process and book development

So far for my project I’ve mostly been brainstorming as to what subject would interest me most to make an actual physical book. And in that thinking I knew it would have to be something that really grabs my interest and the first thing that came to mind were old monster movies. Between that and art I knew only one direction to go for bold and striking imagery of the movies that I love, and it was Basil Gogos. His illustrations for “Famous Monsters of Filmland” are elegant and creepy at the same time, which to me surmises the genre, when it’s done correctly. Since then I’ve done research on Basil to possibly add to the introduction of the book, as well as using parts of this blog. Additionally I have begun compiling images that I feel embody Basil’s finest work. Also, I am toying with layouts for a cover design that I feel would fit with the tone of the book’s subject matter, creepy yet elegant. I’m coming up with varying degrees of designs, ranging from simple and plain to what will be colorful and chaotic. I feel that my process is working fairly well and that if I continue to work diligently, my project will come out to be a reflection of the time and effort that I am putting into it.  

A Clockwork Orange Book Cover

 

    The cover of this book is visually appealing because the image is very clean and simple. The type is small and neat with the author’s name in black and the title the same size in white. It’s not the flashiest book-cover, however the simplicity of the cover sells the book.  You want to figure out why the image of a milk glass is the only thing on the cover of A Clockwork Orange, a book seeming to have nothing to do with milk. When you find out it’s a story of ultra-violence and brainwashing you really want to know why that damn milk is there. It is incredibly effective with almost nothing to it. I actually really like its design.