In Class
Branding presentations for project 2.
Post your project 2 presentation and link to prototype in Slack channel.
Project 3: Book Cover Design
Design the dust jacket for a hard cover re-issue of On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
Create a book jacket design that incorporates the front and back cover, spine, and front and back inside flaps into a unified composition.
Start this project by producing hand-drawn thumbnail sketches and layouts to determine the best possible plan. Build a mock-up of the book jacket. The finished work will be wrapped around a hardcover book for presentation and it must include: publisher logo, inside flaps with text, back side must include peak interest summary, as well as barcode.
Any standard hardcover book dimension. Color. Mock-up with all necessary items: bar code, publisher, etc.
Final project must be completed in InDesign. You will print a full-size version of your book cover, wrap it around an existing book, and photograph it at a professional level.
Process Part 1:
Clearly define the brand of On the Road.
Define the audience(s) for this quality re-issue of a classic book.
Create mood boards for color, tone, illustration/photo style, etc.
Research all previous covers.
Pencil sketch at least 25 different concepts.
Refine to 3 best concepts.
Create those 3 concepts in the computer.
Focus on typography. Find and pair appropriate typefaces. Try at least 25 different combos. Refine all the subtleties in the type: kerning, leading, heirarchy, color tones, etc.
Refine at least one concept to completion: Front & back cover, flaps, spine.
Extra opportunities:
Design a logo and identity for the hypothetical book publisher.
Design the table of contents and chapter 1.
Design additional Jack Kerouac covers to make a book cover series.
References:
Chipp Kidd
Paul Sahre
Jessica Hische
Award-Winning Book Covers
Book Series Design
For Next Week
Research: history of On the Road (which means read it, or know it very well: anecdotes, important phrases, historical significance, symbolism, hidden meanings, etc.)
Mood boards: general tone, other book covers, type, color — at least 3 different boards with 8+ images per board
Sketches: 25 book cover sketches in pencil, half size, at least front cover
Read Ogilvy on Advertising pages 1–44
Ongoing
Refine your work from project 1 and 2 so they can become portfolio pieces.
+ Journal: Print out your new design hero 1-pager and bring 10 copies to class.