Book Cover Designs

I am a voracious reader and have a passion for books, so one day I thought to combine my two loves and start re-designing some of my favourite novels.

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Flowers for Algernon was a book that really changed my perspective on the world, so I itched to give it a cover that communicated the complex journey the central character goes through. The flowers at the top start out as child-like dandelions, switch to simplistic daisies and begin to evolve into more complex blossoms before degrading into rot and decay.

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Similarly the handwritten title follows the same journey from childlike scratch to clearer type and back again.

The short little novella by Audrey Niffenegger is a dark fairytale about a girl born of a postman and a raven. Stuck in a girls form but feeling like a raven inside, it covers her struggle with identity and understanding from the outside world.

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The book itself contains some lovely illustrations and includes one as it's original cover but I thought I would try a more contemporary take on it as I felt it's message was very relevant in our modern society where identity is becoming more of a fluid concept and many still struggle with gaining understanding and acceptance.

This wonderful novel sums up the evolution of humanity in witty and thought provoking prose that reaches beyond dry scientific recitation and draws readers of all interests in. While it's current cover is simplistic and succinct, I thought I would try giving it a more approachable cover to draw in readers who might not realise it's enthralling nature by it's title alone.

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Our dexterous hands were of course the making of us as a species, so I highlighted it with both the subject of the photo and the hand-drawn nature of the typography.

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© Copyright Jessica Ruiters 2018