For this project we were assigned to do a photo shoot of a symbolic object with a flat white or black background. After we were supposed to come up with a mood and symbolic meaning for the object we chose and use that meaning to create a book cover using the photo that we took. Here is a look into my creative process and a showcase of what I designed.

After taking about 60 photos this is the one I chose to use for my design. I feel as though the lighting was just right to add some brilliance to the watch and really bring out all of the colors. I think it really captured a extravagant and professional mood.

After coming up with a long list of symbols and moods I ultimately decided that The Great Gatsby would be and ideal book for my photo. The reason being is the underlying theme of time in The Great Gatsby. From an outsider's perspective Jay Gatsby's life of extreme wealth and high-profile business career seem lust worthy. In this way the watch represents professionalism and wealth. Even with all of his riches the thing Jay Gatsby values the most is time. He is in love with a woman he knew from his childhood and every moment he spends without her is painful. More than anything Jay Gatsby would love to recreate his past with her. The watch also literally represents the time Jay Gatsby has lost.

Here is the color scheme I chose for my thumbnails. I used the eyedropper tool to pull colors directly from my picture so that my color scheme would be a direct extension of the watch.

Here is the final design that I chose as well as the binding that I designed to go with it. I was leaning towards using a more Art Deco typeface for my cover as I feel it would have fit perfectly with the theme of the book, but ultimately I chose Bell MT. I really like the way it looked with this layout and it feels very classy and refined.