For this project, we were asked to redesign an 8.5 x 11 book cover of our choosing. This assignment was extremely intriguing to me and I knew almost instantly that I wanted to work with a children’s book. Ultimately, I choose the book Goodnight Moon. It is a short poem written by Margaret Wise Brown in which the narrator says goodnight to objects around the house. The original book cover feels dated and not playful enough for a children’s book so I thought it would be a good cover to redesign. It depicts a green room with a window, fireplace and painting. The font is a marker font for the title with a sans serif for the attributes. Although it is colorful, it lacks the youthfulness and whimsy that would intrigue a child.

In sketching, I was inspired by the geometric yet playful children’s books of Paul Rand. His illustrations are simple and one-dimensional but they are also engaging and distinctive to him. 

For my first draft, I used the original book cover, however I simplified it and made it more modern.

Although I liked the direction of my first draft, I decided to simplify it even more.

From the beginning of this project, I had a pretty strong sense of direction. I thought it would be fun to play with a blocky and geometric font, Flegrei, and play with the form of the letter ‘O’ to emulate a moon. I wanted my cover to look like children building blocks with a simple, forms and little dimension. I chose a variety of fun colors that serve as the depth and interest in an otherwise flat design. My first design came pretty quick, however I wanted to push myself. So, I printed it out, cut out the shapes, and scanned it. This gave it an even more playful and imperfect look that really resonated with me. This is my finished product.