And Then You Read: Adobe Creative Residency Series

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Supported by Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund

And Then You Read is an ongoing self-initiated book cover design project. 42 artworks from it can be seen in my original And Then You Read Behance compilation.

At the end of 2020, with support provided by Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund, I developed an ATYR spin-off, of sorts: three book covers for landmark works of fiction, complemented by screen recordings and video presentations in an effort to thoroughly explain my design process from beginning to end. It began with reading the books—I have not previously read any of the titles I selected—and resulted in images of the final covers shown in this project.

I spent about 20 hours, on average, on each of these three covers, documenting the entire process, and walking the viewers through how I go about analyzing the literary text, doing research, generating ideas, developing design concepts, and refining graphics through rounds of trial and error, critique, and iteration.

Project introduction

Watch the video below to find out why making personal work is a necessary step in developing a high-quality design portfolio, why we are drawn to designing book covers, what’s different about working on fiction vs non-fiction titles, and what is “the big book look” in cover design. Also, see over 40 original book covers, with the design process for some explained, in 20 minutes.

Book 1

Zora Neale Hurston, Poker! (1931)

Made with Adobe Illustrator on iPad

Cover for Poker!, a short play by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most prominent female writers of the Harlem Renaissance. I was drawn to this title because of Zora Neale Hurston’s trailblazing reputation, the play’s ties to the history of Harlem, the Great Depression, and Black American folklore. Poker! has never been staged or published before, so I enjoyed breaking new ground working on an exceptional title I have not seen anyone else design for.

Typography credits for Poker!: Digital custom lettering + Stymie by URW Type Foundry via Adobe Fonts

From selecting the book to the final design: the process video for Poker!

Watch the video below to find out how research helps generate cover ideas, why drawing on historical references is crucial to making a good cover for a classic book, how to start any cover project even if you’re not sure what to do, how to make patterns and custom lettering in Illustrator on iPad from scratch, and why trying everything is key to my process regardless of what I’m designing.

Book 2

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper (1892)

Cover for The Yellow Wallpaper, one of the key works of American first-wave feminism. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote this remarkably progressive piece, sometimes mislabeled as a Victorian horror story, in a form of a secret diary of a mentally-ill young woman. She used it to comment on the state of 19th century mental healthcare, marriage, gender inequality, and distasteful interior design.

Typography credits for The Yellow Wallpaper: Digital custom lettering + URW Imperial via Adobe Fonts

From selecting the book to the final design: the process video for The Yellow Wallpaper

Watch the video below to find out why sometimes it’s okay to only have one idea for a project, how to translate the key message of a book into a cover design idea, why the only way to draw nice letters is to draw awful letters first, how to make sure your idea works before you get too far, why I draw custom lettering instead of modifying existing fonts, and how to add a human touch to any digitally-designed cover.

Book 3

Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (1915)

Cover for The Metamorphosis, one of Franz Kafka’s best well-known works, that defined modernist and existentialist literature for the 20th century and beyond. It’s impossible to underestimate this book’s influence on the modern philosophical thought and literature. It’s also impossible to count how many previous versions of this cover exist. I enjoyed attempting to interpret the book anew, and tried to bring something personal to the table.

Typography credits for The Metamorphosis: Usual by R-Typography (Rui Abreu) via Adobe Fonts + gel pen calligraphy

From selecting the book to the final design: the process video for The Metamorphosis

Watch the video below to find out why Kafka wasn’t happy about images of insects gracing the cover of his most famous book, why The Metamorphosis is a critique of capitalist society, how to choose between multiple ideas you’ve already invested time in, why channeling historic styles does not work for every classic title, and why sometimes the simplest-looking jacket does the job the best.