Project Title: Agatha Christie Box Set
Source Material: "And Then There Were None," "Murder on the Orient Express," and Sparkling Cyanide" by Agatha Christie*
*Disclaimer: As some of these books titles use more outdated language than others, I have chosen to use the current titles they are published under. Specifically "And Then There Were None" has an alternative title which it was originally published under that was not used for this project. While the term "orient" is no longer an appropriate term to use, it is the current most modern title of the novel.
Project Description: Select an author from the provided list and create a book cover series. Book covers, like a poster, need to grab your attention in just a few seconds. Whatever direction you choose, make the visual simple, bold, and eye-catching. You must tell your story quickly and succinctly. Your visual may be photographic, illustrative, graphic, or typographic. Begin by doing as much research as you can. The information you gather the more successful you be and the easier it will be to generate concepts. Conceptualizing will be the most significant part of this project. Without a strong concept, you will end up with a weak campaign.
Approach: After reviewing my concepts, I continued with the idea of being inspired by pulp fiction mystery novels, choosing a bold yellow &red color scheme, however mixing it with another concept by keeping the designs simplified & modern. I decide to use [font] to play into the pulp feel, however all of the illustrative imagery was simplified & kept to the major setting composed of shades of red, with a single black silhouette, using white & yellow as highlights. "And Then There Was None" takes place on an island with a mansion so the mansion silhouette is highlighted in black, Murder on the Orient Express" takes place wholly on a train so the train is highlighted in the black silhouette, & "Sparkling Cyanide" begins with a woman being poisoned in a restaurant, her hand holding the poisoned champagne being the highlight feature in black,
The box for the set itself was designed to look like a luggage case, as location is an important feature in many of Agatha Christie's stories, all which take place in a wide range of location. The box signifies that you will be traveling to each of the stories locations as you read the collection.
Concepts:
In the concept stage, I decided between three aesthetic options. The first one referencing old leather-bound vintage books, as these Agatha Christie novels were published in the 1930's & 40's, with a more modern illustration style in the front. The second idea was to utilize a simple greyscale color scheme with red, playing with the idea of film noir, well known for its crime dramas. The third idea, which I went forward with in the project is the pulp crime fiction aesthetic with modern & simplistic illustration, using silhouettes to allude to important settings in each novel.
These designs were created under the guide of Keith Somers at Tyler School of Art & Architecture at Temple University in Advanced Graphic Design GAD-3002.
This is for personal use only, and not for sale or reproduction. If you would like a similar design for your own brand, please contact me for a freelance design commission.
