I started my research by looking at Jessica Hische, starting with her work on the Penguin drop cap series. For this she created an individual drop cap design for each of the authors last names, I like the idea of ignoring the content of a book when designing for it and instead paying homage to legendary writers. Its putting in use the 'don't judge a book by its cover' saying as you can't actually judge its content by the design at all, but because of the high quality and detailed beauty of the cover you know it must be good. I think this is something I could try adapt into some of my ideas.
This series also demonstrates an effective way of designing with only 2 colours plus stock. Hische has used bold and detailed imagery and bright contrasting colours that instantly grab your eye. My careful use of colour need to be considered well for this brief as I want to attract people without giving off any other negative connotations.
Next I looked at a series of type based illustrations by Hannah Bain. http://hannahbain.com/ABC-print The main part of my chosen book that interested me was on non-phonetic symbols and adapting this idea of creating image from type but using the symbols explained in the book could be really interesting. I could even combine Jessica Hische inspired drop caps with this idea which would be really interesting and full of detail.
Looking more at this range of illustrations shows the huge range of completely original illustrations that can be created using this style/media.
http://nikiblack.co.uk/?portfolio=6
Looking further at using type as image/pattern I looked at this book called Type patterns by Niki Black. He uses Baskerville to create repeat patterns, some are more abstract than others but all are incredibly interesting and mesmerizing. Looking at this book gave me the idea that the symbols or type I use to create image doesn't have to create something that creates an actual image and can purely be pattern. I could reserve a part of the cover for the title and have the rest engulfed in typographical pattern.
This next design is by Peter Mendelsund, he has really simply repeated the title and authors names over and over, I think this suggest a pretty text heavy book and tells the reader this book will be helpful if they need to intake a lot of helpful information possibly in preparation for writing an essay. I like the white space and minimal aesthetic also is creates a professional and serious look, I feel like the design makes you feel you can trust the information within to be true and reliable.
This is another Peter Mendelsund cover design. This design inspired an idea that I could create a home made cut and stick look to the cover representing the idea the book takes you through graphic design history improving your design practice. I love the sheer simplicity of this design and complete obviousness. It could be interesting toying with the idea of using imagery of a pen and paper & other design equipment as an obvious depiction of the book title.
I watched the videos creative review recorded with Shirley Tucker about her cover work for Faber and Faber. This cover for Sylvia Plath's, The bell jar is a particular favourite of mine. The illusion design draws you into the book and suggests a dark and deep theme to the book. It is relatable to the book and the troubles the author was undertaking personally when writing it. All the books i've found most appealing so far have included strong, bold patterns to draw in the reader and left the information to talk for itself from there on in, I really like this approach especially since the use of symbols in a pattern would be really relevant to my books content.
http://jamierickett.tumblr.com/ I found this designer who's work I find really inspiring called Jamie Rickett. The example shows how 2 colour screen printing creates some interesting effects. Where the blue overlays the red it creates a whole new colour, this can be a positive thing as its a sneaky way of getting around the restrictions of just using 2 colours. It could also be a negative thing as without experimentation theres no way of knowing what shade this third colour will be.
This next example of 2 colour screen printing shows how you can use halftone to create tone within the limited colour palette and take advantage of the colour changes when they are overlayed.
I really like this minimalist style cover design for the book 1984. It portrays the overall message of the book in just a few really simple symbols. Seen as a large proportion of the book is about symbols I could simply choose an interesting one and have it as a stand alone graphic on the cover.
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