The Bell Jar & Ariel
Syvlia Plath Book Cover Design
Syvlia Plath Book Cover Design
OVERVIEW Penguin Classics has issued many redesigned classic books in hopes of introducing a new audience to famous works of the past. Sylvia Plaths work is a staple in the high school curriculum, which presents an opportunity for fresh cover design. Plath was alive during the first half of the Twentieth Century and her most famous work, The Bell Jar and Ariel, were written in the late 1950s early 1960s. Plaths work is very evocative so book covers for her work needs also to be.
EXECUTION These covers draw inspiration from the graphic aesthetic of 1950s poster design. The type is hand drawn and based upon different elements of each book. The Bell Jar aesthetic is heavily influenced by broken glass and the disjointed girl illustration recalls psychological decline. Ariel was Plaths last work before her suicide. The angular nature of the text and lungs displays the intensity exhibited in her poetry. Each book features a main illustration that lends itself nicely to pattern design, which subsequently is featured on tiny accessory notebooks for the aspiring student or writer.
