Chosen Book

After researching both books and understanding the stories, the novel I have chosen to create a book cover for is The Outsider by S.E. Hinton. I have chosen to create a cover for this novel for a number of reasons which I will explain below.

Personally it was a straightforward choice as The Outsiders book had a lot more to offer, in terms of book cover ideas. The story and plots themselves allowed for great brain storm ideas. This was because it had just one main plot which developed through the book allowing me to concentrate on that story. Whereas, in What A Carve Up! there where different stories for all the characters so there was not a certain theme to be influenced by.

in addition, the wide variety of book covers already designed for The Outsiders gave me vital inspiration and design ideas which will help greatly when creating my book cover. These included ideas for typography, imagery and colour palettes. Again, What A Carve Up! failed to inspire me as there was a lack of book covers designed for the novel.

In general The Outsiders has more topics and cultural references which I can play with to create relavant design ideas. These include things like the rivalry between the gangs, the 1960's hairstyles, the denim clothing, cigarette smoking, burning building and death of a character.

In conclusion, I believe The Outsiders is a better read and due to the reasons stated above I will create a book cover for this novel.

Existing book covers

There are a wide variety of book covers that have been produced for both novels The Outsiders and What A Carve Up!. However after research I have discovered far more book covers available for The Outsiders than What A Carve Up!. 
Some of the covers are simply design ideas that have been put forward as competition entries, while some have actually been used to cover the books, depending on the distributors. Below I will analyse some of the book covers I have discovered for both novels.

The Outsiders:

This is the first book cover I will analyse and as you can see this obviously displays the full book cover including the front, spine and back. This is something to note as not all the book covers I have looked at include the full cover. The first thing you may notice is the contrast in colour from the front page and the back page. The front page has a pale blue sky and pale green grass also it looks like there is a layer of opaque white on top of the background image. This may be used to enhance the black silhouette image of, what appears to be, the greasers gang. Whereas, on the back page a vivid yellow colour is used to illustrate a sunset. The same image of the greasers is used here but it is faded into the sunset. Again they have used a silhouette to show the horizon which contrasts the sunset. This is an effective design as it is consistent with the front page. The type face is a simple sans-serif font which would be effective for the text however the type has been kerned too much causing it to be almost unreadable, this is evident in the blur. Overall this book cover is a good cover although some adjustments could be made such as the type.

This is another book cover for The Outsiders and was an original published book cover. Firstly, the image in the middle is a notebook page shaped in a slightly comical skull. This is a great image as it plays on the content of the novel. It refers to the teenage boys in school who have rebellious attitudes, the skull may also signify the death of a character in the novel. In addition, the hair strand on the skull makes associations with the greasers hair styles which is very effective. The same notebook style is used on the back and spine to create text. This text appears like it is hand cut from the notebook pages and is successfully used to create a harmonious style throughout the cover. The type face of the blur is in a serif fonts which creates an easy read and makes the cover look professional, although it appears a little text heavy. The main title is split into two type faces which I believe works really well. The first text "The" has hyphens beside it which perhaps portrays a barber shop font style which again refers to the hair style culture during the time of the novel. The second text "Outsiders" is in a bold red type face which looks slightly playful as its does not have straight lines. This book cover has given me inspiration and some ideas which I could implement into my own book cover.

This cover is a competition entry design for the novel, which would explain why only the front cover was created. This cover has a minimalistic character which represents a modern take on the design. This is because only three shades of colours are used and there is only one image with a solid background colour. This cover could have influences from the famous artist Andy Warhol who created artwork with contrasting colours and vivid shades. This is apparent as the background colour is yellow with the contrasting red blood splatter, red text box and white typeface. Although the cover is minimal it still manages to relate to the plot of the story as the knife, along with the blood splatter, illustrates the rivalry between the gangs and eventual death of a character. When looking at the typography you can see the title is bold and striking. This is created by using upper case letters and the contrasting colours with white against the red. In addition the use of a clean sans-seriff font allows the type to stand out even more.
In general, although it lacks the rest of the cover, I am impressed with this simple cover design and how effectively it utalises the contrasting colours. I also like the transparent effect, on the red splatter, that shows the knife through it.  This cover has some interesting concepts which I will take on board when creating my book cover.


