Re: Movie tie-in book covers

Oh, gods, not movie tie-in covers. They are the worst. I just want to read The Lord of the Rings; no ill will towards Peter Jackson and co., but I don't need Elijah Wood or Viggo Mortensen staring at me while I do.

Interestingly, one book-to-movie adaptation that managed to avoid this curse was Jurassic Park.

That's the cover of the first edition, and that T. Rex skeleton in silhouette became so iconic that a version of it was incorporated into the movie's own logo:

Subsequent editions of the novel had the movie logo on the cover, but this was much less objectionable than, say, plastering the book with photos of Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. It's always nice to see the graphic design of a book influence the design of its film adaptation, mainly because it happens so rarely.

Re: The Classics Redesigned Over and Over Again

I absolutely love the cover redesigns by Jessica Hische for Barnes & Noble. They have an air of history to them which is appropriate for such classics. The typographic design, the materials, the foil stamping and the page edge gilding turn the physical novel into a work of art. I agree with Nathan that these editions appeal to a certain market of individuals who love to display their books. If I were looking to purchase a copy of Jane Eyre, I would shell out the extra dollars for one of these editions because it is pleasing to the eye and the touch. I am someone who does display my books and as an avid reader, a full book shelf is a comfort to me.

This past year I purchased a copy of Jack Kerouac's On The Road. As an iconic novel that was first published in 1957, there have been MANY redesigns of it's cover. I choice to purchase the original scroll version partly because I loved the cover design. I think that cover redesigns can boost sales of books by giving them new life and visual appeal. Providing work for designers like us is also a definite plus!

Movie tie-in book covers

In addition to being very opinionated about the film adaptions of their favorite books, people also also have strong feelings about what happens to a book cover after it has become a Hollywood film. Suddenly, the covers that allowed us to imagine characters for ourselves are now splashed with images of the Hollywood stars that played the main characters in the movie. This drives me crazy. I feel that it cheapens the look of the novel and it turns book covers into movie posters. 

The movie-tie in cover for F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was released recently to coincide with the motion picture release. The new cover design has has outraged purists who are angered to see the iconic 1925 cover (designed by Francis Cugat) sitting alongside one with Leonardo DiCaprio's face front and center.

I am always grateful to have read a novel before it becomes a film because it allows you to develop an image of the character in you head based of the descriptions in the novel. It's impossible not to imagine Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight or Natalie Portman as Anne Boelyn in Philippa Gregory's The Other Boelyn Girl after the film has been released.

What are your thoughts on movie-tie in covers? Would you buy one over the original design? Have you seen examples where the movie tie-in design is more successful than the original?

Short Story and Aldous Huxley Novel

Short Story:
Rudyard Kipling's "How the Leopard Got His Spots"

Aldous Huxley Novel:
"Eyeless in Gaza"

Response to Stacy

Stacy, I am awful with names but I will definitely try to remember this designer. Thank you for introducing me to Jessica Hische's work!

During my undergrad at Emerson College, I took a book publishing course with a professor who had this beaten-down look about him, like publishing had taken away his soul. I recently tried to get an internship at a local book publishing company that had cubicles less inviting than the one I already work in for the military. That was disheartening. Publishers are out to make money, not good design, and sometimes not even the best content. If good design makes them money, then more people are happy I suppose, but publishers are not pleasers unless profit is the outcome.

I hate you, Profit and Loss Statement

I think it's unreasonable to buy multiple versions of a book unless they have a purpose to the consumer other than the difference in cover design. Don't quote me on this, but I am guessing different publishers might have a forward by a different scholar for the classic that they are reprinting. If the cover is different, perhaps the interior design of the book is different too. So, if I am choosing which classic to buy, perhaps I would take all of these things into account, especially the forward.

Depending on how much I like the forward, I may get a copy that has a less appealing cover. I think it depends on what the consumer is really aiming for. A professor would probably be more concerned with the forward while a design student may care more about the cover for her own design inspiration. But with the competition between the print and digital marketplace, I would hope that print publishers are putting more effort into good and relevant design in conjunction with the best scholarly forwards for classics. That's where the competition lies in the future. I think there is also something to be said for, not only the cover image, the quality of paper, the binding, and the construction of the book. As consumers and readers, we should be choosing our classics for our bookshelves with all of these elements considered.

Short Story and Huxley Novel Selection

Short Story: The Street That Got Mislaid by Patrick Waddington

Huxley Novel: Island

Redesigned Book Covers

I never used to judge a book by its cover. I would have to say that the majority of my books were purchased for their content and not the cover design. However, since starting the pub design program, I take a much longer time to purchase a book. Not only do I look at the author and summary but I tend to review cover designs for an extensive period of time.

