Penguin: Initial Ideas/experiments

Initial experiments existed taking images from within the book such as constellations (see figures 1-2) in order to create some cover experimentations. In order to develop covers that both reflect the context of the book without looking like a school text book I decided to look at the diagrams within the book to show them in a more abstract manner to hint to whats inside the book. In relation to figures 3-5 arrows from a black hole diagram have been traced and made into a repeat pattern in order to abstractly show the context of the book (see figure 3-4), with the use of black and white reflecting the light trying to escape from a black hole. Based on the simplicity of the pattern itself I decided to repeat the pattern across the whole cover as when featured just on the front cover the whole sleeve looked incomplete (see figure 4). The decision to repeat the pattern across the whole cover created the challenge of organising the copy so that it could be read without being disturbed by the pattern. This lead to the use of grey lines instead of white so the copy could be read however I feel this takes away from the design as it is less impactful and also takes away from the concept of light trying to escape from a black hole. In relation to figure 6-7 a proton collision has been traced as I felt this more accuratly conveyed the use of a diagram from within the book as the other experimentations featured obvious imagery (figures 1-2) and a more abstract representation (figure 3). The placement of the collision on the back cover allows the cover copy to be organised easily without being disrupted by the lines. However the back cover is more difficult to navigate due to the multiple lines within the cover which disrupt the large body of information on the back cover.  In relation to the choice of font, Furtura has been chosen as its sharp terminals and long x-height give the typeface a scientific feel which works effectively within these design as it compliments the design.

However upon receiving feedback on these initial experimentations I plan to revisit my initial ideas and conduct more research into the books contents and the book itself in order to create more conceptually lead designs as although these experimentations are aesthetically solid they lack an innovative concept which is required by the brief in order to showcase the groundbreaking nature of the book itself.

Figure 1

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Figure 3

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Figure 7