What A Carve Up!:

This book cover is an original cover used by Penguin books. The image of one of the characters in the novel is featured on the cover, this image has a vintage newspaper feel due to the colour and looks as if its been cut and stuck on to the cover. There is a high contrast of colours allowing the type and image to stand out from the background. The size of the author name is noticeably bigger than the title of the novel, this a design style that continues through most of Jonathan Coe's novels as shown in an older post. As this is an older cover it would explain the use of a serif typeface, however it appears to be a modern serif. The positioning of the different type are situated around the image of the character which gives the cover an engaging appearance. The cover is very colourful and would clearly stand out in any shelf due to the green background. However, it is odd that the title is in white because it does not allow the title to stand out as it is not contrasting the background colour.
This book cover does not excite me and would not persuade me to pick it up and read it. Also the cover is simple and does not have any undertone or connotations to the novel apart from a picture of the character.

Plot summary of the books

As I am yet to read the books, I have researched online to find the general plot of both novels, including reading the blurbs on the back. This will help me roughly understand what the book are about. Below I will include a summary of both book which I have referenced from an online source, these should adequately explain the main plots of the novels.

'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton:

Ponyboy, a member of the Greasers gang, is leaving a movie theater when a group of Socs jumps him. His older brothers Darrel and Sodapop and several members of their gang, rescue him. The next night, Ponyboy and his friends Dallas and Johnny meet Cherry Valance and Marcia at a drive-in movie theatre. Ponyboy realizes that Cherry is nothing like the Socs he has met before. The Greasers walk Cherry and Marcia home, and Socs Bob Sheldon and Randy Adderson see them and think the boys are trying to pick up their girlfriends. Cherry and Marcia prevent a fight by leaving with Bob and Randy willingly. When Ponyboy comes home very late, Darry gets angry and hits him. Ponyboy runs away and meets up with Johnny. As they wander around the neighborhood, Bob, Randy, and three other drunk Socs confront them. After the Socs nearly drown Ponyboy in a fountain, a terrified Johnny stabs Bob, accidentally killing him. Ponyboy and Johnny find Dallas, who gives them money and a loaded gun and tells them to hide in an abandoned church. They stay there for a few days, during which time Ponyboy reads Gone with the Wind to Johnny and recites the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost.

When Dallas comes to get them, he reveals that the fights between the rival groups have exploded in intensity since Bob's death. Johnny decides to turn himself in, but the boys then notice that the church has caught on fire and several children are trapped inside. When Johnny and Ponyboy rush to rescue them, burning timber falls on Johnny, breaking his back. Dallas rescues Johnny. Ponyboy is relatively unscathed and spends a short time in the hospital. When his brothers arrive to see him, Darry breaks down and cries. Ponyboy then realizes that Darry cares about him, and is only hard on Ponyboy because he wants him to have a good future.
Another of the gang, Two-Bit, informs Ponyboy that he and Johnny have been declared heroes for rescuing the kids, but Johnny will be charged with manslaughter for Bob's death. He also says that the Greasers and Socs have agreed to settle their turf war with a major rumble. The Greasers win the fight. After the rumble, Dally and Ponyboy visit Johnny and see him die. An overcome Dally rushes out of the hospital and robs a store. When he points his empty gun at the police, they shoot and kill him. Ponyboy faints and stays sick and delirious for nearly a week. While recovering, he tries to convince himself that Johnny is not dead and that he is the one who killed Bob.

When Ponyboy goes back to school, his grades drop. Although he is failing English, his teacher says he will pass him if he writes a decent theme. In the copy of Gone with the Wind that Johnny gave him before dying, Ponyboy finds a note from Johnny describing how he will die proudly after saving the kids from the fire. Johnny also urges Ponyboy to "stay gold". Ponyboy decides to write his English assignment about the recent events, and begins his essay with the opening line of the novel: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…".

