For this project I made individual book covers for three short stories. These narratives were less than 40 words in length and required my imagination and interpretation to create dynamic and eye-catching covers.
Chuck by Jack Kilburn
"Sherri" by Jack Kilburn
"Flight attendant Sherri was always quick to offer airsick bags. Reverse-bulimia,
though a disgusting disease, was bearable for her when the meals were fresh."
For this cover, I envisioned Sherri as the typical flight attendant, groomed to perfection with her red nails and ready to give out airsick bags when needed. I used a softened sky blue to communicate the atmosphere of the plane on its navigation through the air, and the alarming red to connect the specific Sherri to her role as an attendant. The font is dramatic, sharp, and clean like I picture Sherri herself to be.
Dickie by Minter Krotzer
"Dickie" by Minter Krotzer
"Everyone in town went to the same gynecologist, Dickie. Even Dickie's sister
went to Dickie. No one though this was strange except for out-of-towners."
I wanted the reader to be in the exact position of Dickie since his character is the focus of the story. When the reader opens the cover, they open the woman's legs and subsequently become her gynecologist. This is echoed in the pressed footprint on the inner cover flap, as if the woman on the cover was in stirrups. Everyone around the reader looks at them with the same strangeness that the "out-of-towners" expressed towards the townspeople.
Pushover by Nicky Drayden
"Pushover" by Nicky Drayden
"He shoves me aside to get a better view. I never fight back.
He's worn me down, weaker that that railing at the canyon's rim."
This story is a classic case of emotional abuse in a relationship and I wanted to make the victim human by using photography. However, I erased all emotive forms of expression with the acidic, neon, spray-painted on smile. The woman on the cover appears happy, but the cover-up job of the paint does nothing but tell the real story underneath.