Below, is a redesigned book cover for Fahrenheit 451. While the older covers of the book are actually quite compelling, this redesign, I think, is phenomenal. Obviously it's not a typical design. You can actually remove the matchstick from the cover. Pretty awesome. The san serif font and color choice are very modern for such a classic novel but it works beautifully. Even the spine is made to look like the rough edge of a matchbox. In my opinion it is a wonderful design that represents the book perfectly.

I think redesigning old classics keeps them new and fresh and increases the level of interest in the books for new readers.

Short Story & Aldous Huxley Selections

Short Story: Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil"

Aldous Huxley: "Time Must Have Stopped"

Lapedra Tolson

I jugde books by their covers... Respones to Stacy

It is true I do! I read about a book a week, so there is nothing I love more then to steal some time and go into a book store and perusing the selection of books. The ones with the best cover always attract me first. I believe the cover of a book is like a handshake, it doesn't tell you everything about the book but it is an important first impression. The cover is not everything but it matters a lot.

 Like this book By David Wong, I am both intrigued and horrified by the cover of this book.

I agree with Nathan and Ali that as books move into the digital environment the physical (paperback/hardback) books are increasingly becoming art objects that are prized for the beauty of book as well as the content between the covers. This I believe is the physical paper books way of carving out a niche for itself as world moves farther into the digital atmosphere. This reality saddens and excites me, but I look forward to seeing what the future holds for books both the digital form and the physical form.

Birdhouse By Jim Rosenau

Books with the same cover: My thoughts

I've really enjoyed reading all your responses to my questions! I'm glad we can all agree that Jessica Hische is insanely talented. To answer one of my own questions (would I buy the same book with different covers?), my answer is yes, I would. And I have. I'm actually currently debating on the books I want to bring for next class. I'm trying to narrow it down to two or three... Yes I have more than three copies of the same book. For me, I think it not only stems from my love of design and reading, but also that my dad is a book collector. Growing up with shelves filled with books, spending hours at a used book store, and going to author signings was a huge part of my upbringing. Do I judge a book by its cover? Absolutely. Even if the design doesn't speak to me, the descriptions and title include on the cover can still sell me on it.

Re: Stacy's Post

Who doesn't love Jessica? I heard her speak once at USU in Logan, Utah and I've been a follower ever since! What I love about her design of these book covers is that they are infused with the spirit that the original book intended, but they have something modern and fresh about them. It's an unusual combination, and a combination that's hard to do well. So, bravo to Jessica!

To answer Stacy's question, would I buy each book from different publishers if I loved the design of the book, I'd have to say no. I've been known to purchase items I love based solely on design value, but my practicality usually balances out my artistic spirit. However, I do know people who are committed to their loves. My husband, for example, is addicted to J.R.R. Tolkien books. He would probably buy different copies of the LoTR books, just for the cover art. What would probably happen is he'd find a set he liked, buy it, find a set he liked better, buy that too...and the chain would go on and on. Maybe folks wouldn't do it willfully, but rather impulsively.

Personally, I don't know why different publishers would put out the same covers. It goes against what little bit I know about marketing, which isn't very much.

Great find, Stacy, and great discussion! 

Re: The Classics Redesigned Over and Over Again

Stacy great find! I am a fan of anything classy or classic. These books are amazing. Hische's designs for Barnes & Noble, the Word Cloud Classic series, and the Penguin Books' Classic Clothbound series are all fantastic finds. I think redesigns are great, even if the redesign isn't a modern design. And yes to answer your question Stacy, I would sell a book just to buy the same book if the redesign is worthy. When I purchase a book for casual reading I'm usually turned on by the design first, then I read the title, and then I flip to the back cover. So Hana, I think putting that wonderful quote you mentioned on the back cover of Pride and Prejudice is very enticing, and a smart design decision.

People who rely on their e-readers to purchase books are missing out on these beautiful designs; maybe they don't care about the designs. But like Nathan mentioned, if you're into displaying books as well as reading them some printed books are worth buying. Printed books like these are worth buying.

Response - The Classics Redesigned

I firmly believe that redesigning book covers breathes new life into the work (and as Nathan said, it does give designers work which is a huge plus). The design of each book cover lends a visual interpretation to the written words and will convey an instant impression to the viewer/reader, even prior to delving into the content -- so with each new design, a book cover has the potential to grab a new reader, which I think is key.

I would certainly not be opposed to buying the same book with different covers -- if they really spoke to me. I am not a big collector of anything so each cover would need to be powerful enough to remind me why I enjoy the book itself so much.

As an aside, when Amy mentioned in class how often the book cover and content page design differs as a result of two different designers working on them -- or the designer not knowing the meaning of the story, I had a flashback to elementary/middle school when we read Watership Down -- we were each given a copy of the book, and gracing the hard cover was an image of a ship, I kid you not....

