This series of book covers is minimalist, working well as a set. Each features a different motif, which other than the title, is the one change. The wonky illustration and lettering style is reminiscent of a personal diary, and the vintage colour gradient supports this. It has suggestions that it could have been drawn by a 13 year old, however not completely.
A collaged cover - similar to an idea I’ve already thumbnailed. It’s playful, reminiscent of a scrapbook diary due to the different scraps of paper. I knew it wasn’t the most original idea - but I do like it, it appeals in all the right ways. Hand drawn titles and notes support all of this. I think this is actually an entry for the competition (oooo!) which shows that others are definitely going to be using this approach too. It’s interesting to see the motifs they’ve chosen from the book! I feel bad for finding it, but that’s the risk with publishing our work on blogs.
Comparison: The cover on the left is childish, with hand drawn letters in a decorative, fun style, and little doodles dotted around. The one on the right is also hand draw, but almost a contemporary graphic-design style, visibly matured. Imagine the illustration being vector and the type digital. The book isn’t all that childish, written for adults, after all. Although it’s now picked up by kids, why not mature up the cover a bit to reach the wider audience mentioned in the brief?
This is the cover I purchased to read the book, I’m trying not to pick up too much influence from it though, starting afresh to create an original design. Blue is a standard colour choice for a book about a boy, however it isn’t limiting. The lettering is impactful and easily read, of course hand rendered like most covers to bring those personal, diary connotations. This cover also features Adrian reading his diary, his face isn’t shown - but the author never focuses on his appearance. The ink drops signify writing, as does the pen.