The Art of Redemption
Designer: Michael Kellner

When I first saw the cover of Bob Truluck’s Redemption it really grabbed me. I absolutely love this design. My love of comics probably has something to do with it. I’m a great fan of crime fiction/mystery/noir, and this was so different for the genre. The cover is fun and exciting and really entices me to read the book. The designer, Michael Kellner was kind enough to write a few words about the project.
—Charles Brock

Though often arriving late, it’s still generally the case that on my jobs for Dennis McMillan Publications—a small, limited editions imprint specializing in mystery and crime fiction—I ultimately receive a manuscript. In order to save time however, I’ll usually ask the publisher to “rap out the story for me.” I ask a lot of questions: about the plot, characters, and locations. When does it take place, and so on. I get a feel for the novel’s content and style, and try to discover its themes.

The Art of Redemption (2007) was the rare title from this publisher that piqued my interest as a reader. A crime novel whose prose was uniquely clever: littered with jargon, slang, argot, and a sort of hip-noir patter of the author’s invention. The language was quirky, and the story jumped around in time: from the pot-scented counter-culture of the 1970’s, to the cordite-suffused gangland of Prohibition and Great Depression.

I knew I wanted to reference these different eras, and rather than plot, I set out to find a concise visual compliment to the novel’s style.

My usual practice is to start at the computer only after developing very specific ideas in my head. For a number of reasons in this instance, I jumped right in to working on the computer. I scanned a lot of images I thought I could use and I commenced wrestling with layouts. This proved more challenging than I anticipated, and for a while it felt like I was trying to put a size-10 foot into a size-8 shoe. The more I struggled, the more I lurched, and I seemed to forget most of what I thought I knew about design.

I finally settled on the image of a gun blasting redemptive hellfire in an old newspaper comic. This captured the novel’s violence and its early time frame, but it wasn’t enough to suggest how the story ricocheted into the ‘70s. I considered the chambers of the narrative’s revolving plot, its layers and recurring patterns…

To give a sense of all this, and to create the kind of pop-art look suitable to the material, I used the image small and set it inside a white band which served to improve the recess-like shadow I applied to it in Photoshop (I wish I’d had the luxury of an actual die-cut!). Then I repeated the image, much enlarged, in another circle. I even repeated the cover copy of title and author, using it as much as graphic elements as information. I found that getting the colors right was crucial. There’s a certain palette for what we think of as “the 60’s” (which really spills into the mid-70’s) and getting them not to clash with those of the comic required trial and error. I made the mistake of showing an early draft to the author, whose wife then inundated me with emails about what colors she liked or didn’t. An essential rule I now learned was: Never let author’s spouse see what you’re up to.

The yellows and blacks on the cover were batted around from magenta to cyan, to purple, back to yellow, and each alteration meant changing the colors of the type. In the end, I stopped opening my email. Much as I like the final cover, I feel very strongly that the cyan spine and flaps are integral to the success, if any, of the jacket. I’m very pleased with the spine, because the cover is meant to pop in contrast to it, and I think it does.

Some designs are epiphanies that leap to mind fully formed, or result from methodical planning. This one owes more to my taking risks, acting on instinct, and above all being alert. It’s not possible to will creativity into being simply because one needs it. You start with a basic grasp of the material, roll up your sleeves, and by dint of perseverance and a little talent, you find yourself creating something that works, makes sense, and maybe isn’t half-bad. The only real credit one can take—but it is no small thing—is that one was paying attention.

NOTE: Dennis McMillan Publications has been publishing fine-quality books for 25 years. Each new title is published in both a full Brillianta cloth-bound edition ($30.) and an edition bound in quarter-morocco over hand-made Spanish-marbled paper-covered boards, housed in hand-made
slipcases ($150.).

8.3.08 // Ian Brian Shimkoviak said:

The circle motif with repeating title was also done on his book cover design for Being/Sien. It's really something that I have only seen him do and it works very well. Repetition as well as the contrasts and focus that this design feature offers makes for a real dynamic cover element. We have all seen the circle being used as a design element, but I think this takes it to another level. Really great.