These are some of the ones that got away
The Art of Living Series
I just finished number nine in this series of philosophy books published in the UK.
These are some of the ones that got away
These are some of the ones that got away
After the Cure
The Untold Stories of Breast Cancer Survivors
Fatigue. Chronic pain. Insomnia. Depression. These are just a few of the ongoing, debilitating symptoms that plague some breast-cancer survivors long after their treatments have officially ended. This is a very simple, direct solution - frayed survivor ribbon. For some covers an idea comes to you and you think, "Is this too obvious a solution?" Once I came up with it though I couldn't think of a better solution.
Fatigue. Chronic pain. Insomnia. Depression. These are just a few of the ongoing, debilitating symptoms that plague some breast-cancer survivors long after their treatments have officially ended. This is a very simple, direct solution - frayed survivor ribbon. For some covers an idea comes to you and you think, "Is this too obvious a solution?" Once I came up with it though I couldn't think of a better solution.
Imprint logos
I started my career by being immersed in corporate identity work (Domtar logo c.1999). I still love doing logo designs and all the more when they overlap with my second love - book cover design.
These are imprint logos I designed for two small independent Canadian publishers.
These are imprint logos I designed for two small independent Canadian publishers.
The Steppes are the Colour of Sepia
Connie Braun
From the back cover copy: "... invites the reader to embark on a journey that traces the paths of ancestral memory over the steppes of the Russian empire to the valleys of Canada’s Fraser River." The smaller images below show the order of presented sketches. I really liked the idea of a mennonite carriage being left behind with the horse running away. The problem with this one and the other ones that followed was that I was using imagery that most Canadians associate with mennonites but they were fundamentally inaccurate. Here is comment from author : "Such imagery belongs to the Amish strain that immigrated from the Netherlands to North America in the 1700's (prior to the beginning of my story) and have nothing at all to do with my heritage ... the Russian/Soviet Mennontites of this story did not wear costumes, they assimilated - they had to, under communism."
The final accepted cover shows a red scarf blowing over the Russian Steppe.
From the back cover copy: "... invites the reader to embark on a journey that traces the paths of ancestral memory over the steppes of the Russian empire to the valleys of Canada’s Fraser River." The smaller images below show the order of presented sketches. I really liked the idea of a mennonite carriage being left behind with the horse running away. The problem with this one and the other ones that followed was that I was using imagery that most Canadians associate with mennonites but they were fundamentally inaccurate. Here is comment from author : "Such imagery belongs to the Amish strain that immigrated from the Netherlands to North America in the 1700's (prior to the beginning of my story) and have nothing at all to do with my heritage ... the Russian/Soviet Mennontites of this story did not wear costumes, they assimilated - they had to, under communism."
The final accepted cover shows a red scarf blowing over the Russian Steppe.
Crisis of Conscience
Amy Shaw
This cover is just going through as I write this. The first sketch is below. Usually when you get an e-mail from a publisher stating that the author showed the sketch to some designer friends, you know your cover is in for a rough ride. In this case the suggestions really helped and made for a better cover. I had intended the cover to look like a typical recruiting poster from the period but that wasn't coming through enough in the first sketch. The choice between whether to fight or resist was also not being conveyed strongly enough.
This cover is just going through as I write this. The first sketch is below. Usually when you get an e-mail from a publisher stating that the author showed the sketch to some designer friends, you know your cover is in for a rough ride. In this case the suggestions really helped and made for a better cover. I had intended the cover to look like a typical recruiting poster from the period but that wasn't coming through enough in the first sketch. The choice between whether to fight or resist was also not being conveyed strongly enough.
Mapping Marriage Law In Spanish Gitano Communities
Susan Drummond
From the back cover copy: "... through small- and large-scale studies of Gitano marriage law in a modern urban centre, and in particular communities and families." This is a map of Jerez, Spain with two wedding bands integrated into it. The author in this case is my sister and this is her second book. I owe her a debt of gratitude because she recommended me for my first cover design job - her first book.
From the back cover copy: "... through small- and large-scale studies of Gitano marriage law in a modern urban centre, and in particular communities and families." This is a map of Jerez, Spain with two wedding bands integrated into it. The author in this case is my sister and this is her second book. I owe her a debt of gratitude because she recommended me for my first cover design job - her first book.
Animal's People
Indra Sinha
Animal is the main character in this novel. As a child he was horribly disfigured by the explosion of a pesticide chemical facility, not unlike the incident in Bhopal. As a result he can only walk on all fours.
