It's finally here: my first macroblog! (It's actually just a "blog" but macroblog makes it sound more exciting. Plus it pairs well with "microblog.")
For this macroblog I chose to redesign the cover of my copy of 100 Years of Solitude. While I do appreciate the overall aesthetic of the cover, I don't think having a picture of half the author's face on the cover was the best choice. As great as the author, Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez is, his face has nothing to do with the story itself (other than the fact that he wrote it). In addition, the purpose of a book cover is to capture potential readers' attention, to make them interested enough to pick up the book and read it. However, I'm not sure Márquez's face does that. Márquez is a prolific writer, but most people won't recognize his face upon first glance and thus will have no reason to be interested in the book.
When comparing the cover of this edition of the book to others, this one stands out as having a very different vibe. Not only does it feature the author's face, it isn't illustrated and it doesn't it contain any naturalistic elements. In addition, it's entirely black and white except for the horizontal gold lines, a stark contrast to the other more bold and colorful covers. Considering how deeply rooted this book is in Latin American culture, nature, and fantasy, I wanted a cover that reflected those ideas but in a modernly designed way. I may not be the best artist (the number of times I had to redraw the cover is a testament to this), but I do enjoy design and wanted to put my skills to the test. Thus, I set out to become the inexperienced, book cover version of those HGTV home renovators.
Since I had no idea what made a good book cover when I went into this, I decided to consult Google. Most of the articles I read said that great book cover design narrowed down to one thing: simplicity. I love the minimalist aesthetic, but I was unsure of how to go about putting it into practice. Thankfully, I found a Wired interview with Peter Mendelsund, a master book jacket designer behind famous titles like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In the interview, Mendelsund says one must resist the urge to simply take an image from the text itself. "It's very tempting to read a book only for visual cues when you're a jacket designer,' he says. 'Oh, her hair is blond, and it's a cold climate, and they live on a hill.' That's just really treacherous. Because if you read that way, you'll miss the point of the book. And almost never are those kind of details the point of the book." Sure, I could have just slapped on a picture of a Latin American family in a town and called it a day, but what Mendelsund said made sense; the concrete visual aspects of a novel are important, but not more so than the thoughts and feelings a novel provokes in its readers.
So the challenge then became expressing Márquez's melancholic blending of the natural and fantastical, all in a simple and more modern design. This was the product:
As for the thought behind this cover design, most of it centers on the meaning behind the gold fish. It represents both the cyclic/repetitive nature of time and history as well as the human tendency towards self-sabotage. The Buendia family (on whom the book centers) is one constantly haunted by the past. Its members are often caught in nostalgia and plagued by ghosts, but they're also doomed to always make the same mistakes, to follow in the footsteps of their relatives (especially those with whom they share the same name). As for how a gold fish relates to time and self-sabotage, one must look to Colonel Aureliano Buendia. When he was younger, Aureliano spent all of his time shut up in his workshop where he slaved over the creation of thousands of little gold fish. It marked the beginning of a man who would never let anyone but himself close, who chased glory only to realize it couldn't fill the void. Only after returning from his fame and glory-filled days of fighting in the civil wars did he realize that his "only happy moments... had taken place in his silver workshop where he passed the time putting putting little gold fish together" (172). Incapable of feeling true affection, Aureliano turns back to fish-making in order to rid himself of his solitude, but it doesn't work.
Like many of the characters in 100 Years of Solitude, Aureliano is fated to prevent himself from ever achieving true happiness. What makes the Buendia's family history such a tragic one is the fact that nearly all of the characters' miseries are self-imposed. Amaranta denies herself every man she loves and suffers a life of bitter longingness as a result. Arcadio repeatedly chooses power over family and becomes the most tyrannical and cruel ruler Macondo has ever seen. In that sense, the fish (and its puddle of tears) is a symbol of the misery humans are destined to face when they allow ourselves to become their own worst enemies. Plus, a crying fish makes for a strangely sad image--almost dream-like, fitting since the book is a melancholic tale of the peculiar.
As for the tropical leaf and yellow flower, I wanted to include some sort of natural element (aside from the fish). The tropical leaf is pretty self-explanatory considering the book takes place in a town meant to represent Colombia. I took inspiration for the flower from a scene in the book when it rains little yellow flowers. In South America, yellow flowers are thought of as funeral flowers, and I thought it fitting as both a nod to Latin American culture and as a foreshadowing of death's presence in the lives of the Buendias. (Plus, I'm a huge fan of the flower language, so I couldn't resist throwing a bit of that in the cover design.)
Overall, I really like how the cover came out (though I am slightly bothered that the title is curved unevenly). Though I don't draw often, it was actually really fun hand-drawing the cover even though it took forever to get the proportions of the fish right. I'm actually kind of proud of it.
Special thanks to these websites for giving me some inspiration as well as guidance on what makes a good book cover:
For this macroblog I chose to redesign the cover of my copy of 100 Years of Solitude. While I do appreciate the overall aesthetic of the cover, I don't think having a picture of half the author's face on the cover was the best choice. As great as the author, Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez is, his face has nothing to do with the story itself (other than the fact that he wrote it). In addition, the purpose of a book cover is to capture potential readers' attention, to make them interested enough to pick up the book and read it. However, I'm not sure Márquez's face does that. Márquez is a prolific writer, but most people won't recognize his face upon first glance and thus will have no reason to be interested in the book.
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| The original cover of my copy of 100 Years of Solitude |
When comparing the cover of this edition of the book to others, this one stands out as having a very different vibe. Not only does it feature the author's face, it isn't illustrated and it doesn't it contain any naturalistic elements. In addition, it's entirely black and white except for the horizontal gold lines, a stark contrast to the other more bold and colorful covers. Considering how deeply rooted this book is in Latin American culture, nature, and fantasy, I wanted a cover that reflected those ideas but in a modernly designed way. I may not be the best artist (the number of times I had to redraw the cover is a testament to this), but I do enjoy design and wanted to put my skills to the test. Thus, I set out to become the inexperienced, book cover version of those HGTV home renovators.
