SB1 First Crit

Design Idea 1

My first design was based around the idea that Scout’s perspective of morality is one consistent theme throughout the book. Informed from my research I wanted to create a cover that was simplistic with a clear focal point as this was something that some of the classic covers seemed to be lacking. I have used a portrait of the movies character portrayal of Scout, because of its identifiable nature. To depict the sense of scouts blind faith in human morals I have used a simple block colour to block out the eyes, I have chosen this baby pink to give a sense of childlike innocence; something which Scout retains through the book even into her transition into a young adult like understanding of the issues at hand. To reaffirm this to the audience I have inserted a famous quote from the book ‘There’s only one type of folks, folks’, this summarises key themes and core values of the book; which I think helps make the imagery on the cover clear. The use of baby pink has also been incorporated within the spine, this is to make the book stand out on the shelf, giving it a contemporary design feel; due to using the colour which is very on trend with in current design. All text of the cover has been created using Futura, this is because of the forwardly atheistic to the typeface, I think it gives a good contrast against the many complicated and in depth themes of the book; keeping the cover precisely that, a cover which hints towards contents but doesn’t spell it out.

In the crit the group responded well to this design and the concept behind it, they liked the idea of using a contemporary block colour style to cancel out the view in the way in which Scouts faith is blinded. Although thought that I should also experiment with some other colours which could also represent the idea of childlike innocence and faith such as pastel blues and yellows. They also recommended that I could try placing the quote onto the blog strip to bring it more towards being part of the imagery, changing this would also free up more white space which will compliment my contemporary style.

Design Idea 2

My second original design idea was based on the idea of one of the main quotes from the book, which we are told to use on the back cover; and is also one of the main iconic quotes from Atticus ‘Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin To Kill a Mockingbird.' This is something I wanted to typographically represent on the cover. Stemming from this idea of sin, I decided to list the 7 deadly sins, using numbers to list each of them To Kill a Mockingbird becomes no.8 this has been placed alongside the title on both the front and the spine of the book tying together this concept. This idea is then made clear in terms of context, from the quote on the back of the book. I also wanted to use colour again in a minimalistic way, to both make the piece seem contemporary and contrast against what is currently found alongside this book on the shelf within a store. To do this I chose to create a simple water colour expressive mark, to add texture and contrast. The splash is to resemble blood, referring back to the killing of the bluejay, the contrast between the two sides of the splash to capture prejudice and segregation.

My feedback from this piece in the crit was to align the 8 with the rest of the numbers giving the design consistency. The splash should be worked on, experimenting with a different type of material to clearly capture the concept behind it and add a less digital only theme to the book; this will also take away the blocky nature to the cover. The spine being so bound to just that blue doesn’t make it stand out, experiment with texture on the spine; try extracting different colour from the splash to give it a more vibrant feel. The text could be place over the image, giving the two a stronger visual link.

Design Idea 3

The idea behind this design was to focus on the use of monochrome and geometric shape to convey my concept. The design is to represent the strong segregation and prejudice within the book. the black and white each have half of the page on both sides of the cover, showing the need for equality. Yet the white bars are pushing through the black section; representing the prejudice evident in the book, although the lines below are not completely intersecting, as the others are. They are stopped by the title which has been rotated, this is a depiction of the morals of Scout and not allowing the influences around her alter thoughts on the situations that are arising; her morals allow her to develop and understanding, not only of this but also of Boo Radley.

The feedback enlightened the fact that the colourisation of the book contradicts the research I have done in store to make it stand out. The concept is strong and popular, although it may be too evident and obvious, leading the audience to believe it is only about the one issue arising in the book. It was recommended that if this design was to be further developed experimentation with the grid layout could improve the design, considering directional changes of the lines, further representing the complexity of the design.

Design Idea 4

This design explores the trial, focusing on the verdict of it; it gives a message without informing the audience of the context of the trial. The top half of the imagery is in black with white writing, representing the white prejudice and racism towards Tom Robinson, Bodoni was chosen as it is an old typeface – similar to the views of the Maycomb people being ‘traditional’ and old. This contrasts against the lower half with a white background the type is hand-drawn with a none left-handed persons left hand, showing visual evidence of a struggle. This is similar to the struggle Tom Robinson would endure as he was unable to use his left hand, due to his injury; proving his innocence – which is overlooked in court. The white space draws the attention to the imagery, reconsolidating its importance. This is extended by the use of Bodoni in the title, meaning the only conflicting typeface on the page is the hand-drawn one, leading the audience to intrigue as to why.

In my crit this design proved popular, although when asked about the spine and back cover it provided questions on how the visual would be consistent in representing the themes evident without making them predictable. It was also discussed that due to the white space the book may become lost against others, decreasing the audiences impression; this would need to be further evaluated, even though it is a key element of the design.

Design Idea 5

My 5^th design consists of a hand collage piece in which the paper cuts are loose and still visible. The hands in the piece are affected with vitiligo, a skin condition which changes the pigmentation of the skin, I decided to use this to represent both the racism and prejudice in one body depicting the way in which they’re really not different and the prejudice is based around the colour of skin. The flowers in the background refer back to the garden scene, where Jem destroys Mrs Dubose’s garden, this is a key part of the children’s moral development, a key scene in the book as Scout’s opinion does not change; visualised here in the gaps between the floral print.

The feedback told me the hand collage style works well, but needs development, possibly cutting around the flowers to the colours adding more layers of relevant element of the book; but still retain the white space. It was said that the typeface was too old-fashioned and possibly a more modern typeface would be needed to contrast against the hand made techniques.