Evaluation

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How my book would look in your hands.....

THE FINISHED DESIGN!....

And here is the final completed book cover!

I decided to pick out the shade of purple on the wings of the butterfly by using this colour shade as the background colour for the other sides to the cover. The paler, more textured surface used for the background on the front image I felt would not create as much depth to the book.

To help hint further that the book relates to cosmetic surgery, I added the line.. "no incisions made" deliberaely near to the blood resembling ink lines, as I am hoping the word "incision" will make the viewer think of surgery incision lines......

If you look closely at the back cover and the far right panel (which will be the inside panel) you will noticed the repeated silhouette of the "stitched arm" shape taken from the front cover. This was again to help subtely hint at the idea of surgery. I wanted the them to continue both onto the back cover and the inside panels.

As the author has written this book using her knowledge from working within the beauty industry then I felt that the reviews for the book needed to be selected appropriately. I therefore opted for the cover to show 2 positive reviews.- The first review is a brief sentence by Channel 4's stylist Nicky Hambledon-Jones, as I feel that a lot of women know of her and what her programmes are aimed at (..the idea of her "10 years younger" programme). The second review, which is displayed on the inside front panel, is written by the Life & style Editor at the Guardian paper.- I chose the Guardian as this is quite a respected paper and while visiting the guardian.co.uk I came across a whole "Life and Style" section with several interesting features on fashion,health, make-up & lifestyle etc....

Deciding where to display the authors name took some time to finalise. In the end I chose the top right corner to display the name for two main reasons. Firstly, there was conveniently an are of empty space and secondly I wanted to position the name near to the two yellow wheels to try and create the idea the these wheels were "turning" out the name....(looking back, maybe I should have included a few motion lines or something to suggest movement from the wheels to help stress this point more).

I chose the publishers "Apple" simply because while looking at a few different publishers ( Apple, Universe, Trotman) I read on the Apple-press website that Apple- "is a leading publisher of highly illustrated lifestyle books with particular emphasis on food and drink, home decoration and craft, beauty and fashion, sports and leisure, and gardening." ....therefore as my book relates to the beauty industry, and also the fashion industry to some extent, that this publishers would be the most appropriate. (see http://www.apple-press.com/about.asp for the full description).

Alison Carmichael Typography

The style of Alison Carmichael's typography shows an exact style I would like my book to reflect.- The idea of the title being quickly "scribbled" or written down by the author themself.- I think this "handwritten" style adds a personal touch to the cover and creates the idea of a more personally written book.

My book needs to look like the contents within are written from the knowledge and experience of the author after spending part of her career working in the beauty industry. The book itself is to try and suggest alternative little hints and tips to women about other ways to look and feel good rather then opting for cosmetic surgery....i.e its written from the heart of the author.

Typography styles 3 & 4

I actually really like both of these examples.-
I think I am slightly prefering the first example as there may be too much black on the second example.- I don't know if this is making it look too "Photoshopped" and tacky? It's the areas of grey, where the white type meets the black areas of type that I don't think are working.

The first example seems to fit inbetween the two brightness shown on the previous post.- It works against the image and the effect of the repeated word in the background helps make the title stand out more against the yellow paint strip.

Typography styles 1 & 2

I originally experimented using a black outlined typography until I placed this onto the composition and realised that the dark outline blended in too much with the ink lines on the front cover.
To over come this, I added a strip of yellow paint across the image to help create a lighter colour in which to place the typography onto. I have continued this yellow paint strip right along the back panel and over into the inside panels to help maintain the style on all 4 faces of the book.

I settled for the colour white for the typography as this looked clean and bright against the yellow paint and the darker shades within the composition of purple and black.

I have opted for almost a handwritten and "scribbled" effect type, nothing too formal looking. I intend the book to be written from the knowledge and point of view of the editor (who works within the beauty industry). Therefore a more personalised typography style, or one which gives the impression that it has been "handwritten" will work best with the genre of my book.

The first example of the typeface looks too bright against the composition. It almost "glows" out against the image which I don't really like. I think that the shadowing of the repeated word perhaps makes this look too much.- The brightness needs toning down.

The second example of the typeface does not stand out enough against the image. I therefore need to find a balance between the brightness of these two examples.

Selecting a typography style........

As the composition of my final design has quite a lot of individual images overlapping, then I feel that the typography needs to be clearly readable and not too fancy as otherwise the front cover will be too detailed. Having said this however, the typography does need to reflect the style of the overall book too.
I feel that placing the title across the middle of the book, and therefore over the main composition will create the right balance.

Choosing an appropriate title.

The next stage is now to choose an appropriate title which must help reflect the idea of "Metamorphosis" and the idea of transforming or becoming "something else" (i.e the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

My 3 favourite titles so far are
1. "Metamorphosis"
2. "Metaphorical Beauty"
3. "What will you become"?

I quite like the idea of a short, one worded title which is specific and to the point, therefore I feel that the title choice of "Metamorphosis" would be most appropriate.

I researched into the meaning of the word and found the following deffinition-
"A marked change in appearance, character, condition or function".

