Winner of the book cover design for Judy Balan's romantic comedy - Two Fates
Note from the author: And *confetti blasts* the winner of that Design-a-new-cover-for-my-first-novel contest is the very young (all of 21), talented *and* I'll-work-till-my-eyes-fall-out-of-their-sockets passionate (killer combination) Rijuta Agarwal! Yay! I love it! Especially the toothbrush and ink pen heads depicting their biggest fights - about oral-hygiene-related OCD and writing. Makes such a difference when the designer has actually read the book.
STAGE 1: Sketches
The elements represent motifs in the book such as incidents, memories or personal objects.
STAGE 2: Painting
All the motifs are visualized through simplified illustrations.
STAGE 3: Characterization
The central characters symbolize the theme of the book; the reason for the divorce.
The wife cannot stand that her husband wants to give up his lucrative corporate career to become a poor writer, hence the nib in place of his head. The husband cannot stand that, in the morning, his wife wants to get out of bed and brush her teeth before she let's him kiss her. Hence the toothbrush in place of her head.
Little habits like these annoy both of them and escalate, leading to the story of their divorce.
STAGE 4: Layout and font
In the trial layouts, the illustrations were placed neatly in a rectangular shape with the characters in the centre. Fonts with a humorous tone were used.
STAGE 5: Final layout and background
The rectangular layout being too rigid, the illustrations were scattered around so that a reader is given the soace to visually explore each element. Fresh, bright colors were used for the background.
STAGE 6: Final Artwork - front
The final artwork for the front cover with emphasis on the title and the author's name.
The yellow background represents the yellow wall in the couples' house that they are constantly bickering about.
STAGE 7: Final Artwork - back
The final artwork for the back cover was kept simple and clean as the front is heavily illustrated.
STAGE 8: Ready To Print
The artwork for the final print including the front, back and the spine in the middle.