Response to Stacy Adam

Stacey -

What an interesting question you've posed!  My gut reaction answer is and astounding "NO!"  If the content hasn't changed, I'm not too concerned with publishers' attempts at making "new" money on "old" or "classic" books.  Money...that's what its all about in my opinion. 
Now, on the flip side of that, I'm not a a book enthusiast. I struggle to complete ANY book no matter how badly I wanted to read it.  My attention span...well, that's another blog.  But I can totally see why people (who care) may be interested in buying their favorite classic book with ONLY a new cover added.  I liken it to how they digitally remaster classic movies.  Does it really change the content now that it's in color or digital?  I think it takes away from the nostalgia of that time period. It's like The Great Gatsby movie with L.DiCaprio and how they added Jay-Z and Beyonce (2013 soundtrack) to a classic movie.  That's almost the equivalent of adding a new book cover to a classic book.  It's the same movie/concept, but updated to move it forward from that era into the era we are most familiar with...2013.

Short Story - Selection

"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs

Huxley - Novel Selection

After reading some of The Devils of Loudon, one of his non-fiction works, I changed my mind and decided I'd like to read one of his fictional novels -- Brave New World.

Re: The Classics Redesigned Over and Over Again.

I love Hische's covers for Barnes & Noble. Her super-ornate, 19th-century style appeals to a subconscious feeling of what a book should look like. As books become more and more digitized and divorced from the physicality of ink-on-paper, designs like Hische's will appeal to the upscale, nostalgic market of readers who think books are a thing to be displayed as well as read.

Unfortunately I'm not nearly as impressed by the Word Cloud designs. They feel weightless, with no sense of history behind them, and word clouds, no matter how carefully designed and constructed they may be, always strike me as somehow slapdash.

That said, if you like that sort of thing, more power to you. Just because Hische's designs are the end-all and be-all for me doesn't mean that everyone else feels the same way. I see nothing wrong with new designers constantly creating new designs for old books. It gives us work and keeps us off the streets.

Callan Silver and the many choices she has made this evening!

For my short story redesign I have chosen: Man from the South by Roald Dahl
And ...
For my Huxley novel choice, I have chosen: Point Counter Point.

Short Story Redesign Selection: The Bet, by Anton P. Chekhov

Aldous Huxley: Crome Yellow

I will choose Crome Yellow

Response to Stacy's Post

Stacy, what a great find! Jessica Hische has got to be one of the more highly recognizable design icons of our generation. (I remember seeing her work for a few magazine covers and articles a few years back and was so impressed by her lettering talent that I had to figure out a right time, budget, and story to commission her for one of our magazine covers and cover story, and indeed we did a few years back--what a talent!).

What's iconic about the cover designs of the era Jessica Hische draws inspiration from is the use of patterns and typography. Also, the art direction is nicely executed, especially with the choice to adorn the back cover with a quote. Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice are among of my favorites from the classics. I thought that the quote used for Pride and Prejudice was spot on; however, for Jane Eyre, the quote that really stuck with me all these years is "Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you!” Perhaps, this is too impassioned to appear on a back cover?

Short Story: The Gift of the Magi by O Henry

I will choose "The Gift of the Magi" by O Henry

Aldous Huxley Novel Selection

After Many a Summer Dies the Swan

Short Story Selection

Clay by James Joyce

The Classics Redesigned Over and Over Again.

While running some weekend errands, I spotted a series of classic books that reminded me of the classics Jessica Hische designed for Barnes & Noble. It made me wonder who did which first, and if one set was designed to compete with the other?

These 3 books are examples of what Jessica Hische designed for Barnes & Nobel.
They feature bonded leather binding and foil stamping.

These are samples of the books I saw this weekend. They are from the Word Cloud Classic
series and have a flexible leatherette cover. Like the above books cover designed by
Jessica Hische, they also feature foil stamping. (Unfortunately this photo doesn't do them justice)

When I first thought about this topic to post, I thought it would be a simple "who did it better?" post, but as I did some online digging, I found that the classic novels such as Little Women, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, and so on have been designed and redesigned many times as "special editions." So, in addition to the countless editions and reprints, there is now an abundance of current printings of these books on the market.

These books are from Pengiun Books' Classic Clothbound series and
are designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

This has me wondering, do you think this is necessary? Are different publishers putting out these books at as direct competition between each other? And if your favorite classic was produced in many different ways, would you buy each of them just because you love the book and the design?

Updated: The Masque of the Red Death and Brave New World

I think I'll go with a little Poe for my short story.

And for the Huxley novel, I'll do Island.

Book Selections

Book 1: Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Book 2: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World