The project was to redesign a classic book cover and I received “The Big Sleep” as my assignment. In my final design, the balanced layout is highlighted by the use of a sanguine red in the spine and the front and back which The Sanguine color is meant to conjure blood in the mind of the beholder which makes sense for this noir detective genre.. The letter “L” in sleep was replaced with a vertical gun. Finally the cartoon illustration at the top reflects the story itself. Most notably, the viewer will find the chessboard pattern behind the easily seen forms. As it turns out, The game of chess is a motif often used in the narrative. I’ve also included a before and after image be used as a comparison with an earlier design done by myself. This shows the rapid improvement I’ve made and the potential for much greater improvement in the years to come.