Diving into the Wreck -
Book Covers
Diving into the Wreck is a poem written by Adrienne Rich, an influential feminist poet and essayist. The poem explores themes such as overlooked women’s history, facing dangerous uncertainties head on, and dealing with traumatic experiences to better understand them.
I took two approaches when visually translating the poem into a book cover, both of which use acrylic paint as a foundation.
The first cover shows the silhouette of a sea creature’s tail as it dives down. The paper has rough, exposed edges that relates to the idea of a damaged wreck. A script typeface was chosen in order to further imply fluidity and movement that is often associated with the sea.
The second cover is comprised of blue swatches that darken as they lead the eye down along with the diver. A san serif typeface was utilized, which contrasts from the organic paint strokes. Through the approach of stacking the title, readers are visually taken along for the deep dive instead of staying on the surface.
1984 - Dust Jacket & Spreads
1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about a government’s surveillance and control of its people’s entire lives, including their thoughts. This novel was certainly my favorite out of everything I read during high school, so I decided to try my hand at an updated book cover.
I love eyeball motifs and designs, and since 1984 emphasizes being watched, it became the focus of this project. I also tend to enjoy using limited palettes in my design work, so B&W with a hint of red made the overall aesthetic really pop.
The interior spreads can be found in the PDF below, and carry the eyeball imagery throughout the pages— as if they were constantly watching the reader. I chose a sans-serif typeface for the body text to challenge the dated feeling of this book, and I ultimately achieved a modernized outcome.