the scenario
The famous young-adult dystopian fiction novel The Maze Runner is being re-released as a special edition hardcover on its tenth anniversary of publication. The book cover needs a redesign and a fresh new illustration to help celebrate its ten-year milestone. To accompany the special edition's release are a poster to be sold as merchandise at bookstores and at launch events, and promotional materials including a poster and a set of bookmarks.
the objective
To illustrate and design a book cover for The Maze Runner as well as an accompanying identity program, a poster to be sold as merchandise at bookstores and at launch events, and promotional materials including a poster and a set of bookmarks.
identity
To create the identity for the system, the concept of the maze was taken into account. First, an illustration framework was created that all illustrative elements in the system would be based off of. The illustration, with texture and color added in different ways across the entire system, reflects the depth, confusion, and dystopia of the maze.
Second, a logotype was created that could be used in conjunction with the illustration, and that also communicated the idea of the shifting depths of the maze in the book. Fruitger Bold Condensed all-caps was chosen for this purpose, as its clean lines and minimal curves work together with the chaos of the illustration to show the bleak, unwelcoming nature of the setting.
Colors chosen are part of a loose complementary color scheme, serving to create conflict and tension throughout the system. Harsh red-oranges and dark, moody teal blues work with deeper grays and blues to accomplish this.
The typefaces chosen, Frutiger Bold Condensed and Hypatia Sans, both work together nicely, with both having clean lines that work with the book’s futuristic aesthetic. Hypatia Sans is a readable body copy typeface that has some sharp, unexpected angles.
book cover
poster
promotion
integrated system