'What A Carve Up!' by Jonathan Coe:

Tabitha accuses Lawrence of killing Godfrey who was shot down over Germany. She claims to have heard Lawrence speaking in German in his study, but no one believes her. When the family reconvenes for Mortimer’s 50th birthday, Lawrence is attacked in the night but survives, killing the intruder. The Winshaws are an example of upper-class British families: rich, political, and powerful. Michael Owens, the narrator for part of the story, is a writer obsessed with the 1961 British comedy horror film What a Carve Up! starring Shirley Eaton and Kenneth Connor. He is commissioned to write a history of the Winshaws. Michael lives in London and has been socially withdrawn for two years. He watches the same film every night and does nothing else except eat, sleep, and think. Fiona, his neighbour, becomes his friend after she knocks on his door to ask for sponsorship for a 40-mile bike ride.

After this encounter, Michael begins to see that he cannot continue to stay inside all the time and begins his work on the Winshaws' biography again. Hilary Winshaw is a well-known newspaper columnist. Henry Winshaw is a politician famous for his backstabbing tactics. Dorothy Winshaw is a farmer who mistreats her animals and uses mass production in order to maximise profit. Roderick (Roddy) Winshaw runs an art gallery, sleeping with every college-aged female painter along the way. Thomas Winshaw works for a bank and makes investments in film technology, while peeping on closed sets. Finally, there is Mark Winshaw, who sells weapons to Saddam Hussein.

Michael was tasked with the project in 1982; however, by August 1990 he has still not finished it. When Findlay Onyx, a private detective hired by Tabitha some years ago, tracks Michael down to help him figure out what secrets the Winshaws are hiding, the story begins to come together. As Michael begins finding out more about these Winshaw characters, Fiona becomes ill and dies in January 1991. Mortimer Winshaw also dies around this time and Michael is called to the reading of his will in order to document it for his history.

At the reading of the will, the younger generation waits greedily to hear what they will inherit. They get nothing. As the night goes on, Henry is stabbed in the back; Hilary crushed under a stack of her newspaper columns; Dorothy hung on a meat hook like one of her farm animals; Thomas‟ eyes are gouged out, his body never found; Mark’s arms are chopped off in a “farewell to arms” while Roddy is painted gold and suffocates. After Michael finds out from Tabitha that his real father is John Farringdon, the co-pilot who was with Godfrey, Michael understands why he was chosen to be the family biographer. As Michael goes through a secret hallway he discovers upon the way the Lawrence had most likely given away Geoffrey’s location to the Germans. Then, Mortimer shows up. Covered in blood and looking tired, he admits that he killed off the whole younger generation of Winshaws: “Mr Owen...I do hope that you aren’t going to expend any pity on members of my family. They don’t deserve it” (pg. 484).

The story ends with Aunt Tabitha taking over the plane that Michael is in. He experiences for the third time a dream that he has as the plane hurtles towards the ground, Aunt Tabitha singing “Row Your Boat”.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outsiders_(novel)

http://web.jc-schools.net/hodgem/files/2012/02/enotes-What-a-Carve-Up.pdf

Introduction - Penguin Book Cover

I have completed my first assignment and now have been given a new assignment. This project requires us to create a book cover which which will be sent to Penguin books to enter their competition.

The books provided by Penguin are the Penguin Adult's book 'What A Carve Up!' by Jonathan Coe and the Penguin children's book 'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton.

I will pick one of these books and create a book cover for the novel, alternatively I could create book covers for both novels but will decide later into the project.

After creating the book cover I am required to produce a poster to accompany the book cover. This poster will demonstrate the same styles, fonts, etc as the book cover.

Science slogans

Possible science slogans/taglines

The brief requires us to add slogans related to science so that we can try to attract the students. Below is list of slogans I found on the internet and also some that I have created. There are a few which I prefer than the others, but when I start to create my poster I will choose one of these, that will relate to the content, and include it in my poster.

