In this exercise, I will mock-up a book cover.  I will choose a book and read the blurb on the back or the whole book if time allows.  Examine the design of the cover to identify what the brief would be and establish the function the image needs to perform.

About the book

The book I have chosen is Women who run with the wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

I started reading the book but haven’t completed it yet, but I have a good idea about the feel and mood of the book.  I find it an enjoyable and lighthearted read that motivates and teaches through storytelling and poetry.  I would describe it as a fairy tale for grownups. 

The blurb on the back of the book reads: “The book is a seminal work on the inner life of women.  A creation of poetry and power, it began a revolution and continues to transform the lives of millions around the world.  Clarissa Pinkola Estés reveals how within every woman there lives a Wild Woman, filled with passionate creativity and ageless knowing, but repressed for centuries by a value system that trivializes emotional truth, intuitive wisdom and instinctual self-confidence.  Dr Esté’s enriching bestseller shows how, through the interpretation of story and her psychological commentary, we can reclaim and rejoice in our true feminine power – how we can awaken within the depths of our souls one who is both magic and medicine. (Estés, 1992)

Establishing the brief

Design a book cover for the book title “Women who run with the wolves”.  The book is about myths and stories of the wild woman archetype and the female psyche.  The mood of the book is enjoyable stories that capture one’s attention and imagination.  The book is difficult to put down once you start reading.  It is a feel-good book and makes you feel empowered and unique.  The book cover was black and gold when first published in 1992, but the latest cover is more appropriate with its white background.  The audience will mostly be women.  The keyword of the book is UPLIFTING.  The colours and design should be uplifting but have enough substance to reflect that some subjects can be profound and move your heart.  The she-wolf plays an integral part in the book as the author draw similarities to women.  

Spider diagram

Keeping the above brief in mind, I drew up a spider diagram to brainstorm the word ‘uplifting’ and concepts that come to mind when thinking about the book.  The words that stood out were – run, free, no shame, feminine, relentless, protect, wild, creative and light.  The colours that came to mind were – white, orange, brown and black.  White for ‘light’ and ‘free’.  Orange for ‘creative’.  Brown for ‘wild’ (in touch with the earth’s soil, to be grounded).  Black for ‘relentless’ and ‘protect’.

Artwork for the cover

I decided to use one of the many abstract artworks I created for ‘abstract illustration’ and combine it with an image of a wolf.  The art is ink and water on cold-pressed watercolour paper with a touch of orange watercolour paint.

I combined the two elements in photoshop and used blending modes, different opacities, masking and digital finishing touches to create the book cover.

Typography

Browsing through fonts, I reasoned that a traditional serif font would fit the book’s mood, especially thinking about archetypes and myths.  I have narrowed it down to three fonts – Swear text (an Adobe font), Playfair Display and Museo Slab.  A sans serif text for the smaller text will be Avenir Medium which pairs well with all three serif fonts.  I had to choose one serif font and one san serif font and have decided to go with Swear Text and Avenir Medium.

Making a mock-up

I used a Photoshop template to make the mock-up for the book.  I have practised a few mock-ups before, so I haven’t had much trouble doing it again.  Still, the back of the book was challenging.  I scanned and masked the publisher’s logo and the bar code to make it look even more real.  The side panel of the book was difficult to match with the front panel, but I managed to get it right.  I had to understand what a smart object is, how to mask, warp and rotate.  Knowing the different formats like png and jpeg are also essential when importing and exporting files, especially when you need transparent layers.

Overall, this was a great exercise to practice my mock-up skills, and although Photoshop is convenient to use, it has taken me time, practice, and research to make a mock-up.  

References

Estés, C. P., 1992. Women who run with the wolves. 1st Edition ed. London : Rider.