Animal is the main character in this novel. As a child he was horribly disfigured by the explosion of a pesticide chemical facility, not unlike the incident in Bhopal. As a result he can only walk on all fours.
Writing in the Cegeps
Zsolt Alapi
Just sending this one off to the printers. Cegeps are post secondary colleges in Quebec. It is a collection of student writing.
This is the original photo. St. Catherine Street Montreal. Editor found it a bit drab and had an aversion to the pigeons so I added different facade and threw in a fire hydrant.
Just sending this one off to the printers. Cegeps are post secondary colleges in Quebec. It is a collection of student writing.
This is the original photo. St. Catherine Street Montreal. Editor found it a bit drab and had an aversion to the pigeons so I added different facade and threw in a fire hydrant.
The Torontonians
Phyllis Brett Young
The book was brought back into print and they wanted a new cover. For a while I considered using most of the original cover with slight alterations but decided against it in the end. I kept the illustration of the woman whose martini glass morphs into the Toronto City Hall building in Nathan Phillips Squrare.
The book was brought back into print and they wanted a new cover. For a while I considered using most of the original cover with slight alterations but decided against it in the end. I kept the illustration of the woman whose martini glass morphs into the Toronto City Hall building in Nathan Phillips Squrare.
House of Houses
Pat Mora
This is a memoir of a Mexican-American family. From the back cover: “Mora uses the image of a house—the house of houses—during a single year, a fruitful metaphor that allows her to dwell on the bright beauty of flowers, birds, and trees, emblems of the loving legacy of her nurturing family.” The house is imagined floating in the sky. I liked the idea of using a collage of family photographs arranged in the shape of a house.
This was the other option presented.
This is a memoir of a Mexican-American family. From the back cover: “Mora uses the image of a house—the house of houses—during a single year, a fruitful metaphor that allows her to dwell on the bright beauty of flowers, birds, and trees, emblems of the loving legacy of her nurturing family.” The house is imagined floating in the sky. I liked the idea of using a collage of family photographs arranged in the shape of a house.
This was the other option presented.
Exposed
Mark Schapiro
This one was a tough one. The book deals with the global power shift that has occurred in environmental legislation from the U.S. to the E.U. The soft plastic that is found in rubber duckies is considered toxic in Europe but not yet in the United States. The author and publisher felt first concept didn't show the international aspect of the issue. I tried other directions but in the end came back to the first direction and added the globe element and played up the part of the subtitle that gets to the heart of the matter.
This one was a tough one. The book deals with the global power shift that has occurred in environmental legislation from the U.S. to the E.U. The soft plastic that is found in rubber duckies is considered toxic in Europe but not yet in the United States. The author and publisher felt first concept didn't show the international aspect of the issue. I tried other directions but in the end came back to the first direction and added the globe element and played up the part of the subtitle that gets to the heart of the matter.
Writing the Everyday
Women's Textual Communities in Atlantic Canada
Danielle Fuller
As with most of my covers I did my own photography on this one.
Danielle Fuller
As with most of my covers I did my own photography on this one.
The Danish Experience
Scholarly Press authors always want maps or flags on their covers. In this case I thought there might be a way of using the Danish flag that could be both visually interesting and make reference to its small size as it adapts to the challenges of globalization.
Mapping Postcommunist Cultures
Vitaly Chernetsky
There was just something intriguing about using Ukranian nesting dolls photographed from this perspective. It references globalization and the former Soviet Union in an unusual way.
There was just something intriguing about using Ukranian nesting dolls photographed from this perspective. It references globalization and the former Soviet Union in an unusual way.
Two different books on Anglo-Canadian identity
The first shows a classic English teacup with a Canadian twist. This is a two colour cover and it was a bit tricky to separate but successful in the end.
This one started with a simple premise. Could I take all the elements in the Union Jack and create a maple leaf out of them? I started with just a graphic approach but in the end felt it needed a bit of dimensionality.
This one started with a simple premise. Could I take all the elements in the Union Jack and create a maple leaf out of them? I started with just a graphic approach but in the end felt it needed a bit of dimensionality.
Carol Shields and the Extra-Ordinary
This was another one of those covers where the editors insisted on the use of a particular photograph. In this case a photo of a beauty school from 1927. Shields refers to the photograph in one of her letters. "Did you notice how innocent their earlobes are of earings? An oh, those kiss curls!" According to the author her comments resound with her love of letter writing and her eye for the details of women's lives.
