STUDIO PRACTICE

JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER WEEK 1 - Ideas and Roughs 

Original cover

Why did I choose this book (why??)

• I honestly have to say that I was attracted to the title 'Collections of Nothing'. I wanted to further explore the vague and abstract concept  since it would be quite open to interpretation and I could play around with symbolisms and motifs. 

• I finished the book since I was captivated and engrossed with the whole story. The whole concept of collections is simply a metaphor. It's a metaphor of one's life and stories/memories that we create.

I

Thoughts

• I was actually inspired by the phrase from the book 'library of experiences'. I thought of keeping the cover rather simple as I felt that it suits the title. 

• I was actually inspired by one of Haruki Murakami's book covers by Noma Bar. There is a strong connection with the content of the book despite the very minimal and simple design. I was trying to go for that approach, thought I felt that it didn't seem to work out that well? In a sense, it looks too vague? Perhaps if I were to go for this concept, I need to look for a more universal symbol that people could understand.

II

Thoughts

• I thought that I would simplify the cover and keep it rather minimalistic. Though I wanted to try a darker cover. I wasn't sure how I feel about this. I wanted to use the idea of a keyhole and illustrate one's way of looking at life. Very limited and restricted. I may change the design as it seems too cramped in one section, though I like the concept. 

III

Thoughts

• I was going for a more illustrated version. I went for sardine cans because it was something the author seemed to glorify and was one of his first collections. Though what concerns me is that his sardine can collection is only a tiny portion of the whole book. Perhaps I was being too specific?

• I feel that it doesn't truly illustrate the content of the book. I could try to link the illustration with the content, though that is something I need to think through and explore more. 

IV

Thoughts

• This concept is also rather minimal and slightly more cartoon-like. Though I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one as I still wanted the obscure and non-literal representation of the book.

• I honestly didn't put as much thought into this rough. It was one of those first designs that I would get off my mind. Though I quite like the idea of different, mundane items and try to make it appealing. 

V

Thoughts

• This time, I wanted to try paper cutting and a little collaging. This might be a more abstract approach. However, I still wanted to revolve around the idea of a 'collection of things'. In this case it is the shape and colours.