Book Cover Design

Page 1

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table of contents project description / research.....................................................pages 3-6 thumbnails......................................................................................pages 7-10 type studies....................................................................................page 11-12 thumbnail revisions......................................................................page 13 roughs.............................................................................................page 14 digital roughs pt. 1.........................................................................page 15-17 revisions cont'd..............................................................................page 18-21 research pt.2..................................................................................page 22 digital roughs pt.2..........................................................................page 23-25 pre-final revisions...........................................................................page 26-28 Finals.................................................................................................page 29-32

k.nelson | typography studio 1 |project 2 | book cover design

Project Description

Using design principles of color, unity, Gestalt, space, dominance, hierarchy, and balance , I will re-design a book cover using dominant typography.

Creative Brief

The design will be a full-color, wrap-around book cover of choice including the front and back covers, spine, and both flaps. The design solution will contain a title of a minimum of three words. Visuals will be used to enhance the design, but they will be secondary to the typography, which is the primary focus of this assignment.

Research The choice of book (below) will be “The African Origin of Civilisation” by Cheikh Anta Diop :

“In the intense and unrelenting struggle to establish scientifically the African foundations of Egyptian civilization, the late Senegalese scholar Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop remains a most fierce and ardent champion. Dr. Diop (1923-1986) was without a doubt the world's leading Egyptologist and held the position of Director of the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa in Dakar, Senegal. In stating the importance of the work, Diop noted emphatically and early on that, "The history of Black Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be written correctly until African historians dare to connect it with the history of Egypt." ( http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/diop.html ) !"#$%&'#()(*+,'-./,0+(&*123'4(),.'5$6*(7)(8''!(6'9$.(2$&3-#(

Dr. Diop!s book investigates and deconstructs the emergence of the African diasporas along the river Nile. It is a volume translation from C.A. Diop!s previous books , published in French (Nations Ne!gres et Culture & Ante!rioritee! des Civilisations Ne!gres) which profoundly influenced thinking about Africa around the world. This book was translated from Dr. Diop!s main thesis, that historical, archeological and anthropological evidence supports the theory that the civilisation of ancient Egypt, of prior historical records, was actually Negroid in origin. The author in his endeavour to reconstruct African history has a theory that there is a basic global division of peoples into two kinds : the Southerners (or black Africans) and the Aryans (inclusive of Caucasians, Semites, Mongoloids and American Indians). Each grouping, according to Dr. Diop, has a cultural outlook based on response to sociological climate. “The African Origin of Civilisation� seeks to dispel myths of the original African society and attempts to simulate the reality of this civilization via various illustrations, photographs of wall paintings as well as other arts and crafts of the early Egyptian and the wider African culture.

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For me, it is an interesting read and I thought the cover of such a book, being relevant to any student interested in African studies, was poorly designed. I feel very compelled to explore options for the improvement this cover. This book is paperback but using the information of the author and the preface, I will design appropriate rear & front flaps to suit a hardcover version. Image References Since the book present strong arguments via Egyptology the following images were researched :

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Web Resources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion http://www.uponreflection.co.uk/hieroglyphics/hieroglyphic_alphabet.htm

Thumbnails The following thumbnail were prepared based on four themes of expression : Disclosure Mystery Novel Controversial

Critiques “I think I understood better what the book was about from your sketches than the original cover! That said, I did have to look up the ankh because I'd forgotten its connection to Egypt... I think the ones that use the Sphinx/Pyramid might be relying too much on the imagery rather than type…”- J.Davis “…I like your first concept with the ankh. It gives the book a sense of mystery and intrigue, as opposed to a snapshot of well-known Egyptian landscapes…” - K. Rhodes “…The use of hieroglyphics is a nice correlation between ancient writings and modern typography shown within the title. This form of graphic would also keep the title as a stronger focal point… “ - M. Cole

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Type Studies

Myriad PRO 18pt. ‌ the African Origin of Civilisation Myriad PRO bold 14pt. Myth or Reality

Papyrus 18pt. The African Origin of Civilisation Papyrus 14pt bold Myth or Reality Lithos pro 16pt. the African Origin of civilisation

Trajan 24pt. the African Origin of civilisation

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Type Studies cont’d

Herculanum 24pt. Myth or Reality Helvetica 18 pt Myth or Reality

Helvetica 36 bold pt The African Origin of Civilisation

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Revisions …your peers advice what seem to be working are symbols that remind us of that period. Here's an idea, you don't need to put apple in the middle of the page to say it's apple. Try to pull reminiscence of imagery along with typography to form your message. The idea of Egyptian glyphs could possible marry with western typography to form a message... think of the Gestalt Principles when developing your book cover…. http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm
 - Professor Henry The following sketches were based on Gestalt theory :

k.nelson |typography studio 1 |project 2| book cover design

Roughs In an attempt to apply Gestalt theory to the design, the following roughs were generated :

The following roughs digitally represent various sections of the cover : k.nelson
|
typography
studio1
|project
2|
book
cover
design

(A)

front

back

Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986)

back flap

spine

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

(B)

o

front

back

back flap

front

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Papyrus/Helvetica

(C) Cheikh Anta Diop

lawrence hill books front

back Diop Cook

Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian,anthropologist, physicist and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. He has been considered one of the greatest African historians of the 20th century. In 1951, Diop submitted a Ph.D. thesis at the University of Paris in which he argued that ancient Egypt had been a Black African culture. The thesis was rejected.

