By Ruth Rowland
It was a privilege to be asked by Welsh Publisher, Honno Press to work on the book cover design for award-winning author, Sara Gethin's new novel, Emmet and Me.
Emmet and Me by Sara Gethin: Book Cover Design
In the words of Mairéad Hearne of Swirl and Thread:
"Sara Gethin has written something very special, very powerful, capturing the innocence of a beautiful friendship."
Emmet and Me by Sara Gethin: Book Cover Design Front
Set predominantly around Galway, I took inspiration from the location of the novel, layering up imagery over the young narrator's face to reflect the subtlety of the writing and capture the overall mood of the novel.
A watercolour wash, extended over to the back cover, subtly suggesting a map of Ireland and simple brush lettering on the front, complement the photography and help give an emotive, human touch to the design.
Emmet and Me by Sara Gethin: Book Cover Design Front and Back
As with all design work, the approved cover is the culmination of a long process, which normally includes several initial roughs before focusing on a chosen route. I loved working on this project, so for those who are interested, I thought I'd include a couple of my initial visuals for the cover below.
The left visual is completely illustrative, you can see I'm experimenting with textured silhouettes and built-up chalk hand lettering. The right design combines soft, shadowy foreground illustration with background photography of a schoolyard. The title lettering is created with a marker pen and the author lettering links back to Sara's first book cover. I've retained a signature style of simple, spontaneous hand lettering and a muted, moody colour palette throughout all my designs for this emotive novel.
Emmet and Me by Sara Gethin: Book Cover Design Initial Visuals
To see more of my work for Sara Gethin, take a look at my cover for her debut novel, Not Thomas or head over to my publishing folder for more book cover designs for Welsh publisher, Honno Press.
