Final Hardcover and Paperback designs
Glover's Mistake
Author: Nick Laird
Designer: Christopher Brand
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Fiction
Typeface: Hand lettering
Illustration for hardcover: David Johnson
Illustration for paperback: Janet Hansen
I'm a fan of both the paperback and the hardcover design's for Glover's Mistake as well as a fan of all Chistopher's work. A big thanks to Christopher for taking the time to share —Charles
How did you get into book design?
I had the idea that I wanted to get into designing book covers when I was still in school. I studied at The School of Visual Arts and while I was there I took an independent study with John Fulbrook III. He was the art director at Scribner at the time and my class with him focused on designing book covers. I also had two internships senior year that introduced me a little more to the world of publishing. One was at The Office of Paul Sahre and the other was at FSG. When I graduated I was lucky enough to find a position at Rodrigo Corral Design. I stayed there for a year and a half and went on to spend some time at Penguin Books and now I'm currently working as a freelancer.
What is Glover's Mistake about?
David Pinner bumps into his former teacher Ruth Marks, a beautiful and famous American artist. He develops a crush on her but Ruth falls for Glover (David's younger, cooler, and better looking roommate). This sets off a love triangle packed with tension, guilt, and heartbreak.
Can you share a little about your process?
For the hardcover, I worked with illustrator David Johnson. We were trying to find a way to show the interaction between the characters so David worked out a few sketches with the three of them at an art gallery. After he sent me these pencil drawings I got the idea to chop them up and create a grid out of different situations that the characters could be in. By repeating them over and over you could start to see the back and forth of their relationships.
Hardcover sketches
The editor, publisher and author all liked this idea, but they didn't like the bright colors that we presented it in. After the first meeting we spent a lot of time looking at different color variations and we finally ended up with this dark green. These are a few of the many other color combinations that we presented.
Color options
When it came time for the paperback version of this book, the publisher wanted to see something that was a little more humorous. With the help of illustrator Janet Hansen (who also happens to be my girlfriend) we came up with a few new ideas. The new illustrations were just of the characters faces instead of their entire bodies and we tried to make everything a bit more wonky and fun. I tried a version with a giant X to cross out the the character who loses the girl to his roommate, but we ended up with a cover that is pretty similar to the hardcover.
Rejected design
Final Paperback design
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Glover's Mistake
Author: Nick Laird
Designer: Christopher Brand
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Fiction
Typeface: Hand lettering
Illustration for hardcover: David Johnson
Illustration for paperback: Janet Hansen
I'm a fan of both the paperback and the hardcover design's for Glover's Mistake as well as a fan of all Chistopher's work. A big thanks to Christopher for taking the time to share —Charles
How did you get into book design?
I had the idea that I wanted to get into designing book covers when I was still in school. I studied at The School of Visual Arts and while I was there I took an independent study with John Fulbrook III. He was the art director at Scribner at the time and my class with him focused on designing book covers. I also had two internships senior year that introduced me a little more to the world of publishing. One was at The Office of Paul Sahre and the other was at FSG. When I graduated I was lucky enough to find a position at Rodrigo Corral Design. I stayed there for a year and a half and went on to spend some time at Penguin Books and now I'm currently working as a freelancer.
What is Glover's Mistake about?
David Pinner bumps into his former teacher Ruth Marks, a beautiful and famous American artist. He develops a crush on her but Ruth falls for Glover (David's younger, cooler, and better looking roommate). This sets off a love triangle packed with tension, guilt, and heartbreak.
Can you share a little about your process?
For the hardcover, I worked with illustrator David Johnson. We were trying to find a way to show the interaction between the characters so David worked out a few sketches with the three of them at an art gallery. After he sent me these pencil drawings I got the idea to chop them up and create a grid out of different situations that the characters could be in. By repeating them over and over you could start to see the back and forth of their relationships.
Hardcover sketches
The editor, publisher and author all liked this idea, but they didn't like the bright colors that we presented it in. After the first meeting we spent a lot of time looking at different color variations and we finally ended up with this dark green. These are a few of the many other color combinations that we presented.
Color options
When it came time for the paperback version of this book, the publisher wanted to see something that was a little more humorous. With the help of illustrator Janet Hansen (who also happens to be my girlfriend) we came up with a few new ideas. The new illustrations were just of the characters faces instead of their entire bodies and we tried to make everything a bit more wonky and fun. I tried a version with a giant X to cross out the the character who loses the girl to his roommate, but we ended up with a cover that is pretty similar to the hardcover.
Rejected design
Final Paperback design
Add Comment
7.27.10 // Charlotte Strick said:
Love these Chris! Great work.
7.27.10 // Ian S. said:
Dipping into Penguin 75 are we?
Great cover. Love the lightness of the illios and the final color option. PB colors shout nicely too. Is it possible to shout nicely? Yes, Yes it is...