Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen tells of a tragic love story during the Great Depression of the 1930's and describes the life of performers in a travelling circus, their struggles and the cruelty of circus life.  Here are two different answers to the brief.

 

The first uses typical tent colours of the time and includes elements of circus life and contents of the book; the elephant is a key character of the story and the circus train also plays an important part. The chains reflect those that keep the animals and metaphorically, the people tied to the circus master.  

 

The other picks up on elements of Spectacle popular during this era and often shown at circus style events such as the magic lantern and incorporates typlical circus imagery. 

 

The designs were created using collage techniques, digital illustration and Photoshop.