Mark Howe

Another Illustrator I have come across is Mark Howe who has used a similar style as i would like to, but using a small palate with one or two colours. Again I like the simplicity in the designs and the use of flat vector images.

Luise Vormittag (Container Plus)

After our cross pathway project I contacted Luise Vormittag as a thankyou for inspiring me to create the 3D image of Central Park

James Joyce

As the bulk of my research so far has been on abstract designs using shapes and colours, I have looked to a few illustrators for ways I can incorporate themes in the design so it makes them relevant to the novels. I have looked at James Joyce as I love his playful use of colour, shapes and negative space. He uses a very minimal approach to show imagery and convey messages. I want to try and combine all elements of my research together to produce a set of images that playfully give clues about the novel out or the key narrative to the story.

sleeve research

Although it is early in the project i have started looking at ways i can case my books, what options there are, how to keep them neat etc. i have found some simple yet effective ones that not only keep the book neat and tidy but creates the opportunity to add another design element to the book or even for me to experiment with textures

Below is a perfect example of how Stefan Sagmeister has used the outside of a book to draw attention. You can see how every inch of the exterior of the book has been considered and interacts with the audience. from the two tone elements on the pull back sleeve to the words revealed by flicking back the pages, on one side it says 'made you look' and on the other there are three images of bones. The covering of the book is so successful and intriguing that i would buy this book regardless of the content.

design research

I have begun to start looking at some interesting technical drawings and diagrams. i particularly like the colours and playful feel of the top designs and the way the design flows across the page adding elements as it travels. I like the idea of creating a series of layers and shapes entwining with one another to build a series of nice designs. But using very bright, distinctive colours like MWM uses in his work.

Matt W Moore

From looking at a few artist that use colour and a range of lines and shapes i have concentrated on Matt W Moore for my inspiration. His now signature style of creating abstract vector designs is not only interesting and unusual but incredibly striking and contemporary. The use of layering colour on a certain shape/ line visually looks great and allows a multitude of colours and shades to be used. Moore has his own design agency called MWM.

Sarah Morris

A few years ago i visited the White Cube Gallery in London and visited a jaw dropping exhibition of Sarah Morris, the work on show was focussed on the city of Beijing, which was the site of the forthcoming summer Olympics in 2008. The exhibition was made up of huge abstract rings and origami-style folds. The exhibition was amazing it consisted of this huge series of paintings running around this very peaceful white room, the vibrant colours almost felt as if they were bursting from the walls. I have now looked at some of her other work and found she uses a series of complex abstractions throughout most of her work adding powerful meaning through her use of striking colours.

Frank Stella

I have decided to look at colour and the use of vibrant colour in design and have looked at some of Frank Stella's work, mainly from the late 60's where he created minimalist images using irregular polygons and experimented with colour and shapes. I like the way he has layered colour and think the images are really striking and want my covers to have a similar impact.

Screen Prints

From looking at some of the slightly older books i began to revert back to some previous research on screen printed posters and designs. i like the simple yet effective use of only a small amount of colour and think it could look really effective in the right context. I also really like the illustrative feel to the breeders poster and think a hand crafted illustration could look really appealing on a book cover.

Irvine Welsh - George Orwell

As i have now begun to look at my own book collection for inspiration an author who's books always seem to scream from the shelf through content and design is Irvine Welsh. Not only is he one of my favorite writers, and produced some excellent books but always has interesting imagery and clues on the front. Similar to his book titles, once you have read the book the clues seem obvious.

Another author i have looked at is George Orwell, a novelist who's supreme intelligence and social awareness led to many fantastic books, two of which are shown below. i like the way the colour scheme is identical over both covers yet adopting different content.

Book cover resesarch

Although the brief talks about a contemporary design i still think its important to look at a range of book covers for inspiration. i love the simplicity of some of these book and their arrangement. The idea of using just one colour on white or black or just one colour and exploring different shades is very appealing. What strikes me about some of the older book covers is how minimal they are, and with the right image and colour could look very stunning.

Book cover resesarch

The competition brief i have chosen is to design a series of stunning contemporary book covers for a series of HG Wells books. Wells has been famous for his science fiction writing including 'The Time Machine' and 'War of the Worlds' but also produces some fantastic novels covering a series of social topics. As the brief requires the books to work as a set aswell as individually I have begun my research by looking at some of the HG Wells' series that have already been designed. What i like about the covers above is the neat border that runs along the bottom of each design showing instantly that they belong as a set. I also like the abstract images that have been placed on each one. the diverse use of colour, shapes and texture are visually interesting and work great together.