Client
Hawkeye Publishing
Deliverables
Illustrated book cover
Year
2023
Brief
Design an illustrated book cover for a young adult fantasy novel that takes place in a medieval setting with a magic-wielding protagonist. The author requested the cover prominently feature the main protagonist along with the setting; based on the village of Gordes, France. The visuals should include an element of mystery and play with themes of shadow and light.
Background
Work on this cover had already been started by another designer, however they were unable to complete the project. I was provided with both their early ideation and their most recent design. The two symbols in the upper corners of the back cover and the divider between the blurb and review text were retained from this original design without alteration, but all other elements are representative of my own work.
Outcome
The cover for Road to Freedom is designed to capture the attention of its target readership through its presentation of the setting, protagonist, and central themes in a unique illustrative style.
Approach
This project was somewhat unique, given that I had an existing design to work off and didn't have to go through the initial ideation process.
The design I was given had good bones - the colour palette was highly effective given the themes of shadow and light, and I appreciated the general composition - however I felt that there were aspects to it that could be improved upon.
Such decisions included choosing a more dynamic font for the book's title and drawing the protagonist to be more prominent and expressive, since the author wanted her attitude to show through on the cover.