I think it is also important that the deffinition of this word is placed onto the book cover somewhere, not necessarily on the front cover but perhaps on one of the inside panels. I am hoping that when the viewer reads the deffinition then all will become much clearer as to the meaning of the butterfly, and how it relates to cosmetic surgery......

EDWARDO RECIFE- Great Artist Connection.

Another new artist to add to my collection courtesy of Richard.- Edwardo Recife.

Just generally these are really interesting ways to combine imagery & illustrations with readily avaiable or "found" objects...for example the use of the typewriter in the above example.
If you look closely at the examples there are also basic techniques of mark making where the artist has literally "scribbled" a line onto the background using a pen.-A great way of keeping to this idea of "looseness" and "roughness" which is evident from his work style.

The first example showing the horse really got me thinking about the idea of an animal "changing" or "transforming" into something, or someone else. .....Could I focus on an animal to play with or imitate the idea of the human form?? ...

More of his work is available at www.misprintedtype.com

FURTHER DESIGN DEVELOPMENT...

To improve on my final design, I have now included some of my own markmaking lines which I created from black ink. I have overlaid this on top of the composition as I feel that the shapes of these lines subtly resemble the idea of blood.
I have added a black flower over the yellow wheel which deffinietly helps towards balancing out the composition more and to blend in with the image better. - The yellow wheel does not direct the eye away from the other shapes within the image now.
Another slight adaptation are the small "stitched" outlines around the leg and left arm with the small image of a pair of scissors to reflect the idea of "cutting" into the body. These stroked lines also help to make the body parts pop more on the background.
You will also notice that the small circle bolt on the left side has duplicated.- Having compared this to using a single bolt, I feel I prefer the more asymmetrical approach from using a single circular bolt.

My next stage will be to work on the typeface.

Although it is not clearly visible that this design is to reflect the topic of "Cosmetic Surgery", I think that the little clues such as the stroked lines around the arm & leg and the mark-making help provide subtle hints to the viewer. I also think however that it cleverly plays on the idea of "don't judge a book by it's cover". I need to make sure that I choose an appropriate book title to help reflect the idea of "transformation" or "surgery"........

DEVELOPING MY FINAL COMPOSITION

Scanning in my own objects (meccano, leaves, a brooch & jewellery) I have gone onto create the above composition, using both Kerry Roper & the “Flaunt” typeface image as my main sources of inspiration. I am really liking where this style is going,- I intend the use of the butterflies to metaphorically replicate the idea of an insect (a caterpillar) going through the process of metamorphosis to become a butterfly i.e. to become "something else". I want this process, metamorphosis, to play on the idea of women choosing to go under the knife, in the hope that it will "transform" them too, into something else.....Perhaps this idea could also be reflected in the title....."Metaphorical Beauty"? or "Metamorphosis"......Anyone else have any suggestions?

I now want to push this idea even further- I think that the larger yellow wheel is a bit too distracting against the rest of the composition, I need to look at perhaps overlapping a darker object on top of this.
I also need to develop a suitable typeface for the title & edit the areas where the hands are in the composition as they need to be "overlapped" onto holding the spanner & the metal bar to help make the image look less "photoshopped"!

VAULT49.COM

It was by chance while looking through the "Maximalism" book by Charlotte Rivers that I came across this fantastic "Flaunt" typeface Composition. I like how only small parts of the female form are shown underneath the layers of ink lines and insects. The typography is also really clever with how it almost "interacts" with the background image due to the overlapping of the lines and areas of colour which spill onto the individual letters.

This discovery then led me onto looking at vault49.com where I discovered many more highly inspiring compositions which incorporated nature, layering of images and mark making techniques.......This then got me wanting to try a similar style and take it one step further then my previous "Kerry Roper" inspired composition.

KERRY ROPER STYLE BOOK COVER-

Returning to the style of Kerry Roper, I wanted to see if I could create my own inspired composition showing only selected body parts and objects which I felt were appropriate with relating to the female form. I chose to use a mask to represent the female form due to the softness of the feathers but also as I am still keen on the idea of hiding the full identity to the readers of my book. I felt the zip worked in suggesting the idea of "undressing" to reveal the real person underneath the masks of clothes & surgery etc.
Colourwise, I think that my design is too bright,- the yellow is too much compared to the grayscale tones of Kerry Ropers which are complimented with the green background pattern.

WHAT LIES BENEATH?

Concentrating on the idea of what really likes beneath the skin, I have created this mock-up for a book cover. I created this in photoshop and played around with the opacity effects to create coloured and transparent looking areas on the skeleton. I chose red to suggest the idea of blood. I deliberately wanted to highlight the pelvis area to subtly suggest the female form (i.e the reproductive area), as females are more likely to opt for cosmetic surgery.
This isn't really the kind of style I am wanting my book to follow but nevertheless, it's another technique which i've learnt.

MAREN ESDAR- mechanical inspiration

These are some examples of the work by the artist Maren Esdar. I actually discovered her work in the book "Wonderland" by Robert Klanten, but there are also many examples of her work online at http://www.marenesdar.com/.
I think these are fantastic.- I like the contrast in the hard mechanical and structural man-made objects which have been cleverly been arranged to still show subtle parts of the female form creeping into the composition. I also like how the objects have been arranged to mimic the contours of the female form....the artist has clearly considered this. From this artists work, I now want to look at gathering my own objects to photograph and play around with, for example meccano, shells, feathers, cogs, screws etc....

