Outlander Book Cover

 For the front, spine, and back of the cover, I used a gradient swatch tool, and gradient feather tool after creating a darker blue, mixed with purple and grey for the lower color value I used the gradient tool to bring the color’s value to contrast from dark to light. On the front cover, I used the image of Craig na Dun which is the main feature in this story. I used the gradient tool over this image testing all directions and fount from bottom to top would be the better fitting effect on this image. The fogginess and lighter hue and saturation create a more mystical look and feel to the image. For the title, I wanted to place it in the center of the stones. I found that placing it over the center of the stones fit and brought balance to the cover.

Using the Trajan font for the title and the best seller text help to bring symmetry to the cover image, as does the Viner hand font on the spine in black. I played around with the fill colors and stroke colors for each text that I placed on the book, I did not want to go overboard so I kept it simple but still provided a pop for balance and focal points and  

The back cover contains an image of a Scottish thistle which signifies the Fraser family crest in the book, I used the thistle image with a gradient feather effect and then arranged the image to the back. Allowing the value to maintain in contrast as the other backgrounds do while still allowing the summary text to stand out. I mixed the colors for the summary text to bring balance and symmetry to the cover as it is a similar color to the Scottish thistle as well. I kept the barcode and logo aligned to keep the alignment that the thistle image and text summary provided. 

The photos used in making this book cover where 

Outlander Book Cover

 

                                       (Original Cover)                                                    (Book Series visual)

The most recent book that I’ve read was Outlander, by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Diana Gabaldon, the book I chose is the first in a series that has been adapted for television. I find the book cover to be very basic with a simple symbol and text. As the cover is very minimal and plain, the story however is not. It is about a husband and wife from England, who go on vacation to Scotland where the wife was also known as Claire visits a sacred rock formation called Craig Na Dun. Claire suddenly finds herself in the year 1743 trying to find her way back to her husband in the year 1945, She meets a young Scottish man named Jamie and after several turn-in events, she is off track falling in love and trying to survive in 1743. I think each book of the series has a collective aesthetic of the text and one image. I wanted to create something that was a little more representing the story within so I created four examples of covers including back and spine that hold keys that are found in the story of book one.  

I would like to use the creative effect of brightness and changing the color of the sketch in example 2. I would like to use this effect on the stones, showing the bright and dark sides of Craig Na Dun. On another sketch cover representing the typical clothing worn in the 1740s, I’d use the effect of a mask layer and then soften and blend the edges onto the background of a certain color that I chose. The title would be in a strong text font as I think it brings out the one-word title.  

An example of proximity, a gestalt principle can be found in sketch example two,  in the cover with the stones of Craig Na Dun.  The image's proximity to one another shows a circle formation of the stones that can be viewed as similar or part of the same group. Additionally, the continuation in the cover can also be seen in sketch example 4 of the string that crosses over each other creating the form of a dress worn in the 1740s.

                                                                    Page 1 Sketch 

                                                                  Page 2 Sketch 

Darker Example of page 2

Homelessness Awareness

 The topic I chose was Homeless awareness. In 2020 580,466 people were homeless in America alone. California, New York, and Florida are the top three states with the highest rate of homelessness in 2020. My poster is to bring awareness to people who have no shelter and are living on the streets in America and around the world. These human beings need help, and should not be ignored. 

For this poster, I went with a less is more approach. The brick wall is common to what many homeless people use for support, whether it be to lean as they hold a Help Me sign or use for safety while outdoors. The homeless need programs and services in order to avoid becoming homeless, more so once they are forced to live on the street they should not be ignored, services should be provided more efficiently in order to support human beings on this earth, as there is enough money and land to go around, therefore no one should have their essentials on the ground and support from a cold brick wall.