Penguin: Wonder Initial Ideas

The idea of 'War':
One of the main elements within the book is the war between Jack and Julian because Julian didn't want Jack to be friends with Auggie. Therefore I experimented with different ways to showcase this war, initially using straight lines (see figure 1) however I felt this look odd and didn't reflect the concept. This lead to the use of crosses (see figure 2) which are commonly featured in children's games, the three crosses symbolise Auggie, Jack and Summer as these where the only students to befriend Auggie until the end of the book. The balance of the three verses multiple others showcases the element of 'war' felt by the characters, but by placing Auggie, Jack and Summer on top it indicates that they win in the end. Experiments placing the three kids on the bottom looked too overpowering and daunting, failing to capture the message within the book (see figure 3) In relation to type I've used Poppins within these experiments as the simple nature of the type allows it to appeal to children and compliment the lines within the cover. Placing the line 'You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out' between the rivals shows indicates that its better to be different than follow the crowd, as this idea of accepting who you are is a key element within the book (see figure 4). However I wanted to try an alternative approach as I wasn't sure if the cover was too centrally aligned, leading to the placement of the line  'You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out' below the 'war' illustration as a comment on the situation (see figure 5). I think balances the cover more, making it look less centrally aligned however I plan to gain feedback in order to identify which cover works best. In relation to the colours (see figure 6) used within these experiments the white and charcoal where inspired by the traditional colours of a school playground as Auggie's school is the setting of this 'war'. I've mainly looked at primary colours for the other experiments, trying to avoid the use of blue as that has featured heavily within previous covers. However I think the use of white and charcoal is most appropriate (see figure 7-8).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8