Books create entire worlds with words.
In this project, I brought my favorite novel to life with a design that reveals the magic within.
One Hundred Years of Solitude won the Nobel Prize for literature for its original and innovative story, as well as helping to spawn Magical Realism as genre.
The Throughline
The Guiding Light Behind the Concept
The guiding concept behind this design was the idea of the “page turner”.
By mirroring the physical act of turning a page, the graphics gradually reveal a glowing red jungle, reflecting the story’s themes of mystery, destiny, and the question of what lies hidden within.
The guiding concept behind this design was the idea of the “page turner”.
By mirroring the physical act of turning a page, the graphics gradually reveal a glowing red jungle, reflecting the story’s themes of mystery, destiny, and the question of what lies hidden within.
Typography
Subheader
Body
The original Ogg letterforms were customized through adjustments to stroke contrast, character proportions, terminals, serifs, and optical spacing, creating a more expressive display treatment while retaining the typeface’s calligraphic character.
Subheader
Body
Early Designs
Early photo of the cover design before shading, focusing on clear shapes & breathing room.
AI rapid concept generation to iterate text layouts.
Early on I focused on finding a balance between clarity and chaos in the composition and the shape of the leaves. The darker background was rejected to help communicate the idea that the cover is on the "outside" of the deep red glowing jungle beneath.
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A white cover was also rejected to help with shelf impact. A high contrast, heavy visual weight blue and red cover stands out more than a simple cream.
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Early on I focused on finding a balance between clarity and chaos in the composition and the shape of the leaves. The darker background was rejected to help communicate the idea that the cover is on the "outside" of the deep red glowing jungle beneath.
​
A white cover was also rejected to help with shelf impact. A high contrast, heavy visual weight blue and red cover stands out more than a simple cream.
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