Category: Penguin

From the research I conducted on protest and Caribbean patterns, I developed my outcomes even further based on the feedback I was given to improve my outcome.

I combined the subjects protest and culture together.

I created my own turkey visuals by combining the Caribbean patterns to create something that showcases the Caribbean culture and the authors ethnicity. I played around with various drawing styles and patterns to create these visuals.

I tried using a variety of drawing styles ranging from cartoon, vector, illustrative etc to see what style would work best together with the visuals and typeface and from this I decided to go with the more illustrative approach and this gives a more personal touch to the work.

Definition of the term PROTEST

• A statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something
• A written declaration, typically by a notary public, that a bill has been presented and payment or acceptance refused.
• Express an objection to what someone has said or done.
• Declare (something) firmly and emphatically in response to doubt or accusation.

Taking the advice on board I received from David, I decided to look in to protest material to get a better sense of how I could design the Talking Turkeys book cover. The author discusses many topics within his book in poem form and many being about protest and human rights, this will aid myself in the ideation process.

I also looked into the textile materials but specifically Caribbean fabric patterns, as they are known for their bright and adventurous patterns, this creates a sense of individuality amongst them. This was something I was interested about as I could combine both aspects – patters and the turkey to create a Caribbean pattern and this will represent his heritage.

David gave me some feedback on my book cover which will help me further develop and improve the outcome ever further.

• Use protest material such as placards etc
• Turkeys visuals, possible on the clothing but using the reggae colours to represent the authors culture?
• Keep using the typeface as David liked this

From my initial ideas, I developed my ideas further, and I thought about using a silhouette of Benjamin Zephaniah and experiment more with placements and typography, after the research I noticed that using a silhouette is quite a common art form used in the Caribbean culture and also relating to Bob Marley.

As this is aimed towards the younger demographic, I decided to use bright colours that relate to the Rasta/Reggae to relate to the Caribbean upbringing.

I decided to go with this outcome for the Penguin project as I felt it was the strongest outcome of them all.

Feedback from tutorial

We all had a group tutorial where we would receive feedback from our tutors.

My feedback:

1. The typeface I created is very strong and works well.
2. Colours are good, will catch the readers attention.
3. I need to be more ambitious with my ideas.
4. The silhouette is overused and common
5. Can not tell that the book is about Talking Turkeys
6. Because I’ve gone with the Caribbean heritage, I could combine this with the clothing like a shirt and implement a pattern within this,
7. Stick with the typeface as it is strong and be more experimental

When I develop this further, I will most certainly take the feedback forward to create a stronger piece.

After doing some initial research on the author and the book “Talking Turkeys”, I have created some quick sketches of some initial ideas.

I decided to focus on the author/poets heritage as he grew up in the Caribbean as it is an apparent aspect of his life and his artistry of Rasta vibes. I wanted to experiment more with typography and see what kind of organic and earthy typeface I could create, so I experimented with a few different designs and then used colour and placements to see which typefaces were the strongest. Also experimenting with the reggae style of the free flowing and relaxed vibes.

I used my Ipad Pro to create these typefaces. I will experiment and develop my outcomes even further.

We received a new project at the start of the term to redesign a penguin book cover given to us by Penguin – These 3 book covers are Adult Fiction “Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee” by Meera Syal, Adult Non Fiction “The Uninhabitable Earth” by David Wallace-Wells and lastly Childrens cover “Talking Turkeys” by Benjamin Zephaniah. I read into each of these titles and decided to go with “Talking Turkeys” by Benjamin Zephaniah as I was drawn more to this book than any of the other two titles.

Research into Talking Turkeys

Benjamin Zephaniah – born in Birmingham but spent most of his early life in Jamaica.

Appears regualry on radio and TV – Desert Island and Discs

Taken part in films and plays

Most well known for his performance poetry with a political edge for both children and adults and gritty teen ficton.

Talking Turkeys, Wicked World and Funky Chickens.

Collection of rap style poems – environment, social issues, heroes, racism, animal rights and other less serious topics.

The Melting Pot – In “We Refugees” descries British culture as being a “melting pot” of different cultures – racial issues present in British culture.

Race and gender are a key motif, e.g. “Who’s Who” addresses his past close-mindness when it comes to genders and professions.

Original cover – gangster theme, turkey dressed up as a rapper, turkey relates to the book title, playful typography, strong colour profile and simplistic design aesthetic.

Both book covers use turkeys in there covers so keeping this in mind, I want to avoid using cliches like using turkeys as it has been done. I wanted to focus on culture but more specifically the authors Jamaican upbringing and implementing this into my design process.

I created some mood boards based on Rasta art and Jamaican culture as this is a key aspect I want to focus on taking forward to the ideation process. I want to use a bright colour palette as this is aimed towards children, so this book cover needs to catch the attention of the children.