O Gato Preto | The Black Cat

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Book Cover & Layout Design

This project consisted in redesign the cover, back cover, spine and pagination of our favourite book, from the

idea to the conception of the final object. We had to define the book size, the fonts to use, the graphic elements or images to include, the layout, the margins, the title page, the opening chapter page and the double page of text, applying specific typographic knowledge and testing our composition and creativity skills, not forgetting that form and content should walk side by side.

The book I chose was “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe. This is among the best and most famous tales of horror, mystery and death, of the author. I specially like the way the author narrates the events in the first person, I think it establishes a strong relationship with the reader. And I'm fascinated by the gloomy imaginary, so characteristic of this author, and that also influences Tim Burton, another author of my preference.

Since it is a short tale, I decided to do it like a pocketbook, with softcover, easy to take to anywhere. In the cover, the “sliced” and outworn title is meant to represent the successive assaults and injuries to the cat by its owner and the degradation of the man personality and mental health; and the red texture of the inside cover is intended to express the ruin that befell that family and the horrible and bloody tragedy that ended the story.