Assignment Two: Form and function

Design the book format and cover artwork for two different versions of Daniel Defoe’s classic 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. The publishers, Viking Press, have decided to re-release this title as a new pocket edition for readers on the move that reflects the adventurous nature of the story within a contemporary setting. This paperback version should have a modern visual feel that can compete with new titles in the bookshop. They also want a deluxe edition for armchair readers and classic book collectors that references the historical nature of the story and its associations. Produce book design ideas and cover artwork to reflect the content of the story across both formats and contexts. Be creative and inventive with both the look and format of these books.

As a side project to accompany the re-release of Robinson Crusoe, Viking Press has also asked you to design a new book called Washed ashore: The ultimate guide to surviving on a desert island by Rik Bennett. This is a ‘how-to’ guide that should reflect not only the practical advice it offers but something of the adventure of being a castaway.

The scale, stock and binding of these publications are up to you. The pocket edition needs to celebrate the functionality of the book as a lightweight, transportable object, and to connect to the story’s travel or survival themes in a contemporary way. The deluxe edition can present the content in a larger, finer, more luxurious, considered or expanded way, that perhaps makes reference to the history of the book itself. Your designs need to be seen as part of a series across both versions, so think about how you adapt your designs to fit each format. The shipwreck guide needs to be seen as a separate genre, piggy-backing on the success of Robinson Crusoe. Develop visual ideas that can distinguish the survival guide from your Robinson Crusoe designs, while at the same time making some thematic connection between them.

Your design should include the front, back, spine and flaps of your covers – if you opt for traditional bookbinding. You can also come up with alternative ways of binding, and therefore designing your books if you want to. Generate your own illustrations, photography or artwork for the covers, source copyright-free images, or treat the covers purely typographically. This is an opportunity to be creative with both your design thinking and outcomes, so experiment, and test out a range of visual and physical options.

You may want to extend your project by also designing several sample pages from the inside of the book. When creating sample pages, try to make a link between the cover design and the design of the inside pages.

Present your ideas by mocking up each of the books and their covers, and by presenting the overall spec of your designs (what paper stock you are using, etc.).

Work through the design process, documenting it in your learning log as you go. Use rough drawings, notes, diagrams, mock-ups of your books, photographs of what you’re working on, and by saving different stages of any digital work to show your process. Talk about your creative process through notes and reflections.

Research and ideas

The key specifications for what I need to create are:

• Book format and cover for two versions of Robinson Crusoe for Viking Press.
• One version is a pocket edition and the other is a deluxe edition.
• The pocket edition is specified as paperback.
• Design a how-to guide for desert island survival.
• The design should include front, back, spine and flaps.
• Alternates to traditional bookbinding are also welcome.
• Scale, stock and binding are up to me.
• The two versions need to be seen as part of a series.
• The how-to guide should be seen as a different genre.

The pocket edition is for people on the move, it should feel adventurous as well as contemporary with a modern visual feel. It should functionally be lightweight, easy to transport and connect to the story’s survival or travel themes.

The deluxe edition is for armchair readers, it should have a classic feel and be a collectors’ book. It should reference the historical nature of the story and its associations. This should be larger, finer and more expanded.

The how-to guide will offer practical advice with a sense of adventure for a castaway.

The Story

I have provided a very condensed version of the story below:

Robinson Crusoe defies his parents and middle class English society to adventure. His ship is wrecked but he sets off again. This time he is captured by pirates and enslaved, although he eventually escapes with a boy named Xury. He is rescued by a Portuguese ship, sells Xury to the captain and gains a plantation in Brazil.

Later, he is shipwrecked on the way to Africa but manages to save enough tools to create shelter, hunt and grow food. He also adopts a Parrot. He later encounters the island cannibals and helps an escaped prisoner who he calls Friday. He teaches him English and converts him to Christianity. They kill most of the natives and save two prisoners (Friday’s father and a Spaniard).

Crusoe eventually escapes on an English ship and arrives back in England where he discovers his family believed he was dead and left nothing to him in his father’s will. He does however have profits from the plantation in Brazil. [1]

Themes 

Below I have listed a selection of the main themes in Robinson Crusoe. [2-4]

Survival and Self Reliance
Being shipwrecked means that Crusoe obviously needs to survive and to figure out what is essential.

Civilisation
Crusoe has a system of rules that he tries to impose on the island and its natives. He is also aware of the cultural relativism.

