top of page
The Process
Brainstorm / Sketches
This book redesign was meant to follow the contents of a real book, and I took inspiration from the manga "Vinland Saga" and spun it into book form, rather than manga with volumes. Starting off, I found measurements of placeholder books to create the dimensions around. Then, I drew up at least ten 3"x3" thumbnail sketches to get my ideas on paper. I was really interested in making my own illustrations rather than using real viking imagery because most books already do that. After playing around with different layouts and type placements, I decided upon three to make into roughs. I wanted my front cover to sell the idea of a vikings journey through life, so I avoided type as much as possible to not distract from the main idea. I used the back cover for most of my body copy just to keep things interesting and informative for potential readers. The goal here was to make a unique cover that differs from others in the same category, while also keeping the front, spine and back cohesive with one another.
Roughs / Final Thoughts
After finding three layouts I liked, I went ahead and started to make very rough versions of my book cover. Due to time constraints, I did use some vector images to save time and get a few solid ideas created in Illustrator. I picked red colors to portray a feeling of danger, and also chose a rough, sharp typeface that was legible and just felt like old age vikings. However, the desaturated blue and white color palette was the one I chose because it set a dark, moody tone and paired very well with the illustration of an icelandic viking ship in a storm. It also works because white on that kind of blue is high contrast and allows the text to be legible, but not take away from the main selling point. After finishing the cover, I added elements to the spine, and worked my way to the back cover where I added majority of body copy for reviews of the book, an author statement and a viking symbol to represent those fallen in battle. Lastly, I added interior flaps, prepared it for printing and then applied it to a hardcover book.
bottom of page