Approaching such a highly regarded and often discussed novel was challenging, especially as publications since the early 1970’s have been directly influenced by the infamous Stanley Kubrick adaptation. So, for the cover I wanted to use an aspect that I found strangely absent from past publications: the main characters inadvertent association of Beethoven’s ninth symphony and “ultraviolence”. To illustrate this connection I decided to design the cover to appear as a sheet of music paper. Instead of music notes, however, the sheet has been subjected to the childish and violent drawings of a certain troubled individual, Alex or “your humble narrator”. For the typography I decided on a clean sans-serif font to continue the crisp and minimal aesthetic that Penguin have become well known for, then to make it seem a part of the music paper I separated each word with a hyphen, making it seem recognizably like lyrics.
Developed from a design brief set by Penguin Random House. Created for non-profit.
