The night manager
Book Cover • 2020
The night manager cover is originally a submission to a contest held by Penguin Random House - Student Design Award 2020. It was not chosen for the shortlist. But as I looked through the contestant list, it appeared to me that it might be because I was not studying in England. Guess jokes on me! However, I really enjoyed working on this cover.
Summary
Jonathan Pine was merely the night manager at a luxury hotel. But when a single attempt to pass on information to the British authorities - about an international businessman at the hotel with suspicious dealings - backfires terribly, and people close to Pine begin to die, he commits himself to a battle against powerful forces he cannot begin to imagine.
Full cover
I wanted to feature the transition between the two opposite jobs. A night manager to a secret agent. The difference is clear, just like day and night. That was when I remembered a famous artwork by M.C. Escher, Sky and Water I. It was famous for an optical illusion, which is changing from a bird to a fish with the slight change of negative space between them. I wanted to create the same illusion with a key and a gun, two different objects belong to each occupation.
Below is a brief look through how I solved the puzzle.
Sky and Water I - M.C. Escher
Sketchbook insight
Grid layout
Although the cover was not chosen for the shortlist, I really enjoyed the process creating this piece of work. It looked pretty simple in the end but definitely took me quite a long time to figure it all out!
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