book cover design

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table of contents

project description / research.....................................................pages 3-6

thumbnails......................................................................................pages 7-10

type studies....................................................................................page 11-12

thumbnail revisions......................................................................page 13

roughs.............................................................................................page 14

digital roughs pt. 1.........................................................................page 15-17

revisions cont'd..............................................................................page 18-21

research pt.2..................................................................................page 22

digital roughs pt.2..........................................................................page 23-25

pre-final revisions...........................................................................page 26-28

Finals.................................................................................................page 29-32

k.nelson | typography studio 1 |project 2 | book cover design

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Project Description

Using design principles of color, unity, Gestalt, space, dominance, hierarchy, and balance , I will re-design a book cover using dominant typography.

Creative Brief

The design will be a full-color, wrap-around book cover of choice including the front and back covers, spine, and both flaps. The design solution will contain a title of a minimum of three words. Visuals will be used to enhance the design, but they will be secondary to the typography, which is the primary focus of this assignment.

Research

The choice of book (below) will be “The African Origin of Civilisation”

by Cheikh Anta Diop :

“In the intense and unrelenting struggle to establish scientifically the African foundations of Egyptian civilization, the late Senegalese scholar Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop remains a most fierce and ardent champion. Dr. Diop (1923-1986) was without a doubt the world's leading Egyptologist and held the position of Director of the Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa in Dakar, Senegal. In stating the importance of the work, Diop noted emphatically and early on that, "The history of Black Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be written correctly until African historians dare to connect it with the history of Egypt." ( http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/diop.html )

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Dr. Diop!s book investigates and deconstructs the emergence of the African

diasporas along the river Nile. It is a volume translation from C.A. Diop!s previous

books , published in French (Nations Ne!gres et Culture & Ante!rioritee! des Civilisations Ne!gres) which profoundly influenced thinking about Africa around

the world. This book was translated from Dr. Diop!s main thesis, that historical,

archeological and anthropological evidence supports the theory that the

civilisation of ancient Egypt, of prior historical records, was actually Negroid in origin.

The author in his endeavour to reconstruct African history has a theory that there

is a basic global division of peoples into two kinds : the Southerners (or black

Africans) and the Aryans (inclusive of Caucasians, Semites, Mongoloids and

American Indians). Each grouping, according to Dr. Diop, has a cultural outlook based on response to sociological climate.

“The African Origin of Civilisation” seeks to dispel myths of the original African

society and attempts to simulate the reality of this civilization via various

illustrations, photographs of wall paintings as well as other arts and crafts of the early Egyptian and the wider African culture.

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For me, it is an interesting read and I thought the cover of such a book, being

relevant to any student interested in African studies, was poorly designed. I feel very compelled to explore options for the improvement this cover.

This book is paperback but using the information of the author and the preface, I

will design appropriate rear & front flaps to suit a hardcover version.

Image References

Since the book present strong arguments via Egyptology the following images

were researched :

:

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Web Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion

http://www.uponreflection.co.uk/hieroglyphics/hieroglyphic_alphabet.htm

Thumbnails

The following thumbnail were prepared based on four themes of expression :

Disclosure

Mystery

Novel

Controversial

Critiques

“I think I understood better what the book was about from your sketches than the original cover! That said, I did have to look up the ankh because I'd forgotten its connection to Egypt... I think the ones that use the Sphinx/Pyramid might be relying too much on the imagery rather than type…”- J.Davis

“…I like your first concept with the ankh. It gives the book a sense of mystery and intrigue, as opposed to a snapshot of well-known Egyptian landscapes…” - K. Rhodes

“…The use of hieroglyphics is a nice correlation between ancient writings and modern typography shown within the title. This form of graphic would also keep the title as a stronger focal point… “ - M. Cole

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Type Studies

Myriad PRO 18pt.

… the African Origin of Civilisation Myriad PRO bold 14pt.

Myth or Reality

Papyrus 18pt.

The African Origin of Civilisation Papyrus 14pt bold

Myth or Reality

Lithos pro 16pt.

the African Origin of civilisation

Trajan 24pt. the African Origin of civilisation

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Type Studies cont’d

Herculanum 24pt.

Myth or Reality

Helvetica 18 pt

Myth or Reality

Helvetica 36 bold pt

The African Origin of Civilisation

k.nelson|typographystudio1|project2|bookcoverdesign

Revisions

…your peers advice what seem to be working are symbols that remind us of that period. Here's an idea, you don't need to put apple in the middle of the page to say it's apple. Try to pull reminiscence of imagery along with typography to form your message. The idea of Egyptian glyphs could possible marry with western typography to form a message... think of the Gestalt Principles when developing your book cover…. http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

- Professor Henry

The following sketches were based on Gestalt theory :


Roughs

In an attempt to apply Gestalt theory to the design, the following roughs were generated :

The following roughs digitally represent various sections of the cover :

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book coverMyriad PRO/ Trajan Pro

back

front flap

front

back flap spine

Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986)

(A)

k.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book coverPapyrus/Helvetica

back

front flap

front

back flap front

o

(B)

Lithos / Bookmank.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

back

front flap

front

back flap front

Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese

historian,anthropologist,physicist and politicianwho studied the human

race's origins andpre-colonial African

culture.He has been considered

one of the greatestAfrican historians of the

20th century.In 1951, Diop submitted

a Ph.D. thesis at theUniversity of Paris inwhich he argued that

ancient Egypt had been aBlack African culture.

