Penguin Cover Evaluation

In order to respond to studio brief 2 three covers (see figures 1-3) for John le Carre novels have been produced using the marber grid, which has been altered to create a more contemporary cover due to its use within the 60s across penguin mystery novels. The imagery within the covers has been created by focusing on the locations used within the book in order to create an abstract representation of the storyline. This approach has been chosen in order to avoid the use of obvious imagery allowing for iconic landmarks within the cities used in the book to be featured on the covers. In relation to the use of colour, purple has been chosen for these covers in order to represent the mysterious nature of the storylines as well as  to make them easily identifiable by author. The use of a white spin splits up the use of purple which would be too overpowering if used across the whole cover. In relation the to the timeline (see figure 4) which follows a map of Poland, where Romek Marber was born, allows for the celebration of his work for penguin books throughout his career including the creation of the barber grid. Overall the covers work well to represent the storylines involved, however a more complex variation of the marber grid could be developed to create a greater contrast against the original system. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4