Book Cover Design — Penguin Books, Tim Winton

  • Samuele Di Mauro
Overview
The goal for the Tim Winton book cover project was to create a stand-out and iconic series of designs that could be re-applied throughout Winton's back-list range.
Project: Book Cover Design. Visual Identity.
Needs and problems
At the first meeting with the client it was clear their issue. Tim Winton books are not selling as much as they were before so they needed something new to attract new readers.

Hyphotesis & Concept
Following research and mood board, the artistic direction of the books changes drastically from the first sketches, taking on a minimalistic style. For these reasons, flat colour, gradient, and geometry designs were an attractive way to explore. The clients were very happy with the first concepts but they suggested avoiding the use of negative white spaces as white books get dusty in bookshelves and to focus on the design of Eyrie as that reflected what they were looking for.
Evaluation & Final Delivery
The Shepherd's Hut's cover keeps the original red background. It wants to remain faithful to what is the old cover design of the book. On the other hand, it works perfectly as a background to the scorching sun and hut in the middle of WA, strong elements of the book.
Evaluation & Final Delivery
Dirt Music expresses in a simple and elegant way the importance of the guitar in an environment where there is no electricity. In the story, the row acustic instrument becomes a way to fill the empty sad days with the lure of music.
Evaluation & Final Delivery
Eyrie is a word meaning nest. The story is about a men living in it's flat in a skyscraper in Perth, which I represented graphically as a warm nest. He's got a beautiful life, a good job, a beautiful partner. Eventually he loses everything. And here, the grey of the background, the unexpected dark.
Thank you!