"The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
After reading this classic, I wanted to create a set of covers that were different and eye catching. I wanted the books to look colorful but crisp and modern.
The Pearl is a story about beauty, greed, corruption and tragedy. In it, our main protagonist, Kino, discovers "the Pearl of the World". A pearl so beautiful and perfect, Kino believes it to be the salvation of his family from the grips of poverty & illness. In reality, the pearl comes to cast a dark shadow over his family and community that ultimately leads to death & despair. The Pearl is a story about the dark side of man.
For this cover I was inspired by the moment in the book when the pearl, with all its beauty and perfection, transitions from a beam of hope into a dark shadow over the life and family of the protagonist. I took a minimalist approach to the design that’s simple and abstract. At the center is a white circle, representing the perfect pearl. Emanating from the pearl are overlapping rings that get larger and darker to represent the "curse" that has befallen our protagonist.
I wanted an updated but vintage feel for this cover. I was heavily inspired by the 1947 Viking Press First Edition cover. I appreciate the way the waves have an ominous depth to them so I recreated the wave pattern from the original cover and made the eye catching focal design element for the cover. I then incorporated the rusty red color of the old cover into the authors name to help it stand out more. I took a simple but clean approach for this cover that is both attractive and respectful of the original cover.
I wanted to take the focus off the pearl a bit and emphasize the seaweed that shrouded it. I wanted there to be a clear progression of light to darkness on the seaweed to represent how what you first perceive as beautiful may be dark and ugly underneath. Ideally, the pearl would be printed in opalescent, shiny cover. It is purposefully placed on the bottom, off center of the cover in a position where it will face constant wear and tear. I envision the reader being attracted to the pearls beauty just as the protagonist, Kino, was but as time passes, by the end of the book, the pearl has aged, smudged, and wrinkled in parallel to how the pearl went from a beacon of hope to a shadowy curse in the story. To make the illustration I photgraphed the some seaweed I found on a family trip to the beach, scanned it into photo shop, and played around with textures and gradients among other things.
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Colophonica is my side blog where I collect inspiring imagery.
Colophonica is my side blog where I collect inspiring imagery.
