Project: Proposals for redesigning the cover of the first in a series of novels.
Author: Hannah Lynn, Award winning author of The Afterlife of Walter Augustus
Briefing Fun, with a clear sense that the book is humorous, but not ridiculous, Subtle emphasis on the Aston Martin aspect, but enough markers for the Peas and Carrots Series, The titles for each book are Peas, Carrots and … so I want to be able to have ideas that can thread through the following covers. I am also happy to consider something with a slightly more masculine vibe, think Nick Hornby, David Nicholls.
Genre: Fiction
Book description: Peas, Carrots and an Aston Martin is the first book in the Peas and Carrots Series by award winning author Hannah Lynn. The novel is also a finalist for the 2018 Wishing Shelf Award. This is the story of Eric who finds out that his late father has bequeathed what should have been his son’s inheritance to the local church. All that has been left to Eric is his father’s treasured vintage Aston Martin, however it comes with a huge proviso. The only way to keep it is if he makes weekly visits to tend his father’s allotment for the next two years. Eric is forced to divide his time between his hectic city life in London with his wife and daughter, and the small rural riverside village where the allotment is. Initially Eric looks for short cuts and quick fixes to get his own way, before ultimately coming to the realisation that there is more to life than pleasing the boss and fast-tracking your way to the top of the corporate ladder.
Target audience: Women aged 30-55, although the book would also work for men around the same age.
The idea behind this cover:
In this design, I went for a minimalist solution, using the colours of the peas and carrots on the car and highway. The vegetables are only implied by them, except when you observe the full cover where the sun is replaced by a sliced carrot. The concept towards the series is the use of these 4 main colours (green, orange and black +the background colour -in this case, a beige) in a minimalist, clean design that catches the reader’s eye immediately. On the side title, I propose the title parts to always be placed in different background colours (hopefully the PEAS, CARROT & part in black) in order to be able to tell it is a series directly.
The idea behind this cover:
I have decided to go for a modern, minimal design that could easily be repeated for the covers of the other two titles of the same series. In this case, I have opted for a silhouette of multiple interpretations, creating the car (using just the basic figure of a curvy, vintage Aston Martin) and using carrot slices as the wheels. The shape of the car seen from afar can also be interpreted as a felt hat, where the carrot slices could be eyeglasses or even the eyes of a man. The words PEAS and CARROTS are intentionally placed in coloured backgrounds and the typography is black. That could be the BRAND of the series, complimented every time with another title and design element.
We hope you enjoyed what we´ve done with the project. Feel free to add your comments here below or, if you have a similar project in mind, please drop us a line here. We´ll be glad to hear from you!