The thesis was rejected.

Over the next nine years,Diop reworked the thesis,

adding stronger evidentiary support. In 1960,

he succeeded in the defenseof his thesis and was

awarded the Ph.D. degree.

“...a great read....”- Jamaica Gleaner,

“..finallly, the truth...” - The Public Defender

Cheikh Anta Diop

edited byMercer Cook

lawrencehill books

DiopCook

(C)


Revisions cont’d

More Comments

…theconceptsin#1and#2havegoodpotential,andthecolorsaregood,althoughtheycouldbericher,especiallyon#2…Iwouldencourageyoutogofurtherwithyourexplorations,inbothtypeandimagechoices.Trytodelvedeeperintothemessageofthebooktoarriveatacompellingdesign….–E.Ehlenbeck

…Ithinkyourideasarestillfairlysoftwhenconsideringyourdesignattemptfortheintendedbook.Atthemoment,theimagerywithinbothideasareelementaryandverystaticagainstthepage.Typographically,thearrangementsofyourbodycopyalongtheflapsaretoobigandtheformatofyourcopyneedstobemassagedfurther…Iamnotsurewhichgestaltyouarereferringto…submitoremailmetwobookcoversthatyouthinkaredonewelltypographicallyandcouldpossiblebeofsomeinspiration…

‐ProfessorHenry

More thumbnails

More research was done (see below) after the professor’s critique, the following thumbnails were generated in effort to fully reflect the objectives of the assignment.

Revisions (digital roughs)

Another set of roughs (following) were created to elicit the comments below

"...the images and colors still seem a bit flat to me, but I think you're getting somewhere with the very last comp (F). There is starting to be a richer quality to that one. I like the emphasis put on the "t/symbol" in the word reality. I definitely think this version has potential.."- M.Coyle

"...I think is starting to show some strong thoughts. In terms of a typographic approach there are some excitement happening. However, I don't think the entire book should have this treatment but it's a clever approach...perhaps you think simpler and less! This will clean up the design and give it a more refine and uniform composition..."- Professor Henry

"...The third does have some nice potential. These suggestions for adding some value changes to your solid black background are a good idea too. You could create some variation, possibly and hopefully some directional movement throughout your artwork as well..." - A.Phillips


(Research part 2)

k.nelson | typography studio1 |project 2| book cover design

(1) typographicaldesign via manipulation of k e r n i n g & highlight

(2) typographicaldesign via

blockquote with bold san serif type

(3) typographicaldesign viablockquote withbold san serif type

Trajan / Futurak.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

back

front flap

front

back flap front

Digital Roughs part 2 - (D)

of

edited by

of

of

Trajan / Futurak.nelson | typography studio 1 | project 2| book cover

back

front flap

front

back flap front

(E)

of

chiekh Anta diop

edited by

of

of


back

front flap

front

back flap spine

(F) previous submission

Revisions (pre-final)

After viewing the YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWIoIOegZHE ) adjustments were made to enforce direction and cohesion. The decorative lines to move the viewer objectively into each block of text. The ankh was featured prominently on the front cover to attract the first view that takes the spectator into the decorative line to read the balance of the cover. An ankh was placed on the back flap as well to break up space leading from the decorative line. The ankh was chosen fas part of the motif based on the book's content that featured arguments from an Egyptologists' perspective.

"...this is coming along nicely. I like the cover, it's working well. I would run a test print to make sure that brown on the back flap doesn't get lost on the black of the background..."- A.Brock

See the following results :



front flap

front

back flap spine

Revision (pre-final)

back


back front flapfrontback flapspine

Revision cont'd - print layout

Finals

In rendering the final book cover a gradient of black and brown was created to add dimension to the background. The ankh on the back flap was rendered to recede in the background as well to emphasise mystery and contribute to depth. I was indecisive on the retaining the American spelling of "civilization" but decided to use International English instead as part of my proposal of a new design and a re-publishing of this fine history book.

The following documents reflect the final rendering of "The African Origin of Civilisation - Myth or Reality " by Cheikh Anta Diop



front flap

front

panel designs

back

back flap spine


panel layout

back front flapfrontback flapspine


print FINAL

back front flapfrontback flap spine

book cover design

Documents

book cover design

choice of book

cheikh anta diop

book cover of choice

design solution

design principles of

african origin of civilisation

african diasporas