Further Blurb Experiments - The Door into Shadow - Live Brief

I decided to begin experimenting with some new blurb designs. I realised that the blurb need to be simple in order to really emphasise the cover design. I briefly looked at Penguin classic blurbs, such as the one seen below for Nineteen eighty-four. This design is incredibly simple, aligned on the right and really allows the text to speak for itself. I also found it interesting that they are able to include the book's name without any possibility of it being mistaken as the front cover. This is because the design is so simple, it can immediately be identified as a blurb.

I decided to replicate this approach, experimenting with how the blurb would look written on the right hand side of the page, with the 'Shadowland Hexology' written on the right, with the series statement underneath.

These worked quite well but I wanted to include the upper segment which had been used on the front cover. This was carried along to the back with a white bar to keep it consistent. This meant there was a specific section where the Laptop Cat logo could rest, which could be adopted in further Laptop Cat books. The title of the novel was then coloured in yellow to differentiate it from the other pieces of text - adding to the hierarchy of information. The collaged eyes were trialed in this section too, to fill the space but crowd the design. However these appeared childish and were described as 'too Scooby-Doo'.

So I began creating a smaller set of apostles, made digitally with the yellow pencil texture seen on the front cover. This balances the design with the front cover and means it creates a focal point for the viewer. 'The Door into Shadow' was then experimented with on the left of the blurb, this worked quite well, although it was difficult to balance the text. The title was too large when trying to even out the text underneath in a way that made sense. I tried several alignments and then changed the design so the title fitted over the blurb.

This worked a little better, although the text was still not quite the right size - leaving 'The' resting uncomfortably at the top. Eventually it was shrunk to match the width of the text. The additional text was then experimented with, allowing 'The Shadowland Hexology' to have importance. The stone circle was also made larger as per the author's request and the text was raised so there was less of a gap underneath the white line.