From Power Sharing to Democracy
Sid Noel
This book deals with creating new democratic institutions in areas of the world that have gone through ethnic wars such as Bosnia. I intended the image to represent something that was broken being put back together but my client saw it as picking straws to see who would go first which is equally valid.
This book deals with creating new democratic institutions in areas of the world that have gone through ethnic wars such as Bosnia. I intended the image to represent something that was broken being put back together but my client saw it as picking straws to see who would go first which is equally valid.
English
Cette oeuvre fictive fût écrite en collaboration avec huit auteurs québécois reconnus. Le journaliste, Michel O’Toole, disparaît mystérieusement, sans laisser de trace, lors d’un voyage en moto sur la route 389 aux confins du Québec. Je voulais en premier lieu des segments de route qui disparaissaient au loin pour chaque partie écrite par les auteurs.
Cette oeuvre fictive fût écrite en collaboration avec huit auteurs québécois reconnus. Le journaliste, Michel O’Toole, disparaît mystérieusement, sans laisser de trace, lors d’un voyage en moto sur la route 389 aux confins du Québec. Je voulais en premier lieu des segments de route qui disparaissaient au loin pour chaque partie écrite par les auteurs.
Finalement, nous avons choisi un papier
texturé pour la route en faisant ressortir la moto.
C’est devenu un peu plus compliqué car l’éditeur voulait absolument avoir les noms des auteurs sur
la couverture et en évidence. J’ai modifié l’arrière-plan pour que ça puisse
ressembler à une carte routière repliée et ça a fonctionné. J’avais aussi
besoin d’un vrai modèle de motocycliste. Mon ami Ben et son ami George se sont
généreusement prêtés au jeu en venant chez moi et j’ai pu prendre des photos Ã
partir de la fenêtre du haut de ma grange.
Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love
Lara Vapnyar
Just received the printed cover for this one. I have a joke with one of my clients about whether a particular cover is a front seater or a back seater. When I go into Montreal to pick up a printed cover I have an hour and a half drive home. If I am happy with how everything came together I put the book in the front passenger seat so I can look at it all the way home. This one is a front seater. Some covers are the result of a real collaborative process. Jonathan Sainsbury, the creative director at Pantheon, steered this one along and made some great suggestions like dropping the word broccoli from the title and oversaw a problem with the initial printing. I tend to focus too much on just the cover design and neglect things like cloth color. His choice of the light green cloth adds a really nice detail and makes the whole thing complete.
Just received the printed cover for this one. I have a joke with one of my clients about whether a particular cover is a front seater or a back seater. When I go into Montreal to pick up a printed cover I have an hour and a half drive home. If I am happy with how everything came together I put the book in the front passenger seat so I can look at it all the way home. This one is a front seater. Some covers are the result of a real collaborative process. Jonathan Sainsbury, the creative director at Pantheon, steered this one along and made some great suggestions like dropping the word broccoli from the title and oversaw a problem with the initial printing. I tend to focus too much on just the cover design and neglect things like cloth color. His choice of the light green cloth adds a really nice detail and makes the whole thing complete.
36 Cornelian Avenue
Christopher Wiseman
This book of poems deals with the poet's wartime experience as a child in England.Wiseman explores how the Second World War affected his neighbours, turning some into curmudgeons, others into compassionate heroes. The cover shows an imminent encounter with the former.
This book of poems deals with the poet's wartime experience as a child in England.Wiseman explores how the Second World War affected his neighbours, turning some into curmudgeons, others into compassionate heroes. The cover shows an imminent encounter with the former.
The Empire’s Missing Links
Walid Bitar
For this poetry book cover the poet recommended using an image of ancient accounting tokens. I found that by rotating image 90 degrees it resembled vertebrae which added an interesting dimension to image.
For this poetry book cover the poet recommended using an image of ancient accounting tokens. I found that by rotating image 90 degrees it resembled vertebrae which added an interesting dimension to image.
Sympathy for the Couriers
Peter Richardson
The editor asked for a classical approach for this poetry book cover. I did the illustration based on a grecian urn.
The editor asked for a classical approach for this poetry book cover. I did the illustration based on a grecian urn.
Up the Thames Without a Paddle
Gordon Cope
Approval pending
This is a book about a Canadian travel writer who spends a year in England.
Approval pending
This is a book about a Canadian travel writer who spends a year in England.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
