Artwork in Response to Writing - Designing a Book Cover

Overview:
have read.
Goals:

Using Adobe InDesign software, students will design a Book Cover for a book that they

1. Students will select a book that they have read and determine a target audience to
which they would sell this book to. (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Males, Females, Adventure, Mystery,
Childrens, Romance etc.)
2. Students will design their own original book cover that is unlike the art that appears on
the real book cover.
3. Students will create graphics for the cover art using original photography, original
illustration or a combination of both. No internet images or clip art of any kind may be used.
The student may also hand draw or paint artwork and scan it.
4. Students will create graphics that represent the elements of the story.
5. Students may first create the artwork using traditional methods or by using Adobe
Photoshop or Illustrator, but the layout of the cover including text must be created using Adobe
InDesign.
6. Students will design a cover that includes the TITLE and AUTHOR.
7. Students will add art and text to the front cover, center spine, and back cover.
a. Tilte & Authors name must be present on the center spine.
b. Students name as Illustrator must be present on the front OR back
cover
8. Students will include a short review of the story on the back featuring key points that
will create an interest in reading it (can be copied from the actual book summary online).
9. Submit a JPEG copy of your book cover design to RAnderson@aadusd.k12.ca.us titled
Book Cover Design along with an artists statement.
10. Present Final Printed and mounted book cover design to the class in a group critique.
Extensions: Add your picture and a small feature on the back cover of the book highlighting you as
the cover artist
Essential Questions:
1. What are the differences between commercial and fine art?
2. How can the rendering (drawing or illustration) of text say more than the words printed
on the page?
3. How is color used to create mood and convey emotion?
4. Why is it important for book covers to give clues to the narrative?
Vocabulary:
Template: is a stencil, pattern or overlay used in graphic arts (drawing, painting, etc)
and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs. It is a pre-developed page layout in
electronic or paper media used to create new pages from the same design, pattern, or style.
Target Audience: a Target Audience is, the market segment to which a particular
product is marketed. It's often defined by age, gender, geography, and/or socio-economic
grouping. Targeting is the selection of the customers you wish to sell something to.
Design Principles:
1. Remember to use design principles such a color, text, balance and rhythm to help
describe the elements in the story
2. Colors can help create moods, and describe places. For example, Black can imply a
scary story, White can depict winter. Using a very formal font can imply authority; where as
using something like Comic Sans can target kids.
3. Location of your text and graphics can make a difference in the mood your book cover
creates. Remember: Whitespace is your friend. Be careful of the size and shape of your
graphics. One large image may overpower all the others; too many on a page may just create
a blur in the readers mind.
Digital Design 2016 - Anderson
Adapted from: Digital Art & Design 1 - Mrs. Feeney

4. Make sure your text and graphics are aligned in some way. If your alignment is off, it
may distract the attention of the reader from the message you are trying to create.
5. Try and use repeating colors, lines, and shapes to help unify your piece.
6. Dont be afraid to use contrast to add drama or lead ones eye in a certain direction.
This can be done using different color fonts, shapes, or lines.

Principles of Typography:

Text can be one single font (Concordant)

You create a concordant design by using only one typeface on the

page or throughout the entire project. The catch is that you use
different variations of the typeface. For example, you could use the
bold version of a font for a headline. For paragraphs you could use the
normal version of the font, and then include the font in italics to stress
certain points. The symbols within a typeface count as well. Designers
often use this principle to create a formal or calm appearance.

A combination of related fonts (Conflicting) - not

recommended
Using two or more similar, but not identical, typefaces leads to conflict. As you
can imagine, conflict is not pleasing to the eye. Conflict often results when
designers try to create contrast. The problem occurs when they choose
different typefaces, but stop short of choosing typefaces that are clearly
different. Having access to hundreds of typefaces can also cause conflict.

Using one single font may be all that is needed. You can still add contrast by using
different sizes, colors, bold, italics, or use a drop shadow. Changing the shape or orientation
also works. In some cases, you may want to use more than one typeface.
In general, San Serif fonts are used for headlines. These are fonts like Arial,
Tacoma, etc.
The body type is usually a Serif font like Times New Roman. Try to avoid using
more than two typefaces on any piece. Using more than that can
be very distracting.
Decorative Typefaces provide a way to express emotion
with type. Certain typefaces are designed to represent certain
feelings. Decorative typefaces are best when used in moderation,
and never for long lines of text. You should have a reason for using
these typefaces. Its also important to use a typeface that
represents the desired response. For instance, a typeface that
invokes fear is probably inappropriate for a story about the benefits
of holiday giving.
Procedure:
1. Decide on the Book you will be designing your cover for
2. Research Online professional designed versions of the book cover
3. Create the artwork for this book cover using a variety of media taking into
consideration the size of the art and the size of the book cover.
a. Make sure you set up your document color mode to be CMYK.
4.
(photoshop resolution 300 dpi)
a. Front Only: Height = 8.5 in x Width = 6.5 in
b. Full Spread (front, spine, back): Height = 8.5 in x Width = 14 in (Spine
width is 1 in)
5. Access the InDesign Template from my website
6. Place the artwork into the template and begin typesetting
7. Save a copy of your final book cover as JPEG to be submitted to
Digital Design 2016 - Anderson
Adapted from: Digital Art & Design 1 - Mrs. Feeney

RAnderson@aadusd.k12.ca.us..
a. Choose: FILE>EXPORT>JPEG
b. Select: MAXIMUM QUALITY AND 300 RESOLUTION
8. Print a final copy of your book cover - Get teacher approval and guidance before
printing!!
9. Printing Instructions: Print to 309 Drafting Ricoh
Resources:
1. Project Inspiration Pinboard: http://pinterest.com/fhsart/art-in-response-to-writing-bookcover-art/
2. Interview With Book Cover Artist Chip Kidd: skip 9:00 - 10:00
http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_kidd_designing_books_is_no_laughing_matter_ok_it_is.html
3. *Placing Artwork into Adobe InDesign: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-indesigncs6/working-with-graphics/
4. *Using the Typography Features in Adobe InDesign:
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-indesign-cc/formatting-text-easily-and-consistently-usingparagraph-styles-in-indesign-cc/
5. InDesign Book Cover Template: https://www.fairviewhs.org/staff/rebeccafeeney/classes/digital-art-and-design-1/folders/1507
6. Printing Setup Video: http://vimeo.com/78836765
7. Cutting & Mounting Demo Video: http://vimeo.com/78870169
Due:
1. Jpeg Version of your project emailed to RAnderson@aadusd.k12.ca.us titled, Book
Cover Design with typed
artists statement as the caption.
2. Printed & Mounted copy of the book cover prepared for the class critique.
Artists Statement
1. Who is your target audience?
2. How was color used to create mood and convey emotion?
3. What are the visual clues to the narrative?
4. What art elements & design principles are used to unify your book cover?
Critique Questions:
1. What do you see first (most emphasized) in this design?
2. What group of people do YOU think this book is targeting? Males, Females, Children,
etc...
What Genre group does this book fit into? Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Mystery etc.
3. What questions would you ask the designer?
4. Give the artist feedback on their use of typography. ex. sans serif vs. serif fonts
did they have any conflicts?

Digital Design 2016 - Anderson

Adapted from: Digital Art & Design 1 - Mrs. Feeney