WNA #18: Update from Japan

Of course, designing a book cover on a bullet train in Japan isn’t going to go smoothly. Don’t get me wrong — the train is smooth as strawberry and whipped cream sandwiches from 7-Eleven. But getting in the right frame of mind to do any thorough design work during a holiday is… tricky.

So, naturally, I’m a little behind on schedule. But here’s an update anyway.

Cover concept 1: Rubik’s Cube

The book — oh, wait, did I even share the official yet? In case I didn’t, it is: Designer Rehab: Unexpected Skills and Concepts for Success in The Creative Industry.

So, the book is about change in multiple ways; intervention, rearrangement, supplementation. The lessons are part rigid, part fluid. If anything stands out, it is that structure and consistency are key in achieving our goals.

Visually and metaphorically, these ideas translates well to the Rubik’s Cube. With the cube, we twist and turn and rearrange, shifting sides and constantly making new combinations. The beauty of the cube, metaphorically, is that no matter how much you twist it, it remains the same cube. I like this, because I believe readers of the book already possess almost all of the qualities needed to succeed — they only need to put them in the right order and place.

So, here are a few studies and a mock-up of the current state of this idea. I haven’t submitted it yet as it’s not yet complete.

The Rubik’s Cube

Setting up a simple isometric system to rebuild the cube graphically.

Introducing the original Rubik’s Cube colors. Which, yes, are kinda ugly. But without the colors, it’s absolutely not a Rubik’s Cube anymore. In the right image, I’m extending the side faces to make the cube more ‘all encompassing’

Removing the black borders really opens the image up.

Cropping to book cover size suddenly makes it a much more interesting composition.

Experimenting with overlapping faces and gradients, to illustrate a few crossed boundaries and unconventional connections.

A first mock-up of what it could look like.

Proofreaders on a roll

Oh, and I’ve seen the first proofreader comments find their way into my inbox! Really exciting. I haven’t read them yet (okay, I’ve read a few), but I can’t wait to dig in.

That’s all for now. Back to travelling!