Studio Brief 1 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Initial Ideas for Crit

5 Book Covers

This typographic design arranges the title into four levels which allows the 'I' in 'Bird' and 'Kill' to form the lines on a gun sight with the 'O' being the thing that the 'gun' is aiming at. The letter 'O' is coloured black to represent Tom who is seen as the Mockingbird within the book and who at the end of the story is shot dead. Using grey as the background colour is supposed to mimic that of the Mockingbirds feather colours.

In this design the image the marbles represent different characters within the book, with Tom represented as the black marble, Atticus the black and white striped marble who stands up for Tom and the white marbles reflect the rest of the white community. The concept of oppression is shown within the design by the way the white marbles outnumber the Tom and Atticus. This is also shown by the way the marbles are enclosing around Tom and Atticus. By making 'Kill' italics in the title this creates a harsher feel to the word and emphasises the action within the title. Harper Lee identified with Scout who was quite a tomboy, however despite being quite boisterous Lee became reclusive after the publication of her book. To reflect this idea the use of a Sans Serif typeface, which has a strong form , is used to imply her boyish nature, however the thinness of the typeface is less dominant than the other typography.   

This design plays with the concept of oppression with Atticus and Tom being surrounded. The composition is balanced to reflect how in theory the justice system is supposed to be however it is clear it is not, this is shown by the use of more elements in one half of the cover than the other. The typography is inspired from the opening sequence of the film. Using  a black background allows all the elements to stand out well despite the a photocopy being black. 

This cover explores the concepts of oppression and protection with the white community being much larger than Tom. Atticus is place within the white circle to show how he takes most of the pressure from the white community in order to protect Tom. By placing the circles close together this creates the feeling that Atticus is only just managing to keep them at bay. The typography again takes inspiration from the film, however when placing it within the grid without it overlapping the imagery, 'Mockingbird' needed to be broken down. By making the title larger than Harper Lee this creates a sense of dominance within the typography reflecting Harper Lees quite personality.

This cover focuses on the relationship between Tom and Atticus. By placing the marbles side by side in this way it signifies how Atticus sees Tom as his equal despite what the rest of the community think. It is also represents the positioning of the characters within the courtroom scene within the film. By using a macro photograph and placing the imagery at the bottom of the cover this has created a larger proportion of white space which implies the disparity between the communities. Centralising the typography creates balance between the two marbles creating a flow between three points (the two marbles and typography) which draws your eye around the cover.