Penguin Book Cover - Final Design

Penguin Book Cover - Final Design

The design that I decided to use in the end was the one seen in Figure 9. This is because after the final crits that I had about my designs this was the one that was liked most by my tutors and my peers. I think that this design is possibly the more accessable one of the final two that I had narrowed it down to becasue it it more obvious what it is. Even though I like the abstract design of the bird I think that when looking at a book on a shelf people might be less likely to pick that up due to the design not being completely clear on face value. 

The concept for the book cover came from in depth research into the writer and the true story that he told. Truman Capote spent a lot of time with the killers finding out information for the book. Due to this he became overwhelmed and his involvement took its toll on his mental health. I therefore decided to try and portray this concept using photography to illustrate the suffering that had consumed him. I chose to hand write the title of the book onto my model as I felt that this helped to demonstrate the lasting affect that the things that Truman had experienced and heard had mentally and physically had on him. 

Penguin Book Cover - Development

Penguin Book Cover - Development

The images above shows the original design that I took to the first group crit with me and the designs which I developed after the crit. They still represent the bird which Perry dreamt of as a child and the noose which the killers were executed with. 

In response to the feedback which I got in the crit from my peers I experimented with the use of a continuous drawing using string. I thought that the use of the string worked so much better however it was extremely difficult to make the string create the shape of a bird. I don't think that someone would necessarily see that without being told. The noose worked really well with the string however and looked really realistic in comparison to the computerised version. I decided it looked best keeping all of the text contained inside of the shape of the noose as it looked much more aesthetically pleasing than having the text spread out across the page. 

I decided to use the brown background as I think it showed a good representation of the bad in the world and the dirt that the killer would never be able to remove from their hands due to their actions. 

The images above is a design which I discussed the idea of when I had the initial crit and then went on to develop after. I chose to use the grey scale colouring as I felt that it added the cold and dark atmosphere to the design which is representative of the story the book tells. 

I decided to use the use of photography as it is one of my personal strengths which I havent had the oportunity to bring into my work as much as I would like. I wrote the title on the back of the subject of my image as I felt that this helped to demonstrate the lasting affect that the things that Truman had experienced and heard had mentally and physically had on him. This worked well as it complimented the design idea of using the mental health of Truman and also the killers to create a dark theme for my cover design. 

I wanted to keep the whole cover in black, white and grey in order to have consistency across the design. I did however keep the orange in the penguin symbol so that it stands out among the rest allowing the reader to recognise that it is a penguin book. 

Penguin Book Cover - Initial designs

Penguin Book Cover - Initial Designs

The first design is a typographic based design. I decided to experiment with the use of photography rather than imagery originally. The words and phrases that I used in the design are all suggested reasons as to why the criminals in the book may have committed the crimes which they did. I wanted these words and phrases to then make up the name of the book title uses the first letters of each one. When I took this idea to the first crit it was evident that the idea was extremely original and the addition of the blood to the cover made it look a little too crowded and made the text more difficult to be read. 

The second as seen above shows the design which I experimented with the use of block colour and silhouette like figures. The meaning behind the design was suppose to represent a broken home in which Perry Smith was isolated by his family. I think that this cover worked quite well however it became clear to me that the cover was not as easy to understand even when someone knows the story. 

The last design which I took to the first crit shows the design which was the favourite at the crit. I wanted it to represent the idea of the bird that Perry dreamt of that would come and take him away from all that is bad. The noose also represents the way in which the killers were executed. The first draft of the design was very rough but I wanted to show the idea in a visual sense to get some feedback. In the crit we talked about using a continuous line drawing or the use of string to make the whole image giving some consistency across the design. 

Penguin Book Cover Analysis- Task 2

• The black and white imagery compliments the book as it has a very chilling storyline that is a true story. 
• The kerning in the typography is very tight. 
• Use of a san serif typeface.
• A collage of different photographs relating to different parts of the story allows the reader to get a small idea of what the book is about.
• The typography doesn't could stand out more against the background as it blends in a little. The writing at the bottom of the cover is completely lost within the background.

• The cover follows the classic penguin book cover style by using the marber grid format. 
• Use of block colour and simple shapes for imagery.
• The imagery uses the obvious parts of the storyline to create the cover.
• The imagery looks almost like a silhouette. 
• The typography is classic penguin style, use of a san serif typeface with fairly tight kerning. 

• Typography based cover.
• Block capitals are used throughout the cover and fairly close kerning.
• The is no imagery on the cover or anything that gives much away about the storyline of the book. 
• The design makes the cover look old and cracked, personally I think that it looks like its written on something like wooden fencing. 

Penguin Book Analysis - Task 1

IN COLD BLOOD:

- 'After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.' - Film Blurb.
- True Story - The murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959.
- Genre - True Crime, Non - Fiction

Author: Truman Capote:

• Struggled with drug addiction.
• Picked on as a child by his mother.
• Corresponded with accused killers to reveal more about themselves and the crime. 
• From digging around for information for his book 'In Cold Blood' he entered dark territory which took its toll on Truman psychologically and physically. 

The Killers: Perry Smith and Dick Hickock:

• Trumans research and the time he spent with the killers meant that he learned that they were unhappy with the book title as they felt that it made the murder sound premeditated. 
• Perry - Had feelings of inadequacy, an ambiguous sexuality and anger at the world due to a bad childhood. Dreamt of a bird saving him from all that causes him harm.
• Dick - True outlaw. Killing impact weights heavily on him. Role in murder = unexplained and unclear. 

Themes:

Visions of rural America:

Religion - Church = part of social life of the town. Not 100% Christain. Marriage beweeen Methodist and Catholic = interfaith marriage. 

Men and Masculinity: 

Tradition views. Hickock = hyper masculinity - fighting and sex.

Women and Femininity:

1950s - Women are homemakers and mother and nothing else. 

Family:

Families in different situations - they aren't always determined by blood. Protection - having a loving family goes a long way. 

Criminality:

• Brain Damage?
• Mental Illness?
• Child Abuse?
• Unemployment?
• Abandonment?
• Parents too strict?
• Parents not strict enough?
• Envy?
• Revenge?
• Lack of education?
• Peer pressure?
• Drinking?
• Rejection of God?
• Thrill Seeking?
• Genetics?
• Disgust?

Madness:

Spells where they pass out. Warped thinking.