MECCANO.......Looking for a "Parallel universe"....

I decided that I needed to look at a completely irrelevant area within my primary research to help gain a "less obvious" source of inspiration towards the topic of "Cosmetic Surgery". I discovered the work of the artist Maren Esdar, (see next post), who produces very "structural" looking shapes to form the female body. It was he specific use of mechanical looking objects in her work which led me to look at using meccano. I like the idea of meccano acting as a strong/hard material against the softness of the human skin. It is interesting to think of a garment being created out of this type of material as it would be an extremely structured piece of clothing which would refrain movement, unlike one of the main functions of clothing. It got me thinking about more structured uniforms or pieces of clothing such as "Body armour" and how these actually form a solid & protective structure around the human figure. - Could this conjure up the idea of a garment preventing any surgery being able to be performed on the skin?
From this, I went on to create a "Meccano inspired" outfit.....perhaps to act as a literal barrier in preventing anyone accessing the skin of the model to operate on?

WHICH PART WOULD YOU PICK?

Playing around with the same images of the models I have been using as secondary research, I decided to have a go at a slightly more humourous approach to a book cover. I'm not quite sure if the typography style I have used is appropriate, but apart from that I find this concept quite humourous!

HANDIEDAN AS AN INFLUENCE....

Using a background from a card I own (I collect patterned wallpaper & papers etc) I have worked the female figure over the top to surround her by pattern. I have kept the identity hidden by covering the eyes again, using a similar approach to Kerry Ropers work. I would need to look much at the composition and consider whether this pattern would creep around the cover and onto the back etc. I think it would also be nice to personalise this more by creating my own brushes on illustrator and bringing them into the design, even if it is simply to make small marks within the pattern.

HANDIEDAN- Artist Connection

While looking through the book "Illusive- Contemporary Illustration Part 3" I discovered the work of Handiedan.
Handiedan is an artist based in Amsterdam who creates mixed media based artworks. Her work inlcludes "pin-up" girl images which she combines cleverly with pen, ink, old fashioned sheet music and playing cards etc.

I really like this style of work as an influence to eplore further. I like how the pin-up girls have been placed over interesting/vintage looking backgrounds and surrounded with patterns.

KERRY ROPER'S WORK

Continuing with using the idea of "covering" the eyes of the models with blocks of colour, I was reminded of the fantastic work by Kerry Roper who oftens leaves the models in his work unidentified by blocking out their eyes. The eyes are actually an important part of a persons identity and there is also the known quote- "The eyes are the window to the soul".

The examples shown of Kerry Ropers work show body parts, pattern and mark making all merged to form incredible compositions-

This style may not be to everyones taste, but in my opinion I find them so so beautiful.- Infact I now want to try incorporating more subtle pattern and mark-making ideas together to form a background which i could then display body parts onto?....

YOU CAN SMILE WHEN YOU LOOK THIS GOOD.

There is something about these "cheesy" photographs displaying "immaculate women" which I am warming to.- Despite this being a simple concept of using basic block coloured shapes which are overlapped and positioned effectively, I feel that this is quite an effective composition. Perhaps a SIMPLIFIED approach of using basic geometry could work effectively....

THE NOT SO PERFECT SIDE TO HOLLYWOOD...

While flicking throught a magazine I came across a couple of fashion shoot pages which showed the stereotypical, "Perfect American dream woman" in quite a cheesy way.
The shots from this magazine were ideal to scan in and play around with as the models were wearing skimpy and tight fitting clothing which enabled me to trace aroud their figures accurately.

The first image shows the magazine page which I scanned in to use.
The image below shows how I have concentrated on the outline of this figure and then inserting blocks of solid colour using a warm colour palette to emphasise the warmth of the skintone. I deliberately wanted to cover the eyes and bottom of the model to help conceal the identity.

CHOPSHOP

Using an image of a mannequin to start with, I have played around with overlapping "Body parts" onto this figure to create a "mismatched" figure. I am wanting this to reflect the idea of "changing/swapping parts" to create "the perfect figure". I think this style would work best with a humourous approach to it. For example, having a title such as "Swapshop" or "Chopshop" as a mockery of one of the leading highstreet stores, Topshop.....

INSPIRATION FROM DEVIANTART.COM

I discovered this piece of work on deviantart.com which shows a mannequin figure that has been manipulated to creat almost fluid resembling skin. I like how the lower half of the torso looks like it has been reflected and how the finger, elbow and shoulder appear to be "breaking away" and moving away from the figure.


This led me to experiment on Photoshop with merging two images together. I used a background displaying a "shattered" pattern and merged it with a head shot of a woman with a flawless complexion. The results are shown at the top of this page.
I focused on distorting the area around the models eyes, nose and mouth while leaving the cheek untouched as I felt it would be too much to distort the whole face. Also, I like how this creates "a perfect" face contrasting against a "distorted" and shattered part of the face.