“...a great read....” - Jamaica Gleaner, “..finallly, the truth...” - The Public Defender

Over the next nine years, Diop reworked the thesis, adding stronger evidentiary support. In 1960, he succeeded in the defense of his thesis and was awarded the Ph.D. degree.

back flap

edited by Mercer Cook

front flap

front

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

Lithos / Bookman

Revisions cont’d More Comments …the
concepts
in
#1
and
#2
have
good
potential,
and
the
colors
are
good,
although
 they
could
be
richer,
especially
on
#2…I
would
encourage
you
to
go
further
with
your
 explorations,
in
both
type
and
image
choices.
Try
to
delve
deeper
into
the
message
of
 the
book
to
arrive
at
a
compelling
design….
–
E.
Ehlenbeck …I
think
your
ideas
are
still
fairly
soft
when
considering
your
design
attempt
for
the
 intended
book.
At
the
moment,
the
imagery
within
both
ideas
are
elementary
and
very
 static
against
the
page.
Typographically,
the
arrangements
of
your
body
copy
along
 the
flaps
are
too
big
and
the
format
of
your
copy
needs
to
be
massaged
further…
I
am
 not
sure
which
gestalt
you
are
referring
to…
submit
or
email
me
two
book
covers
that
 you
think
are
done
well
typographically
and
could
possible
be
of
some
inspiration…
 ‐Professor
Henry
 More thumbnails More research was done (see below) after the professor’s critique, the following thumbnails were generated in effort to fully reflect the objectives of the assignment.

k.nelson
|
typography
studio1
|project
2|
book
cover
design

k.nelson
|
typography
studio1
|project
2|
book
cover
design

k.nelson
|
typography
studio1
|project
2|
book
cover
design

Revisions (digital roughs) Another set of roughs (following) were created to elicit the comments below "...the images and colors still seem a bit flat to me, but I think you're getting somewhere with the very last comp (F). There is starting to be a richer quality to that one. I like the emphasis put on the "t/symbol" in the word reality. I definitely think this version has potential.."- M.Coyle "...I think is starting to show some strong thoughts. In terms of a typographic approach there are some excitement happening. However, I don't think the entire book should have this treatment but it's a clever approach...perhaps you think simpler and less! This will clean up the design and give it a more refine and uniform composition..."- Professor Henry "...The third does have some nice potential. These suggestions for adding some value changes to your solid black background are a good idea too. You could create some variation, possibly and hopefully some directional movement throughout your artwork as well..." - A.Phillips

k.nelson | typography studio 1 |project 2 | book cover design

( Resear chpar t2) ( 1 )t ypogr aphi cal desi gnv i amani pul at i on ofkerning&hi ghl i ght

( 2) t ypogr aphi cal desi gnv i a bl ock quot ewi t h bol dsanser i ft ype

( 3) t ypogr aphi cal desi gnv i a bl ock quot ewi t h bol dsanser i ft ype

k. ne l s on|t ypogr a phys t udi o 1| pr oj e c t2|bookc ov e rde s i gn

Digital Roughs part 2 - (D)

edited by

of

front

back

of

of

back flap

front

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Trajan / Futura

(E)

chiekh Anta diop edited by

of

front

back

of

of

back flap

front

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Trajan / Futura

(F) previous submission

front

back

back flap

spine

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

Revisions (pre-final) After viewing the YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWIoIOegZHE ) adjustments were made to enforce direction and cohesion. The decorative lines to move the viewer objectively into each block of text. The ankh was featured prominently on the front cover to attract the first view that takes the spectator into the decorative line to read the balance of the cover. An ankh was placed on the back flap as well to break up space leading from the decorative line. The ankh was chosen fas part of the motif based on the book's content that featured arguments from an Egyptologists' perspective. "...this is coming along nicely. I like the cover, it's working well. I would run a test print to make sure that brown on the back flap doesn't get lost on the black of the background..."- A.Brock

See the following results :

k.nelson | typography studio 1 |project 2 | book cover design

Revision (pre-final)

back

back flap

front

spine

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

Revision cont'd - print layout

back flap

back

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

spine

Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

front

front flap

Finals In rendering the final book cover a gradient of black and brown was created to add dimension to the background. The ankh on the back flap was rendered to recede in the background as well to emphasise mystery and contribute to depth. I was indecisive on the retaining the American spelling of "civilization" but decided to use International English instead as part of my proposal of a new design and a re-publishing of this fine history book. The following documents reflect the final rendering of "The African Origin of Civilisation - Myth or Reality " by Cheikh Anta Diop

k.nelson | typography studio 1 |project 2 | book cover design

front

back

back flap

panel designs k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

spine

front flap Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

back flap

back

spine

panel layout Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front

front flap

back flap

back

spine

front

print FINAL Myriad PRO/ Trajan Pro k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

front flap

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