Cover 1
The illustration on this book cover was done by Joe Berger, an illustrator and cartoonist since 1991. This particular book cover was first published in 2002, one of the more earlier noted book designs Berger had illustrated. This is the most contemporary book cover I could find, I think this is reflected through the design itself based on the chosen colour scheme and typeface. The design on this cover reflects parts of the key narrative aspects by including an illustration of Adrian Mole and his diary but keeping the title of this book the main focal point. The ideas there are being communicated visually is that the book its about a boy who keeps a diary, the theme of the whole book is visually communicated through the cover design. The semiotics behind the covers message is nothing too complex because this cover has been designed for young adults, the illustrations used on the front clearly highlight what the book inside includes and what it is about. I think this cover has been designed successfully because the genre is considered young adults, it is important not to make the cover too childlike, as it would become condescending to the audience. The use of hand rendered typography fits well within the theme of the book itself as it is about a diary, however it also could be considered quite obvious to go for a hand-drawn joint up lettering, the typewriter style font on the back cover appeals to me more as it is a different approach compared to the obvious style lettering.
Cover 2
This second book cover I could not find the illustrator who designed it but it was published again in 2002. I chose to look at this cover in particular because I think it is the worst cover for this book I have come across while researching them. I do not consider this a good book cover firstly because the tone it sets is not reflective of the book itself, this cover looks as though it is designed for a female audience, this is not the case as the book should be read by either gender. The key aspects of the narrative and themes within the book are subtly communicated through its design, there are small illustrations that highlight some of the key factors to the story line, such as the dog, the heart and the house- but you do not get the diary feel as much as the previous cover. Having started to read the book myself, this particular cover does not reflect the character of Adrian Mole, it has a more child-like feel to it. The semiotics within this book cover design are very standard and simple, like the previous image it highlights only some of the key features within the book not making it very complex for the audience to grasp onto. I do not think the ideas of the books content are being communicated well visually at all through this design, the colour scheme follows no true pattern leaving it an eye-sore and the typography is almost too childlike for its genre therefore I think this begins to belittle the audience and does not reflect the attitudes and personality of a 13 year old boy.
Cover 3
This particular cover is part of the most recent set of books, they were designed in 2012, again I cannot find the designer of this book cover. Despite it being the most recent cover that has been designed, it looks the most old- this is due to the washed out colours that look like those of an old diary or book. There are not many semiotics on this cover, only the illustration of the broken pair of glasses, a repeated motif that relates to the story of Adrian Mole, I like how the cover has been kept plain with only a few colours because it is different to the typical design that looks almost too childlike- it adheres to the genre of the book and has no risk of it being condescending to its audience. These designs were created for the 30th anniversary edition of the first books release with a special foreword by David Walliams who admired Townsend greatly calling her his 'hero', it was her who inspired him to begin writing children's/young adults fiction. This front cover visually communicates small aspects of the story itself, it doesn't really show the fact that the novel is a diary, asides from the title, the motives are vague.
My overall opinion on these book cover designs is that I need to carefully consider my audience when it comes to the typography, colour and imagery. The young adult genre is a tricky genre because the covers could appear too child-like or look too daunting to its audience therefore would put them off reading it. The last cover design is my favourite design, despite it being very minimalist and dull, it looks the less childlike of the 3 and I think this would appeal mostly to its targeted audience. This is something I must carefully consider when coming up with design ideas.
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