~ responsive - Penguin brief - research ~

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

The daring and electrifying book that inspired one of the most notorious films ever made.

‘What we were after was lashings of ultraviolence’

In this nightmare vision of youth in revolt, fifteen-year-old Alex and his friends set out on a diabolical orgy of robbery, rape, torture and murder. Alex is jailed for his teenage delinquency and the State tries to reform him - but at what cost?

A dystopian horror, a black comedy, an exploration of choice, A Clockwork Orange is also a work of exuberant invention which created a new language for its characters.

‘Every generation should discover this book’ Time Out

‘Still delivers the shock of the new . . . a red streak of gleeful evil’ Martin Amis

The Brief

A Clockwork Orange is as dazzling and inventive to new readers today as it was when it was first published half a century ago. The story is well known both in celluloid and print so it is essential to come at it from a fresh angle. Try to design a new cover for a new generation of readers, avoiding the obvious clichés. Originality is key.

Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy as supplied and be designed to the specified design template (B format, 198mm high x 129mm wide, spine width 10mm).

What the judges are looking for:

We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

The winning design will need to:

• have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief
• be competently executed with strong use of typography
• appeal to a contemporary readership
• show a good understanding of the marketplace
• have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against
• be able to sit on the shelves of a supermarket or ebook store as easily as it sits on those of more traditional bookshops

Copyright must be cleared for all images used in your cover design.

Clockwork orange book covers iconically use the clockwork symbolism and the colour orange as direct representations of the books title. I'd like my design to be consistent with these themes but re-imagined in a new way.

Concept ideas 

I want to use responsive as a module to explore elements of my design practice I often avoid such as video, illustration, 3D work etc. rather than the usual vector designs. I want to spend as much time as possible away from the Adobe suit to help me develop other skills and find a style I can work in confidently that will make me stand out as a creative.

- One idea is to illustrate quite simply an orange made up of clockwork parts and cogs. This is the most literal representation of the book without understanding the storyline.

- Another idea is to do a purely type based cover with illustrations of clockworks, knives, guns etc. An idea slightly more informed by the content. 

- A more informed idea is inspired by one part of the film that stood out to me in particularly when the character Alex wears an elongated nose as part of an iconic and brutal scene in the story. Using an image of this idea (possibly a side profile) and illustrating within that things relevant to the storyline.