For this project we got to design book covers for an assigned book. There were three categories: typographic, handmade and author’s choice. We had to come up with three designs for each and then pick the best one from each category. The book that was chosen for me was Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes.

I started with a quick review of the book, some visual research and a mind map.

After diving into the book a bit more, I began to start on a few sketches. Don Quixote is a 50 year old man from Spain who, after reading a plethora of books on chivalry, goes mad and thinks he is a knight. He goes on quests that ultimately are anything but helpful. With him is an old horse he renamed Rocinante, who is equally old and unqualified as Don Quixote. I tried to keep my designs whimsical to reflect the madness that was in his mind, but also refined to reflect age and experience.

Afterwards, I started in on some digital renditions and refinements. Here are some that did not make the final cut but that I thought were reasonably good. 

Here are the final three, one from each category. First, the typography category.

Second, the handmade category. I drew and watercolored the letters, then vectorized them.

And finally, the last category, author's choice. I was inspired by older books with the gold printed designs.