The Handmaid's Tale

I redesigned the cover of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The objective of this redesign was to utilize a visual metaphor that represents the story. The Handmaid’s Tale follows the story of a woman who lives in a totalitarian government that has replaced the United States of America.

The futuristic society faces dangerously low reproduction rates and Handmaids are assigned to bear children for high-ranking citizens of Gilead. The vases displayed on the cover represent the Handmaids of Gilead and how they are viewed as nothing more than a vessel to carry children.

To create the final cover, I used many different materials to give the book a dimensional look. The materials used are oil pastels, acrylic paints, and watercolors. To the right you can see the initial comps in which I developed into the final book jacket design.