Penguin: Initial Ideas

Key Elements of Book:

• The new establishment is about shared interests and agendas, not about where you come from but what you believe.
• Institutions and ideas that come from the ideas of a very few people banded together by a series of mentalities.
• Overton window
• Wealth and power is concentrated by a few

Power and Democracy:

The main theme of the book is the establishment as the book talks through what the establishment is and who is in it. This lead to the idea to focus on that fact that power is more important than democracy as those in the establishment want to keep the power amongst themselves. Therefor I started to experiment with how to showcase this dominance of power over democracy through type (figure 1). Originally I started with a quite basic approach inspired by fractions and hierarchy to showcase that power was more important, however this approach was too simplistic and lack shelf impact. Therefore I decided to experiment with the type itself more, combing both words through common letters in order to show the dominance of power (figures 2-3). The incorporation of the red line supports the dominance of power making it easier to understand at a quick glance, however the red line also links to the red tape within our democracy (figures 2-3). Personally the alterations within the type are successful however it distracts from the copy used within the cover and makes it look as through the book is called power and democracy. Therefor I plan to experiment further with this idea but at a smaller size to see if I can balance the typographic design and copy. Throughout these experiments I've looked at serif typefaces as these traditionally look more official, adding authenticity. However additional typefaces need to be looked at as GT Sectra Fine has been used however as this is a competition brief I don't have the correct licensing to use the typeface within my submission. Times New Roman has been used in in some experiments due to its link to newspapers which are referenced throughout the book.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Breaking the Grid:

Due to the brash nature of the book, the idea that Jones is rebelling against the Establishment by exposing them and trying to shed light on the political climate within the UK, I decided to experiment with less conventional ways to display the copy within the cover. Initial experiment look at turing the title on its side to show how Jones is turing the establishment on its side by examining how the old establishment has developed (figure 4). However I felt this idea could be extended to the whole copy to heighten the concept further (figure 5). I also decided to look at turing the type on its head to show how Jones is turing the establishment on its head to show the new agenda of the establishment and expose them to the general public (figure 6). Although these experiments are interesting those above have a stronger concept and more potential to be developed further.  

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6 

Illustration:

In order to try a different approach to the cover design I looked to incorporate illustrations to demonstrate the Establishment, particularly how MPs link to privatised businesses undermines democracy within the UK. The handshake symbolises (figure 7) the ties between those within the Establishment who help each other to maintain the establishment and keep the power within the few at the top, the deals between MPs and private businesses. The use of a sans serif typeface (Montserrat Bold) creates a more industrial and economic aesthetic to the cover complementing the concept behind the handshake (figure 8). The handshake works best at a smaller size as when its made to fit the cover the illustration becomes too overpowering. Despite the strong idea behind the handshake, earlier experiments looking solely at typography are more successful and create a greater shelf impact.

Figure 7

Figure 8