Three book covers I designed for Jeanette Winterson's modern classic 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruits'. As part of the project I was required to create three book covers with three different mediums; digital, photographic and print.
Digital
For this book cover I tried to give the reader a view of what life is like through the eyes of the main character Jeanette. The cover features a window with a small view of the outside world. The wallpaper around the window is very dull and restricted to reflect the strict rules of the religious household she is brought up in. The wallpaper features a 60’s inspired pattern also featuring what could be seen as vaginas. This was a conscious decision; it hints at the theory that her mother was a closet lesbian so she was brought up around her mother’s hidden sexual orientation. This is why the vaginal pattern on the wall is slightly harder to see.
The view outside the window is a contrast to the dull interior. It is bright and colourful and represents the world she has yet, but will go on to, explore. The orange and red/pink waves are also inspired by the Pentecostal banner designs, the religion that Jeanette is supposedly brought up in but seems to have been warped into a strict version of the religion. The window frame design also features a crucifix. I have purposely not done anything anti-religious as the book is not anti-religious.
Photographic
This book cover explores the idea of Jeanette’s Mother’s binary views. I used black and white tissue to lay them over each other to create a grey space in between the two layers. This grey area represents the areas of Jeanette’s life such as her sexual orientation and understanding of the world with the black and white areas surrounding it represent the binary views of her Mother.
Print
For this book I decided to take inspiration from the part of the book where Jeanette is forced to wear a pink coat by her Mother. This is the final straw for Jeanette and starts the journey she goes on in the book. The coat is referred to as a version of the Iron Mask worn by French prisoner Eustache Dauger. I went with this idea and have painted over the type with pink paint and then cut the rest of the type from the painted shape. The white text showing within the pink paint represents the side of Jeanette’s personality that breaks out and begins to be explored throughout the book.
