EDITORIAL MARKETS
A university project introducing the process behind editorial markets, I had to create 3 linking book covers that form a mini series for a client being the Oxford University Press (OUP).
OVERVIEW
OUP have an abundance of books called ‘A very short introduction to...’ These books reaching into their hundreds cover an array of topics such as Science, Religion, Travel, History and many more fascinating subjects to delve into. Although the existing covers link the topics of the books through colour and texture, it was clear to me that the covers and the spines were very limited in terms of typographic and design features.
Picking the 3 books that could potentially link together for a mini series was a bit overwhelming due to the vast number of books to pick from. With colour being a differentiator for the existing covers, I used this as inspiration for the selection of my books. I went for the general area of habitats and nature by picking ‘CORAL REEFS’ by Charles Sheppard, ‘FORESTS’ by Jaboury Ghazoul and ‘MOUNTAINS’ by Martin F. Price.
MY COVERS
I had the idea of using simple graphical shapes and working in different layers and shades to create depth. When put on top of each other it would create a whole scene that would be easily recognisable to the reader. I was very influenced by shadow boxes which have similar effects.
Although the different layers when put together did create a recognisable scene, it lacked in depth and was too simple. By adding a slight drop shadow it differentiated the foreground to the background more clearly as well as adding a texture to each layer to make it more aesthetically interesting. It was clear that by putting text on top of these shapes crowded the cover which is something I did not want to do with these covers.
Moving back to the idea of shadow boxes, they tend to have a border which groups a scene together. By putting a cut-out over the layers enclosed the environmental features and in addition supplied room for text. Emphasising clarity with the books topic and messages to its full potential.
EXPOSURE
Going back to the book shop visit, window displays are a visible marketing scheme to draw readers in to a specific set of books. This concept would be extremely suitable for the nature series of books by utilising the same style of illustration and the idea of working with layers to remain on brand with the series. A caption that is directed towards the audience would also be beneficial in drawing attention to the series.