Individuality
By setting out on his adventure and rejecting middle class English society, Crusoe is asserting individuality.

Religion and Spiritual growth
This provides a source of strength and purpose for Robinson Crusoe.

Colonialism
Crusoe’s relationship with Friday can be seen as a microcosm of the British Empire’s relationship with indigenous people.

The power of Nature
Nature is responsible for the shipwreck as well as providing food for nourishment.

Motifs and Symbols

Below I have listed a selection of the main motifs and symbols in Robinson Crusoe. [5-7]

The Sea
Not only representative of escape but also of the power of nature.

Footprint
When Crusoe first sees a footprint he reacts with fear which expresses his ambivalence towards society and acceptance of individuality. It also speaks of an imprint on nature.

Gun
A representation of Crusoe’s power over the other islanders.

Boats
A symbol of freedom and escape.

The Island
As Crusoe develops as a person so too does the island.

Mind maps

At this stage I created mind maps around some of the key words:

Classic covers

This was now the right time to look at examples of Robinson Crusoe covers with a classic look.

Here we have thick, leather bound versions of the book. Two of these copies feature liberal use of the colour blue which must be a link to the ocean. All copies use gold for typography and illustrative decoration. Decorations are also used in the style of Art Nouveau. This all adds up to create books that look classic and could be called collectors’ books. The first design uses the key symbol of the ship while the third book links to survival themes. There is also examples of embossing on these books which further establishes the books as objects of beauty.

The middle book here is of the same ilk as the previous three. It has a decorative frame and a very simple anchor illustration with the initials of the book title. I like how simple but effective this is. It again uses gold foiling and a leather cover to establish importance. The other two books use full cover illustrations and links to survival themes.

Every book here uses illustration to show survival themes. So far every book has also featured serif or decorative typefaces. The colour blue is still a very popular choice.

Modern covers

Now to look at covers with a decidedly modern feel.

With these modern covers the footprint has been chosen as a key symbol. These designs have a bolder typographic style as well as more space and use of photography.

These covers use patterns or an illustrative background. The first design uses many different images such as a ship and footprint. The second design takes a different approach and uses phases of the moon. The third cover uses only green to portray nature.

These designs all employ a sharp, simple cut-out style of illustration with ample use of colours.

The first design here uses computer generated imagery. The second design has interesting typographic arrangement .

Robinsonade

Robinson Crusoe inspired its own genre and here are a few books from that genre.

Despite being different stories we can see similar imagery and styles being used here. The Coral Island design uses blue and gold foiling to create a look of elegance, it reminds me of one of the classic Robinson Crusoe covers. The covers for Foe feature lots of sand which can be seen in many Robinson Crusoe designs. The first Lord of the Flies cover background reminds me of one of the Penguin designs for Robinson Crusoe. The second one liberally uses colour.

How-to covers

One thing that seems to be fairly common with these guides is the use of a ‘dirty’ typeface that is worn away in some way.

Thumbnails and ideas

I tried some minimalist drawings of some of the key visuals I had collected.

I also found it useful to combine certain images, the most promising combination was the foot becoming an island I felt. This took a commonly used motif and made it into something new.

It was also useful to test out layouts in thumbnail form for some of the ideas.

I came across the Villard de Honnecourt diagram and wondered whether this could add a classic touch to the hardback version.

I also began to elaborate on these ideas with colour.

I would continue to develop these ideas digitally but for now I will mention format, stock and binding.

Looking at format

A-format books are a popular format in the UK for small paperbacks. It was standard for airport fiction and is now more widely used for reprints. This is an obvious choice for a paperback format for readers on the go. The dimensions are 178mm x 111mm.

Royal format is the most popular choice for hardback novels. They are the largest of British fiction sizes. This is what I’ll use for my ‘armchair reader’ version. The dimensions are 234mm x 156mm.

B-format is the most widely used format for paperback in the UK and I thought this would be a safe bet for the Washed Ashore book. It is a bit bigger than the A-format book with dimensions of 198mm x 129mm. [8]

Stock and binding

A site called Imprint Digital had some useful information on paper choices and also some examples of the paper stocks that could be used. [9]

Book Block

The paperback version of Robinson Crusoe and the survival guide need to both be cheaply made. I think perfect binding would be the way to go much like a paperback book I have in front of me. A reasonably light weight of between 70-80gsm should be suitable.  There is also an amount of opacity with paperback books. Something like a ’80 gsm Bookwove White’ seems like a good choice.

