OUGD503: Responsive/Penguin/Previous Winners

To start the project I will initially look at previous penguin winners, to get an idea of the standard of work, I will be competing against.

The initial idea for my design sparked from the mention of Cluedo by the character of Michael Owen, and the relation of this to the murder mystery-style scenario that unravels at the end of the novel. Using the title as the main structure, I created a 3D model to act as a floor plan, with strong shadows adding a sense of mystery. As the novel was set in the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher was in power, I tried to represent the era through the use of floor patterns, and to also subtly suggest the divide in class and power.

Set against a dark and corrupted 1930s American society, Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep evokes a sense of noir and deep suspicion. Working through the direct medium of collage, my design focuses on the bold and brash protagonist Philip Marlowe, employing subtle imagery suggestive of Marlowe’s chief overlooking presence throughout the novel. In keeping with Chandler’s audacious writing style, I aimed to provide an immediate visual punch, utilizing minimal components to full effect.

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road has so often been illustrated using the stereotypical imagery associated with travelling through 1960s America, but I found that there was a lot more to Kerouac’s writing than just sex, drugs and rock and roll.

To me, it seems that Kerouac’s generation were confused and rebellious and keen to go wherever the wind would take them in hope of self-discovery. Bob Dylan’s song ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ even came to mind. Tumbleweed became the natural progression, as not only does the plant suggest a hallucinogen but also nothing represents a bewildered America quite like tumbleweed.

Critically appraising the work of Kesey, this highly considered design analyses the institution as an instrument of oppression by using the form of scientific illustration. The cuckoo is capable of colouring its eggs to mimic those of the songbird nest it invades. Here each egg is finely cracked; one is entirely smashed. The word cuckoo is repeated, a word weighted with signification. The illustration is polysemic, inviting meaning that is constituted in the reader’s dialogue with the text itself. The cover is resonant with Penguin’s heritage and design imperative, capturing the anarchic essence of Kesey’s work and amplifying it.

I designed the title and writing on the front cover inside the strong bottle shape to reflect the liquidised perfume of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille’s creation. The woman is suspended within, robbed of her scent and life. The lifeless body trapped in the bottle creates a sinister cover, which reflects the dark and disturbing atmosphere of the book. The bronze framing shape mirrors the fluid quality of the fragrance, and enhances the feeling of enclosure. The back portrays more victims intertwined in the intoxicating perfume.

Reflecting back on the brief it states what the judges are looking for: 

We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

The winning design will need to:

• have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief
• be competently executed with strong use of typography
• appeal to a contemporary readership
• show a good understanding of the marketplace
• have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against