good prompt, and I would totally read this book if it really existed! -Sayada

#Challenge 135 #YA book jacket #book cover design #YA novel #book cover art #jacket art #Speak Never #Book Jacket design #Sayada Ramdial #Illustration #mystery #fiction

Challenge 135: YA Book Jacket: Noir Thriller

I imagined this story as sort of a mystery thriller, and tried to give my illustration a noir feel with the high contrast red against black and white. This design incorporates several elements laid out on the surface that imply mystery and adventure, such as a map, a compass, a pen, photograph, and a spilled bottle of ink among other things. And of course there is the tie, featuring a boarding school crest, which runs through the entire composition and wraps around to the back cover where it acts as a frame for the summary text.

The tie looks as if it has been haphazardly dropped on the surface, representing its owner's escape from or rejection of the school. The map and compass imply a plan to travel somewhere, and the spilled ink and other scattered objects imply some unknown conflict while giving hints as to what they might encounter on their journey.

This was a very fun project as I have not had the opportunity to work on any book cover designs before. You can tell I really enjoyed working with lots of detail and coming up with the full wrap-around image.

James