Since I had no idea what made a good book cover when I went into this, I decided to consult Google. Most of the articles I read said that great book cover design narrowed down to one thing: simplicity. I love the minimalist aesthetic, but I was unsure of how to go about putting it into practice. Thankfully, I found a Wired interview with Peter Mendelsund, a master book jacket designer behind famous titles like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In the interview, Mendelsund says one must resist the urge to simply take an image from the text itself. "It's very tempting to read a book only for visual cues when you're a jacket designer,' he says. 'Oh, her hair is blond, and it's a cold climate, and they live on a hill.' That's just really treacherous. Because if you read that way, you'll miss the point of the book. And almost never are those kind of details the point of the book." Sure, I could have just slapped on a picture of a Latin American family in a town and called it a day, but what Mendelsund said made sense; the concrete visual aspects of a novel are important, but not more so than the thoughts and feelings a novel provokes in its readers.
So the challenge then became expressing Márquez's melancholic blending of the natural and fantastical, all in a simple and more modern design. This was the product:
As for the thought behind this cover design, most of it centers on the meaning behind the gold fish. It represents both the cyclic/repetitive nature of time and history as well as the human tendency towards self-sabotage. The Buendia family (on whom the book centers) is one constantly haunted by the past. Its members are often caught in nostalgia and plagued by ghosts, but they're also doomed to always make the same mistakes, to follow in the footsteps of their relatives (especially those with whom they share the same name). As for how a gold fish relates to time and self-sabotage, one must look to Colonel Aureliano Buendia. When he was younger, Aureliano spent all of his time shut up in his workshop where he slaved over the creation of thousands of little gold fish. It marked the beginning of a man who would never let anyone but himself close, who chased glory only to realize it couldn't fill the void. Only after returning from his fame and glory-filled days of fighting in the civil wars did he realize that his "only happy moments... had taken place in his silver workshop where he passed the time putting putting little gold fish together" (172). Incapable of feeling true affection, Aureliano turns back to fish-making in order to rid himself of his solitude, but it doesn't work.
Like many of the characters in 100 Years of Solitude, Aureliano is fated to prevent himself from ever achieving true happiness. What makes the Buendia's family history such a tragic one is the fact that nearly all of the characters' miseries are self-imposed. Amaranta denies herself every man she loves and suffers a life of bitter longingness as a result. Arcadio repeatedly chooses power over family and becomes the most tyrannical and cruel ruler Macondo has ever seen. In that sense, the fish (and its puddle of tears) is a symbol of the misery humans are destined to face when they allow ourselves to become their own worst enemies. Plus, a crying fish makes for a strangely sad image--almost dream-like, fitting since the book is a melancholic tale of the peculiar.
As for the tropical leaf and yellow flower, I wanted to include some sort of natural element (aside from the fish). The tropical leaf is pretty self-explanatory considering the book takes place in a town meant to represent Colombia. I took inspiration for the flower from a scene in the book when it rains little yellow flowers. In South America, yellow flowers are thought of as funeral flowers, and I thought it fitting as both a nod to Latin American culture and as a foreshadowing of death's presence in the lives of the Buendias. (Plus, I'm a huge fan of the flower language, so I couldn't resist throwing a bit of that in the cover design.)
Overall, I really like how the cover came out (though I am slightly bothered that the title is curved unevenly). Though I don't draw often, it was actually really fun hand-drawing the cover even though it took forever to get the proportions of the fish right. I'm actually kind of proud of it.
Special thanks to these websites for giving me some inspiration as well as guidance on what makes a good book cover:
- https://www.wired.com/2014/09/makes-brilliant-book-cover-master-explains/
- https://magenta.as/what-makes-a-great-book-cover-38001511325d
Maya!!! Your cover is amazing, you're very talented!
ReplyDeleteYour reason for choosing a goldfish is very interesting. Although I have not read the book, it seems fitting from your description. I like how you isolated the word solitude in puddle of tears. I think it goes hand in hand with the idea that when a person becomes their worst enemy, part of the reason is because they are alone.
I also liked how you used very few colors. You channeled the idea of simplicity into an interesting and compelling cover. It was a good touch to match the gold with the original cover.
What a lovely and thoughtfully designed cover!
ReplyDeleteMaya, your book cover is stunning! It captures the minimalist aesthetic concept, but also has an abundant amount of things to look at. For example, you utilized three fonts which worked well together, and included images such as a fish crying out the word "solitude." These minimalist-looking but actually thoroughly thought out images encourage deeper thinking past the first look at the cover, which makes for an interesting design.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you consulted the advice of professionals to inspire your cover. I went into the websites that you found inspirations from, and I found that your cover design is similar to the examples in the sites. For example, the cover for Crime and Punishment utilizes monochrome colors and a variety of fonts, much like your design. Simplicity is definitely a reoccurring idea throughout the designs. Finally, contrary to your opinion about the 'flaw' in the title, I think the uneven curve is rather quirky and adds character to the design.
Hi Maya!
ReplyDeleteLet me begin by saying WOW! This cover is a beautiful piece of work and I am extremely impressed with your abilities. The reasoning behind the goldfish symbol is not only fitting based on your insght, but it is applicable to any viewer's experiences; I remember the feeling of winning a goldfish at a carnival only to have it die the next day. I also like how much detail was placed into the aesthetics; pairing the symbolic flower with the design was a wise choice, as was the central isolation of "solitude". Great work outta you!