The hardback novels needs to be more of an object beauty. A larger weight of around 100gsm could be used and minimal grain is preferred. The colour should be a purer white and not an offset cream like the Bookwove stock. Whether the paper should be coated really depends on the amount of illustrations in the book. Without illustrations a stock such as ‘100 gsm Opaque’ and with illustrations/photographs a coated stock such as ‘115gsm Coated – matt / gloss’ would work. Case binding is more suitable for hardbacks and turns the book into more of a decorative object – with head and tail bands especially.

Covers

In general, paperback novels use a thicker, coated paper for covers which is then also laminated – 240gsm is not uncommon. The hardback cover would typically be a thick and heavy board or perhaps faux leather to provide more of a historical, visual and tactile outcome. Without a dust jacket, I think gold debossing would be a good choice here too. Dust jackets tend to be laminated and not very heavy.

Paperback version

Moving onto Illustrator and InDesign I carried on testing ideas from my sketchbook. The rule of thirds played a critical role in many of my designs here. My most minimal idea featured wavy lines as a representation of the sea and nature. I found a typeface that worked nicely with this minimal illustration, it had modernity but also a ‘wavy’ quality that is seen especially in the letter ‘E’.

Another ideas also featured a wave but with more experimental typographic arrangement.

I also experimented with stock images from Pexels [10-13]. These ideas feature full page photographs, with various typographic and banner arrangements. They are simple, modern and clean and I admit I like how they turned out but I felt that I needed to play more of an active role in this assignment.

The idea I was compelled to follow was the amalgamation of the iconic footprint and the island itself. This was a conceptual approach where I combined to central themes/motifs into one. I kept the minimalist aesthetics and used a functional sans serif typeface called ‘RealistWide’. I established the title at the top of the typographic hierarchy because it is better known to people than the author’s name. The colour palette is very limited with only three colours being used. This gave me my first paperback version:

Once the front cover was completed I could expand into the spine and back cover. I kept the same colour palette for this spread. A serif typeface called ‘Kefa’ was added for the critic quotes to add more dynamics. This typeface still looked modern to me unlike many other serif typefaces so it was a sensible choice I thought. I chose to have the sea waves spread across the entire design and the impact of this can be appreciated with the mockup below. I added an ISBN and publisher logo for extra realism and once I balanced all of my type and image I had my finished design:

This is not the end of the story however because I followed another idea and ended up with two designs I liked equally (sorry, I just couldn’t choose between the two).

This second paperback version had an even simpler front cover. The typeface is a bolder one called ‘Atkiv Grotesk Ex’ with a flush left and right allignment for title and author respectively – title is still at the top of the typographic hierarchy. The image is placed in the centre to complete the balance. Yes, the image is a well known one but I think I have created a unique design here still. The blue shades of the foot evoke the sea.

With the back cover I continued to evoke the sea with an extra illustration and blue text. ‘Kefa’ was again my choice for a serif typeface. This design lacks the conceptual approach of the first design but it makes up for it with sheer contrast and boldness.

Hardback version

One idea I had for the hardback version was a decorative frame, which could consist of a ship’s steering wheel. I found this wheel on Pexels and made alterations on Photoshop to give it more of an illustrative look. A royal blue and gold colour theme would also sell the book as a collector’s book. This was definitely a throwback to some of the early leather bound editions of the book. As I mentioned earlier I had found the Villard de Honnecourt diagram and thought this could add a bit of class to the book. I tried to arrange my layout according to it:

It didn’t quite seem to work so I tried some different layouts and felt that a centred layout worked best.

However, at this point I thought about how the paperback and hardback designs had to work as part of a series and this didn’t seem to apply to the hardback cover I was working on. So I began to blend my hardback design with my paperback design (the foot version to begin with).

As you can see, I have kept the Bookmania typeface which is quite a refined looking typeface. Instead of the frame I have left the ship’s wheels at corners and on the spine. I tied this design to my paperback version by using the black background and the foot, although I added a gold outline to the foot.

I tried a few layouts but ultimately it was the simple centred approach that worked the best again.

I also designed this with the dust jacket flaps in mind. The back flap would remain empty but the front flap would feature an author bio. You can also see that I limited the use of the ship wheel in this design.

I would also like to add that with a hardback version with no dust jacket, gold foiling would be very effective.

