Library Cats_ book cover

BOOK COVER

Working freelance with Library Cats I've worked on social content and web design for the publishing company. I've also had the opportunity to design a book cover for one of the emerging authors they've published.

See more on my role at Library Cats here

Freelance since

January 2022

BRIEF

BOOK COVER
DESIGN

I had the opportunity to illustrate a cover design for the poetry debut author Rachel Deleglise.

IDEATION

I had a direct avenue of conversation with our author Rachel, where I was able to have her ideas and feedback through email exchanges and a few scheduled video calls.

She expressed her vision for the cover was a girl and a cat looking out a window at the full moon. It was important to her to include elements of nature in the visuals.

I began by sending her varied options of layouts to choose from, to give me a guide for her preferences and the the type of cover she was envisioning.

Luckily, she fell in love with one of the layouts immediately and I continued by creating a more detailed sketch, perfecting the layout before the finalisation (colour).

As you can see below I wanted to keep Rachel informed of the process. I created PDF slides through out the project, with notes and suggestions, as I wanted her to feel included and in control of the creative process.

Note: developing good avenues of communication is important to me as it helps the process run smoother.

After colouring, I wanted to give options for titles we could use for the cover. I researched other cover designs to give me inspiration for the title placement, while following Rachels preference for font.

Note: I personally liked the first cover, with large white text, as I felt it displayed the title more prominently and if printed you'd be able to read the title from further away - giving it better advertising potential.

I created a design information sheet for the team to be able to create advertising material after the illustrations had been complete.

REVIEW

I enjoyed this process of creating a book cover and am pleased by the final imagery. The mix of tones and scenery depth creates an immersive image with a lot of detail, it's an image were you'll notice new details every time you pick up the book.

Also, I felt I was able to build great communication streams with both Rachel and the rest of the design team, allowing an easy and quick design process, with no conflict.