Penguin Book: brief and background research

For the Penguin book competition, I have decided to focus on creating a cover for the adult non-fiction book selection which is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.

The book will need to...

• have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief

• be competently executed with strong use of typography

• appeal to a contemporary readership

• show a good understanding of the marketplace

• have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against

Keywords (design)
Timeless, confident, contemporary, striking, imaginative

The book
A Brief History of Time explains complex ideas of physics such as space and time, black holes, stars and gravity. Features Einsteins' theory of relativity, Aristotle, Ptolemy and Copernicus' early theories about the solar system and respective orbits, Newton's breakthrough of gravity, sections on red and blue shift, black holes explained and importantly, the Big Bang theory and expansion of the universe.

Classic covers 

The above cover features capitalised type as well as a graphic element. The coloured swirls on the cover appear to reflect how light behaves and it is revealed in the book that when light waves crests and trough's line up with each other, this is called interference and this can produce many different colours. The type is simple and works well to juxtapose the bright colours. Additional features of the cover are the statement 'phenomenal international bestseller' - I could include something similar in my design.

fig 1

fig 2

The above covers (fig 1 and fig 2)  feature type as the main element - using a bold black capitalised sans serif typeface to state the title and author draws the eye but in my opinion, makes the cover crowded and similar in appearance to a newspaper. Another unnecessary element is the photo of Stephen Hawking on the front - pictures of authors are usually kept to the back cover or inner book. I like the colour scheme and alignment of the book on the left, but the right cover colour scheme and placement of text does not suit the theme of the book in my opinion.

fig 3 

fig 4

These covers are the 10th and 20th-anniversary editions of the book, they keep the same design theme but have adjusted the placement of text as well as colour scheme. the detailed illustration alongside simple type works well and the book looks sophisticated and well put together.

fig 5

The above cover (fig 5) has more of an arty feel with the illustration of Hawking himself stylized to include pencil strokes. The colour scheme suits the style with blue, gold and white but the concept does not fit the non-fiction genre of book. Another thing is that the type is aligned oddly, with the quote on the front cover misaligned, which makes the cover appear crowded. 

fig 6

This cover features a detailed background, perhaps a 3D artists concept of an element of space. The plain bold typ, as well as the placement of it,t works well to compliment the art, making the cover look sophisticated. However due to the complex background some of the type is less legible, but only marginally.

Existing concept covers

fig 7

Designed by Tree Abraham

This cover (fig 7) for ABOT plays on the element of the solar system and the planets orbits, with the sun in the top left corner. The different coloured/patterned bands is a clever way to represent the planets in the solar system, particularly Saturn with its rings. The muted colour scheme compliments the pared back style of the illustration and the type does not interfere either. The only thing I do not like is the way the authors name is interwoven with the title of the book, which makes it harder to read.

fig 8

This simple design for the cover by Matt Roeser (fig 8) has the night sky as its main focus, with a telescope in the foreground pointing up to the stars. The type takes a backseat, taking up only a small fraction of the cover however the way the title is aligned, with the 'I's' in the words running along the same vertical line makes the placement more interesting. The simple colour scheme suits the concept of the cover well, especially with the watercolour effect of the night sky.

fig 9

The above cover designed by Matt Chase (fig 9) features a multicoloured elliptical shape as the primary focus of the book. Taken from the content of the book, the shape is blurry and eclipses sections of the title. The coloured shape looks good against the black background however the title is hard to read and this does not make it ideal for a book display.