For the other version of the hardback I kept the typefaces and gold colour choice. This time, the only thing linking it to the paperback is the same blue background. I chose to use the steering wheel as the visual in this design.

I tried different layouts as with my other version but felt again that a centred approach worked best. I also added a stroke to the title and author text in this version to help it stand out a bit more. Decorative lines also added more refinement.

This time I have left the book summary off the back cover and instead put it in the front flap. The back cover is instead filled with an enlarged illustration.

Again, gold foiling could work well on a hardcover like this to reinforce its importance.

Washed Ashore

I knew that this design needed to be stylistically different while also evoking Robinson Crusoe and a spirit of adventure. Many of the how-to guides I had seen seemed to use photographs and I thought it would be a good chance to use one of the photographs I had discarded earlier. I used one that seemed perfect with an overhead shot of waves crashing onto a beach with a lone figure. I knew I needed a fitting typeface for this kind of book and found a few that fitted:

Ultimately it would be a typeface called ‘Korolev Military Stencil’ that I would use for the title. Stencils are often seen with these kind of books and evoke a survivalist theme. The typeface I used for the author and back summary was ‘KonTikiJF’ which has a more tropical tiki flavour. This helps to add more fun and adventure so the design doesn’t become overly serious. I used a different photograph for the back cover and colour corrected it on Photoshop so it mixed with the front cover more seamlessly. I used a stock image of torn paper to place the back cover text upon. This added more adventure to the design and helped add a touch more ‘Robinsonaid’.

Reflection

I think the three design outcomes I have produced provide what the brief asked for. The format and stock considerations for the pocket book version take into account that it is targeted at people on the move. I have reflected the adventurous nature of the story with imagery while making the design very modern. The deluxe edition separates itself from the paperback version and references the historical association of the story and older publications with colour choice and imagery. I think the ‘Washed Ashore’ side project balances adventure and practicability while also standing alone from the Robinson Crusoe designs and linking to the story at the same time.

My creative process involved a lot of research and a mixture of experimentation on paper and on my computer. In the future, I could do more in my sketchbook and perhaps incorporate this into the mockup stage with some ‘real’ mockups. I played to my strengths by keeping my illustrative style very minimal. Photography is more my domain and perhaps I could find ways to incorporate my own photography into future designs. I thought it was positive that I could change course with my designs when I felt it was necessary.

References

1. Wikipedia. 2020. Robinson Crusoe. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
2. enotes. 2020. What are several of the major themes in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/need-write-10-themes-form-book-robinson-cusco-can-477524. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
3. Course Hero. 2016. Robinson Crusoe Themes. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Robinson-Crusoe/themes/. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
4. LitCharts. 2020. Robinson Crusoe Themes. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/robinson-crusoe/themes. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
5. Course Hero. 2016. Robinson Crusoe Symbols. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Robinson-Crusoe/symbols/. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
6. LitCharts. 2020. Robinson Crusoe Symbols. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/robinson-crusoe/symbols. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
7. SparkNotes. 2020. Main Ideas Symbols. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crusoe/symbols/. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
8. InDesignSkills. 2018. The Most Popular Standard Book Sizes in the US and UK. [ONLINE] Available at: https://indesignskills.com/tutorials/standard-book-sizes/. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
9. Imprint Digital. 2020. Book Cover Paper Stock. [ONLINE] Available at: https://digital.imprint.co.uk/info/printing-faq/types-of-paper/. [Accessed 1 July 2020].
10. Pixabay, (2017), Blue Body Water [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/beach-foam-landscape-nature-533923/ [Accessed 1 July 2020].
11. Josh Sorenson, (2017), Body of Water Beside Beach Sand [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/beach-daylight-foam-landscape-386148/ [Accessed 1 July 2020].
12. Ricardo Esquivel, (2019), Blue and White Abstract Painting [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-and-white-abstract-painting-1802268/ [Accessed 1 July 2020].
13. Emiliano Arano, (2012), Close-up Photo of Water [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-water-1350197/ [Accessed 1 July 2020].
14. https://www.designbolts.com/2019/07/16/free-fat-book-title-spine-backside-mockup-psd/
15. https://covervault.com/6-x-9-front-back-paperback-book-mockup/
16. http://www.pune-design.com/portfolios/book-mockup-dust-jacket/
17. https://www.amrboshanab.com/portfolio/free-logo-mockup/