OUGD406 STUDIO BRIEF 2 - PRIMARY RESEARCH

The main bulk of my research consisted of a visit to the bookshops Colours May Vary (CMV), Village Bookstore and Waterstones in Leeds, to have a look at more artistic book covers, from a range of different styles and genres of books.

I like the colour combinations used on this card, the pink and green compliment each other lovely, and the black outlines bright out the details. I think the muted tones help give this card a very calm appearance, something you'd expect at afternoon teach in the garden sitting on intricate white metal chairs.

This is the cover of a note book I saw in CMV. I like how there are four different objects on the cover, all which appear to be arranged in a grid kind of format. I think this could reflect the different objects in my book nicely, as it separates them from one another, as they appear as separate objects, rather than as a whole. I don't care much for the brown colour palette the cover has adopted, purely because it looks a little like dog biscuits, which one of the illustrations is of, but I wouldn't expect to find it on the front of a notebook.

The block serif typeface used for the title of this book cover gives the book a slightly aggressive feeling, which matches the title itself, however is contrasting against the blue, purple and yellow gradient as a background, which appears rather 1960's. I think the bold back typefaces used on the whole cover though works splendid with the colourful background, making it look a little magical.

The spine is interesting, as it is made of cloth rather than card, and is a rich blue shade which is very appealing against the bold, black font used for the text on it. How the cloth on the spine overlaps onto the cover is very aesthetically appealing as well, as it emphasises the use of vibrant colours on the cover, adding even more vibrancy to it. What I like about this book is how if you were to just see it from the side, so only the spine were visible, you would think it was just like any other old fashioned book, maybe except for the colour of the spine, but when you look at the cover it is a surprise.

Again I like the colour palette of pink and green used on this book cover, and the use of the bold, sans serif typeface used for the text. The watercolour style illustrations on the cover make this book appear slightly more artistic, which would definitely appeal more to a graphic designer or creative, rather than someone who is passive about creativity. This book cover is actually a recreation of the original, which was first published in 1958, using the same illustration methods to recreate the same imagery. Flying Eye Books and Dahlov Ipcar created the illustrations for this version.

I like the vectorised, very linear style of illustrations that creates the cover on this book. I also like how the letterforms are actually part of the illustrations, rather than just being placed on top of them. The simple colours match the simplicity of this cover, and highlight it at it's best without anything distracting focus.

This is a really interesting illustrated cover, which remind me of a similar style that illustrator LumberJack Joe produces. I think the contrasting use of colours really brings this illustration to life, and is reflective of the title of the book as well.

Lumberjack Joe Illustration.

I like the simplistic use of colour and bold shapes making up the pattern, which reflects the topic of the book. The bright pink colour of the book contrasts really nicely against the white text and also helps it to be read easier.

The circle in the centre of this book cover which holds all the information appears a bit like a stamp, which I find quite interesting, as it has an informal appearance. The green background colour is also a reference to the content of the book, cycling, but perhaps the modernist style of the rest of the book reflects that it is city cycling, a contemporary activity.

I like the simplicity of this card, how there is no need for any illustrations to make the point clearer, it's just as it is. The yellow background however does help to reflect the text on the card, and gives it a generally more cheerful appearance. This simplistic yet colourful approach may perhaps be a nice way to go for my book cover designs.

This book cover is very simple and therefore has a strong effect, especially with the only text on the page except for the authors name being "I Lied.", which is a pretty strong statement to make for a front cover. The neutral tones also implies that this book isn't full of happy memories, but is in fact a little sad. I must be careful when I choose the colours for my book cover, as certain colours could imply certain things.

I mainly like the typeface used for this book cover, as some of the letterforms have been manipulated to look all wobbly, and in my opinion a little like jellyfish. This reflects the title itself. I think that the orange coloured title stands out really strong against the grey background cover, but the blue spine helps to reinforce that this book isn't an ordinary novel.

This book cover design is another simple one, using neutral colours and minimal text. I like the combination of a very neutrally coloured photograph and a black serif font for the title of the book, as these re contrasting things, and makes each of them appear more aesthetically appealing.

This is another simple magazine cover, however this design uses bod colours to make impact, rather than neutral ones, which creates a much more positive appearance. I think how the title of the magazine has been created with the O's to look like a doughnut and a burger , which suggests maybe this issue is about food. It also adds a little bit of a comical element to it, so you don't think the magazine is too serious. 

I like the illustrative style of this zine cover I found in Village, as it kind of looks digitally produced due to only one colour being used, but varying shades, yet the illustrative style combats this. The bold title also stands out strong being of a very heavy weight, maybe something to consider for my designs.

I thought this was a really interesting book, as there isn't any text in in, but each page you turn you get a different landscape, which is previewed with the book closed fully. The bright green and white colour palette also make for a vibrant design.

This was a really interesting book cover I found in Waterstones, which was on sale for £50, however there was no text at all on the cover to suggest what the book was about, and was wrapped in plastic so you couldn't open it to find out. I thought this added an air of mystery to the cover. Across the main map like illustration that covers the whole cover is a heart beat wave, which is rather interesting, and makes you wonder why it is there. The use of purely green shades for the colour palette makes for a vibrant book cover, which also reflects the map illustration cover, and perhaps life which may include the heartbeat.

The typeface used on this book cover is both simple, with the outline of the letterforms being a simple sans serif, yet is also wildly colourful as well, with a geometric pattern filling the contents of the letterforms, making it slightly hard to read some of the letters, but adding so much colour to the page, and reflecting the content of the book. The simple white background allows the typeface to stand out on the page, as this is the main focus.

I really like the colours used in the painting for this book cover, and the style of the painting as well. Marie-laure Cruschi created the illustrations both for the cover of the book and inside as well. The style of illustrations in the book all have the same warm, rich tones, and geometrical style shapes which make up the overall image. This is a really unique, interesting style, which I find very interesting, however I don't think would work as a style for my own book.

This is a piece to promote the Urdd message of peace and goodwill by Elfen, this year with the theme of the environment. I like the light and darker green colours used in the pattern, whereby a little figure, of a tree perhaps, however to be I immediately see a computer mouse, as from afar it just looks like a pattern, but when you look closer you see the detail. The two colours also work really nicely together, creating a very environmental feel.

This is a book cover for part of the Great Ideas Series designed by David Pearson. Similarly to the previous design, I like the green pattern that fills the upper half of the book cover, as the shapes look a little space rockets, which may relate to the title too. But similarly to the previous design, from afar it looks just like any pattern, but when you get closer you see the real detail.

This primary research has been really useful to me to help me get an idea of the kind of imagery I want to use for my own book cover design. I think I have gathered that a bolder design featuring simple shapes and bright colours may be the best way forward, perhaps incorporating some sort of pattern as well, as I think this would persuade designers to pick up the book, thinking that the contents could be interesting, rather than shy away from it, which as a design student myself I would definitely shy away from this book judging my the cover. The cover must be a snapshot into the contents of the book itself, and this is what I think is important I make clear on my cover.