The weekend has seen Marly’s forthcoming book for Stanza evolve from a stash of poems, a bunch of images and a dream, to being a fully-realised design to present to the publisher. Andrew has captured to the last nuance the character I was hoping for with this cover. I’m cock-a-hoop with his achievement. He’s put three solid days into getting it just right, and the book doesn’t disappoint once opened either. He’s a star!
…
I hope all those who visited the Artlog and watched so closely and commented so enthusiastically about the evolving images for the book, will enjoy the result of all this endeavour to do justice to the foliate head they liked most and voted onto the front cover. (The one on the back cover was my own favourite, and I’m very happy to see him there.) This has been a wonderfully satisfying project. Marly’s work has been attaching itself to my DNA for quite a while now, but no matter how much of a feeling one may have for a text, the shaping of ideas into corporeal form takes quite a bit of sweat at the quarry-face. A relief and an exhilaration therefore, to get to this stage.
Pingback: maquette-making at sketty | Clive Hicks-Jenkins' Artlog:
Congrats, you must be thrilled, as well as the author and perhaps most significantly the lucky reader, who will remain blissfully unaware of the arduous journey this work has endured. A handsome volume indeed.
That’s the trick Leonard, to make it seem easy!
It looks fabulous, very striking
I’d hoped for striking, so thank you for saying so, Chloe.
Well done, y’all! Extremely attractive with lots and lots of shelf appeal.
AM
That’s what we needed my friend. Alluring eye-candy! (-;
How wonderful! Congratulations and best wishes to all involved!
Your best wishes are much appreciated LBT!
Stunning. I do love the colours you create.
Thank you Cousin Pamela. I do my best. (-;
It is so nice to see your lovely designs on the finished cover, and that shade of green is wonderful with that red. What a good job everyone has done!
There’s no designer I love working with more than Andrew. Though come to think of it, Anita Mills is a damned fine graphic designer too, and in the past I’ve enjoyed collaborating with her. Another one who ‘listens’ to the images and always gets the best out of them. So many designers don’t.
Having looked its many marvels over with delight, I am glad to say that the book will be a wonderful marriage of word and image–I could not be more pleased. Or more grateful to Andrew Wakelin, to Clive, and to Peter.
Good. We can all sleep well then!
Absolutely stunning. Your work, Clive, is wonderfully placed on the pages, very eye-catching in any bookshop, and I’m sure capturing the spirit of Marly’s words within. I can hardly wait to hold this collaborative work of art in my hands. Brava to you all, including Andrew!
Thank you Marja-Leena. This one has been in the pipeline for so long that there were times I think we all feared it was never going to happen. Great, with the help of Andrew’s incredibly intuitive response to the images I’d produced, to get this book out of my head and into a design.
It look’s really striking, I love the contrast of the images against the background, I said it before and I’ll say it again – I can HEAR those images. This book will leap out when placed amongst others. I particularly like the way the green leaves spill over the spine.
One bugbear I have is that I wish some IT expert would do away with barcodes and have proper designed ones! We have come to accept them in our daily lives, but they still infiltrate. I can see the box is deliberate, and with the writing included this helps, but it must always be the bane of any designer. Well done Andrew, Clive! Marly must be pleased.
I hope she’s pleased Liz. It must be a bit of a shock to the system for Marly to see all the elements finally resolve into a design.
I know what you mean about barcodes, but they’re a fact of life I fear.
UPDATE
Well, it turns out that Marly is over-the-moon with with the design, and moreover so is the publisher. So we can all heave a huge sigh of relief. Hip hip, HOORAY!!!
it’s awesome!!
i love that the designs bleed over onto the binding…looks wonderful…congratulations!
Thank you Zoe. What a relief it is to finish it!
A marvel. Can’t wait for the book.
Coming, Lucy. Hopefully not long now. (-;