Book Cover Concept.
Designing and illustrating a brand new cover for an existing book 📚
my role.
Graphic Designer
Concept Artist
team.
Vivi Sim (me!)
tools.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Indesign
Adobe XD
Vectary
Procreate App
timeline.
5 weeks
overview
Bringing imagination to life.
People are beings full of empathy. Our perception of our surroundings is dependent on our senses and feelings. I took upon the challenge of designing a cover for one of my favourite books, Howl's Moving Castle, written by Diana Wynne Jones. 🌠
My intention was to construct a compelling visual narrative that grabs the attention of readers effectively. In the second phase of this project I created an immersive augmented reality environment to complement the final cover design.
Challenge
Compelling with visual narrative.
How might we create a book cover that conveys its narrative with the use of powerful persuasive visual elements and immersive AR experience?
The challenge that I took upon was to illustrate and get a book cover print ready. I aimed to relay the tone and mood of its parenting story, and compel readers to pick up the book by enticing them with enchanting visual elements that would tease (but not spoil!) the actual plot of the story. 🪄
concept
Building a foundation of ideas.
Inspired by the plot of the book, I began this journey with sketching out several cover concepts that corresponded and reflected the characters and key story elements in one way or another.
I refined each concept with rhetorical tropes in mind. Using my design knowledge I visualised the key story elements by illustrating three detailed roughs to be considered for the final product.
type
Typography & font study.
When deciding on the type fonts to use for the title and short description I took into consideration the style and genre of the book itself. Conducting a font study helped me determine best solution for this design aspect.
final design
Design ready for print.
When I was satisfied with the preliminary conceptualization and study results I moved onto creating the final design. After illustrating the main portion of the cover and adjusting the little details to my liking I arranged all of the elements in a book cover format.
conclusion
Final thoughts & outtakes.
Designing for one of my favourite books was a very personal and gratifying experience. I was able not only apply my graphic design knowledge but also revisit the world and characters I genuinely love.
When illustrating the cover art I paid extra attention so small details and left easter eggs derived from the story for the readers to find throughout the piece. Working through several iterations of concepts helped me achieve the best final result that conveyed the atmosphere of Howl's Moving Castle.
In addition I worked on the AR element in Vectary to add more magic to the reader's experience.
