Project Description

This book cover mock-up was used to further practice in visual design, using a literary piece at random to design a hypothetical book cover for. Once Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” was chosen, work began to create a book cover for a classical piece appropriate in a modern world. “Scholastic Book Club” was also chosen at random to publish this hypothetical printing of the book.

A simple and clean design philosophy was used to create a cover that would speak for itself, especially considering the literary pieces’ already existing popularity. A conscious design choice was whether to emphasis “Edgar Allan Poe”, the author or the title, “The Raven”. However, the goal was to create a book cover as if one did not already exist for this literary piece — thus “The Raven” was traditionally placed on top and made the focal point of the design.

Another design decision was made to make the book cover’s imagery a sculpture of the Goddess of Wisdom of Greek Mythology, Athena — as opposed as the obvious choice: a Raven. The poem’s narrative writes often of “the bust of Pallas” — another name for Athena — where The Raven itself was perched. Using this imagery is what creates a visually appealing and insightful design that matches the literary pieces’ mysterious tone.