ILLUSTRATED LETTERS FOR SHAKESPEARE
Cover designs for Shakespeare's Sonnets and his play Hamlet, created in a four week publication module examining type and image in a bound book format, as well as narrative representation. Themed around the illustrated letter and drawing inspiration from the style of Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen, they needed to be distinct outcomes with a clear relationship.
Sonnets and Hamlet, spines
HAMLET
The cover for Hamlet is centred around his internal conflict. He is a solitary black figure on a tepid ground, with the accumulated dead framing him on all sides. Poison ivy (referring to the many instances of poisoning, literal and figurative, throughout the play), chokes him into inaction. His sword is raised, but his inverted position on the letter of his name suggests his ultimate downfall.
Hamlet, front cover
Hamlet, back cover and quote, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all."
Hamlet, flaps depicting a graveyard
Hamlet, original illustration
SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS
The two addressees of the Sonnets sit in a living wood that spans the seasons, recalling Shakespeare's motifs of nature and time. The Fair Youth is placed in the height of Summer and close to Heaven, reflecting love spiritual, while the Dark Lady is a harvest fruit hanging closer to Earth, representing love physical. The 'S' that encloses them is the speaker's regard, and evokes eternity in its fluidity and symmetry.
Sonnets, front cover
Sonnets, back cover and quote, "That in black ink my love may still shine bright."
Sonnets, flaps depicting a forest bookended with spring and winter
Sonnets, original illustration
Finally, clean, formal typesetting matches but yields to the traditional, elaborate style of the cover images, while black ink emphasises the power of Shakespeare's words alone.
Sonnets, close-up
