Design Department - Design Decisions

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

This week you'll be shadowing the design team. One of the creative directors talks you through a manuscript that they've been assigned. They've been tasked with coming up with a suitable book cover for it.

Before they can even start mocking up potential covers, they explain how there are some important design considerations to take into account. Colour(s) used, illustrations and typography styles all contribute to a potential reader picking up the book.

You listen intently and take careful notes.

Task:

Come up with a book that would fit in with the wizarding world and share some information about it. Then write a list of design choices made and the reasons for it (eg. which colour(s) were chosen for the cover and why). The section on design choices should be at least 100 words. (Note: this is a written task and not a graphics one).

Post your write-ups below by 11:59 PM on 26 October. You'll earn 20 beans for this task.

[Janne Halla]

Continuing the story of Auroras and Antlers.

The cover is deep midnight blue and indigo which form the backdrop, evoking Lapland’s winter nights, with streaks of green, pink, and silver sweeping across the sky to capture the aurora borealis. These colours arc over the scene of the cover and will bring attention to the book.

In the foreground stands the silhouette of an elk, its antlers glowing against the snowy landscape. Beside it, a small figure of Väinö, wrapped in robes and holding a glowing wand. The mystery and whimsy of the scene shows what the book is about without really going into details.

The typography will be a serif font with slightly curling strokes, hinting at icicles or frost, while still remaining easy for children to read. The title Auroras and Antlers will appear in large, silver-foiled letters across the top, catching the light when the book is moved, hoping to invoke playfulness and elegance.

[River Fenwick]

The cover design for The Mystic Menagerie features a background that swirls deep purples and midnight blues together to evoke the sense of mystery in the book, representing Natasha Blackwood's journey throughout the story.

The illustration on the front is in gold and silver, with accents of a light red color, showcasing a young woman standing in front of a gated zoo entrance, looking up at it, while a faint silhouette is visible beyond the gates, showcasing the zoo aspect of the book and hinting toward the strange patrons and owner.

The title is printed in a handwritten script, while the author's name is in a serif font, in an effort to personalize the book to Natasha while maintaining a sense of elegance.

[Aisling Lestrange]

The cover is bound in deep midnight blue, chosen to evoke the vastness of the night sky and the quiet melancholy of the moors where many of the stories unfold. The title, Whispers Beneath the Waxing Moon, appears in elegant silver-foiled lettering across the upper third of the cover, its font graceful but slightly weathered at the edges, giving the impression of ink faded by time. Beneath it, the author’s name, Elsbeth Graeves, is printed in smaller, subdued grey, allowing the title to glow as the focal point.

At the centre of the cover, an embossed lantern emblem adds texture and meaning, symbolising guidance through the darkness, both literal and emotional. The spine carries the same title and author name in silver foil, accompanied by delicate runic etchings faintly pressed into the material, suggesting protective enchantments over the book itself.

Inside, the pages are printed on cream parchment-style paper with slightly rough edges to give an aged, handcrafted feel. The text is set in an elegant serif typeface in soft charcoal ink, easy on the eyes and timeless in style. Each chapter opens with a botanical illustration – rowan, hawthorn, wolfsbane, etc – drawn in fine ink lines to mirror the flora of the northern moors. A dusky silver ribbon bookmark completes the design, echoing the moonlit palette.