Book Cover Design

I had to design a set of book covers for four existing books in the Puffin Classic’s collection. I had to redesign the covers so that they looked like a series that could be bought in a box set. My chosen books were A Little Princess, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Just so Stories and The Witches. I decided to create my designs mainly through typography, trying to create a feel to the type that would correctly represent the book. I wanted to interpret the story in a subtler way that clichéd imagery.

I used the typeface American Typewriter, that I hoped would look classic and authentic, to represent the stories that have been told through generations. I then adjusted and altered it to represent the theme of the particular story.

For A Little Princess, I wanted the type to appear smooth and silky, elaborate yet delicate. So I hand drew the type, making it up of smooth curvy lines, and I spaced each letter apart so they had more space lessening the sense of urgency. For the back cover of the book I enlarged a section of the type so it just appears as a pattern, to make the cover less empty and more eye catching.

The Witches is about excitement, magic and fun, so I simply applied a stroke to the type to make it seem as though it was glowing, and used strong sharp shapes and a bold striking colour scheme.

In the story of King Arthur, there is a sense of magic, romance and there is the powerful notion of the King. I thought a King playing card of the suit Hearts would represent these three things well, so this is what I themed the book cover around. Deciding the large text alone made the cover seem uninteresting and too serious, I drew a simple sketch of the King and added this to the design.

Just so Stories holds an assortment of fun lighthearted stories mostly featuring animals, so I created my design to capture the mix of everything that is inside the book. I think the back cover gives a tribal edge to the design that reflects upon the exotic animals in the stories, and gives the book more of a striking appeal aesthetically.