My Redesigned Cover
My favorite book I chose to redesign the cover for this project is:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
It was written in 1943 by Betty Smith and is a novel about the young girl growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. The main theme is the determination to rise above adversity. The Tree of Heaven (named in the title) symbolically grows in tenement districts, without water or light, sometimes even without soil. It symbolizes perseverance and hope during difficult times.
I used the poster edge filter for the tree and the bridge. To combine images I copied and pasted the images of the bridge & the tree to use them on the spine of the book. I used the smudge tool on the spine to blend the sky. I also used the contrast adjustment on the tree to make it brighter and stand out more.
The Original Book Cover
I am posting to my own cover redesign because in retrospect I feel it is a bit flat in creativity but again I think my time restrictions and newness to Photoshop hampers my final creations. Again I am more of a crafty person than artsy one.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with your critique of your own redesign – I think it’s an excellent conception, and just lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe elements are well-placed to each other and to the cover as a whole, and appropriate to the title. The perspective may be off in relation to the tree vs. the bridge, but it’s not so blatant that it spoils the work.
The colors are very nice, and along with the Photoshop filters you used, give the cover a watercolor look that’s fresh, appealing, and hopeful.
Is that font Papyrus? It’s pretty, but I think a font that’s bolder, while retaining the delicacy of Papyrus would have been better. I believe ‘tree’ and ‘grows’ should be capitalized. The author’s name might be better in a different font, and definitely bolder, and perhaps a bit larger.
On the spine, perhaps a whole tiny tree standing in between title and author would have been better than the tops of the tree and the bridge. If you’re browsing books on a shelf, it’s difficult to comprehend that it is the top of the Brooklyn Bridge you’re seeing on the spine.
The idea of a book jacket is to entice the viewer to buy and read the book, and your redesign keeps it’s part of the bargain!
I think the type on the original is bolder and easier to remember.
ReplyDeleteJon