Essential Science Book Covers
The success of the first edition Essential Science book resulted in the launch of an updated edition. EMC were asked to design and typeset the book. As well as being involved in this, I took a lead on the design on the covers. It was vital that the designs heavily reflected the broad and thorough syllabus covered within the book, as well as the up-tempo approach to Junior Cycle Science education (Junior Cycle is part of the Irish education system for ages 12–15).
A balance of colour, emphasis and visual density
Large amounts of time was spent vigorously tweaking the details of the main book cover to allow for 3 core principles:
○ No single emphasis on any one area of science to allow for an equally weighted presentation of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Space.
○ We aimed to design a visually vibrant cover without being garish.
○ It’s a fine line between visually overwhelming the user and creating a design that entices. We trod on this fine line to achieve a cover design that is charismatic without being overwhelming.
Differentiation without significant difference
Throughout the design of the main cover there was another element that had to be considered. The books are part of a set. Therefore, while the design had to have its own unique visual appearance it must work as part of a set of 4. Another fine line which we worked hard to achieve.
This project was produced at EMC Design for Folens education.
