My entry for the Penguin Design Awards. The book cover design was for 'What a Carve Up!', and we were asked to interpret and design it in our own way. After a lot of thought which went into deciding on which themes to incorporate, I stuck with politics, greed and sensationalism. 

 

I started the design by creating two collages, both made from newspaper. The first is a random collage which was to act as a texture. I tried to include subtle hints to the Winshaw characters such as stock broking, money, arms dealing etc. I then made a collage of the Union Jack. This is to represent the general theme of the book which was set during the time that Margeret Thatcher was Prime Minister, where many people disagreed with her politics and the way she did things. The newspaper element is due to the Winshaws being very well known and often reported on during their scandals as a family and in their professions, as well as Hilary being an editor herself, and of course, Michael, the biographer, keeping many records of newspaper cuttings to help him compile his information about the family.

My final book cover design relies heavily on collage and newspaper. I wanted it to have a hand drawn feel to it, which is why most of the elements have been created by hand. As you can see, the Union Jack has been ripped in several places, which is to represent the division throughout the book. Division was primarily caused by Margaret Thatcher and her controversial politics, but it also represents the controversial nature of the Winshaw family, and the scandals they were often apart of. Also fitting into the theme of scandal is of course the newspaper element, as many reports found in newspapers can be sensationalised and exaggerated.

The title for the book is made out of various letters from different newspapers which is more in relation to the book title itself. The title is 'carved up' and put back together in a mis-match sort of way. 

The background for the the blurb on the back of the cover is again, from ripped newspaper, which again fits in with the overall theme.