Norwegian Wood Brief - Penguin Books- Competition Brief

The first Penguin book I started designing for was the contemporary Japanese novel, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. The Penguin brief stipulates how the design should look:

'Haruki Murakami’s books and stories have been bestsellers in Japan as well as internationally. His writing is vivid, dazzling, experimental and imaginative and your cover design should reflect this.'

'The story is well known both in celluloid and print so it is essential to come at it from a fresh angle. It should appeal to a contemporary, enquiring and literary readership.'

'We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the cover (front, back and spine) need to work together, remember that the front cover has to be able to work on its own, and to be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting as well as on screen at a reduced size for digital retailers.'

The winning design will need to:

• have an imaginative concept
  
• be an original interpretation of the brief
• be competently executed with strong use of typography
• appeal to the broadest possible audience for the book
• show a good understanding of the marketplace
• have a point of difference from other books that it will be competing against in the market
• be able to sit on the shelves of a supermarket or ebook store as easily as it sits on those of more traditional bookshops

I need to consider the types of books that Penguin usually favour for the Penguin Adult Fiction Design Award and what these designs have in common. This could include strong execution of typography, bold and symbolic imagery, and innovative ideas.

I will also need to look at the previous Norwegian Wood cover designs- why they were successful, how they convey the themes of the books, what hasn't worked about them, ect.