• We all need a share of the π (Pi).
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• No conscience without science.
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• The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.
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• There are no shortcuts in evolution.
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• To unlock possibilities/the universe, science is key.
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• When gravity calls, something falls.
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• Atoms are forever.
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• Atoms....turns out we're all just full of hot air.
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• 4 billion years of evolutionary success, join now to keep going.

Colour palette

Sci-fi colour palette research

After looking at the typography of sci-fi movie posters I have decided to explore the visual colours that are utilised in the posters. I have sampled the colours used in existing sci-fi movie posters and have produced colour palettes for each poster. After analysing all the poster's palettes I will decide on a set of colours which I will aim to use in my poster. The colours where extracted on illustrator using special tools which allow you to do this.

These posters have the typical classic sci-fi colours and are perfect examples of the colours I should consider in my poster. As you can see sci-fi posters use a wide variety of colours, however they all have a pastel base to them creating a vintage feel. This is because during the era of the posters the colours available to them for print would have been these pastel colours.

After anaylsing the posters I have noticed a few colour schemes that emerge in this classic sci-fi style. one of which is, the title of the movie is often the brightest so colours like yellow and red are used. another scheme is that the typical martian that feature in the posters is often given a pale green or dark purple colour to associate with the stereotypical extra-terrestrial.

Now that I have fully understood the colours used in classic sci-fi movie posters, I have created a colour wheel to illustrate some of the colours I will utilise in my poster.

Sci-fi fonts

Possible sci-fi fonts

After analyzing the typography of the classic sci-fi movie posters, I searched online to find possible sci-fi fonts which I could use on the poster. This method would be convenient to create the poster as I would be able to download the fonts and install them into illustrator, therefore I can type out the letters I require and the font will be created. Alternatively, depending on the words used I could hand create the fonts by uniquely editing the type face on illustrator. Below are the fonts which I have come across and believe could work well in my poster.

I have selected font which are appropriate for classic sci-fi movie posters and relate to the research I have done. Many of the typefaces used in the movie posters where bold, standard, san-seriff fonts. I have tried to find some more exciting and interesting sci- fi fonts that I could apply to my poster to make it stand out even more.

Sci-fi typography

Sci-fi typography

As I have chosen to base my poster on early 20th century sci-fi I wanted to examine the typography used on the existing sci-fi movie posters. I am required to create a tagline and/or title so must explore the different fonts and type faces available from early sci-fi which I can apply to my poster. 

I have discovered key trends in the typography of different poster. Below is a collage of sci-fi movie poster's titles which I have put together.

As you can see the titles of the movie posters are typically always typed in capital letters. This is done to convincingly put across the title of movie so the viewer is inclined to remember the title, it is bold and in your face. To create my sci-fi influenced poster I will also ensure my taglines and titles are in capital letters.

Another feature I noticed is that the movie titles, depending on where they are placed, are always scaled. The scaling in each poster is different, and some of them also appear to be on an angle, but typically they are never straight and with the same sized letters. I will also include this in my poster to create an original sci-fi style.

Steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk is a very unique sub-genre of science fiction. The influential work of steampunk grew in the 1060s and 1970s, following inspiration from the industrial revelation in western civilization. Steampunk work was set in different eras of the 19^th century. However, it was commonly known to have been set in a British Victorian era as the clothing choices on the characters resembled Victorian fashion.

The design of steampunk work typically featured steam powered mechanical machines that assist the character in some manner. There are many distinct elements in steampunk work which generates this unique and particular genre style. Below are examples of steampunk work:

Link

Link

As you can see in the images steampunk has particular features with certain objects, listed are some of those included:

• goggles
• cranks/cogs
• hats
• Victorian clothes
• nuts/bolts
• brass
• weapons

You may notice the colour palette in this visual style is reserved and dreary this is because steampunk is representing a vintage era and thus trying to create a classic feel. Like the image above, most of steampunk art have layers of textures to the image. This provides depth into the artwork and produces a more intriguing view on the work.