The Undertaking is a collection of poems and essays written by a funeral director. Not surprisingly, his work deals a lot with the relationship between the living and the dead.
Taken literally, I’m not sure I understand what’s going on with this cover. Is it a hand coming out of the depths of the unknown? Does the blackness symbolize Lynch’s profession and topic-of-choice?
That’s the best I can come up with.
Highly engaging, and terribly attractive, my only beef is that the hand seems somewhat feminine and dainty (raised pinky, no calluses, etc). Not what I would expect for an Undertaker.
Intelligent placement of the quote, incorporation of the author’s name into the card… The title is rather diminutive though; the typeface isn’t helping it out. Other than that, nothing wrong.
A dim light in the darkness vibe, life and death. I like the business card approach since this is written about his job and since one definition for undertaking is: to take in hand.
I’m not loving the placement of the praise quote. Otherwise, I like this cover enough to coment on it here. Which is to say I like it a lot.
As for the typography, I think the fact that it’s not spectacularly set allows for a more genuine feel. The business card is designed to look like just that: a run-of-the-mill business card. And while some designers may have used that card as an opportunity to perfectly set the type (or otherwise design a card how they feel they should be designed), I’m very satisfied with this designer’s choice to set aside designery aspirations and simply design it like it usually is: in a pretty mediocre, not-flashy-at-all manner.
I really wish that USA Today quote wasn’t there, though.
So, basically, the designer held a business card up to the flatbed scanner and… presto!
It’s an okay solution, but I think, in this case, it’s a bit lackluster and there’s an absence of correlation between the topic and the imagery (like you said, Ben). How about putting the business card on an embalming or morgue table with blood coming close to it, or touching it? Why a hand at all?
Actually, I did the hand on the flatbed scanner trick myself. Here’s a calender I made featuring my artwork… I scanned my hand one day after I’d finished painting.
I think the hand coming out of the darkness might have something to do with how a funeral director is in the background. He’s the guy who moves around the funeral unnoticed, quietly moving the procession along. Anyway, in terms of the design telling me what type of book it is I would not have guessed this to be a collection of poems. My first thought was “Ooh a memoir about being an undertaker, I’d read that.”
So… if any cover gets posted here, the majority of feedback will be how someone else could have done it better… A little bored of the overload in negative criticism.
I agree. Very appropriate on a number of subtle levels. It alludes and hints strongly at the content with a good sense of somberness and quiet. Like your entering a funeral home. “Hello, welcome, the casket’s over there…”
I agree with Angela’s assessment of the cover design. I think it’s great. The blackness is kind of menacing, but that could be appropriate… depending on how you feel about funeral directors…
One thing that always gets picked on here is when a designer takes the ‘obvious’ route in designing a book cover. To me, putting a business card on a morgue table with blood creeping towards it would be the painfully ‘obvious’ (and morbid/sensationalist) route.
so Ian what happened between comments 1 + 2?
comment 1: ‘Not sure what it means’ , comment 2 : ‘it alludes and hints strongly at the content blah, blah, blah’.... I guess you must be a fast reader.
The only comment I would have besides ‘well done’ is that I wonder if some care could have been taken to make it look less like it was done on a scanner – otherwise it fits and I daresay I wouldn’t have the guts to do it myself.
i like it. appropriate for the book. and i’m a sucker for the scanner look. unfortunately tori amos comes to mind first when i see this. the posters/cds for ‘choirgirl hotel’ basically look like they scanned her in. came out same year as this book. i don’t like tori amos. for the record.
It’s worth remembering that this was done in the back room at Knopf ten years ago, when necessity mothered the invention of standing over a scanning machine for hours trying to get the right look. It’s not what technology could produce now, but it was pretty inventive at the time.
Jason R Gabbert said: Where would you place the quote?
Off the top of my head…
Center-align the text, and align its center with the center of the text on the card, half-way between the thumb and the bottom edge of the cover. Of course, this means moving that award seal the hell out of there, perhaps a bit smaller, to the left of the quote text (near where the quote text is right now).
Or at least leave it in that area, but align the left side of the textbox with the left edge of the business card. A bit higher. Done.
My point is that its current placement holds no relation with anything else on the cover. Its placement seems to have been decided in spite of the other (more important) elements in the design, instead of respecting the margins and rhythm established by those other elements.
in general i like it, except i think it falls into a large box of covers that are ruined by the placement of the quote, it’s obvious it was thrown on at the last moment – the same with the sticker.
Ultimately, the fact she did this ten years ago and we are discussing it as visually relevant reveals it to be successful design.
The other thing to consider is that we are talking about the paperback adapt. The jacket would be even more striking without the quote, penguin, and sticker.
I find it a bit to cluttered. I hate how the publisher puts those starry stickers on books. All it does is fudge up the designers final vision. I also feel like the quote could have gone inside the book. Although if i were to see this on the shelf it probably wouldnt stand out to me. If its ment to ominous and slighly terrifying i personally feel that a image evoking a stronger response would have been a better call. Its just not scary.
The Undertaking is a collection of poems and essays written by a funeral director. Not surprisingly, his work deals a lot with the relationship between the living and the dead.
Taken literally, I’m not sure I understand what’s going on with this cover. Is it a hand coming out of the depths of the unknown? Does the blackness symbolize Lynch’s profession and topic-of-choice?
That’s the best I can come up with.
Highly engaging, and terribly attractive, my only beef is that the hand seems somewhat feminine and dainty (raised pinky, no calluses, etc). Not what I would expect for an Undertaker.
— Ben Pieratt, 2008-05-21 07:37:00
Note – the hand and shadows are quite a bit less dark and foreboding on the actual cover.
— Ben Pieratt, 2008-05-21 07:38:00
Intelligent placement of the quote, incorporation of the author’s name into the card… The title is rather diminutive though; the typeface isn’t helping it out. Other than that, nothing wrong.
— rek, 2008-05-21 07:47:00
A dim light in the darkness vibe, life and death. I like the business card approach since this is written about his job and since one definition for undertaking is: to take in hand.
— Arthur, 2008-05-21 08:15:00
I think this is the perfect solution for the topic. Can’t think of anything that would hit the idea nearly as well.
— Jason R Gabbert, 2008-05-21 08:28:00
nice. I like it. Not sure what it all means, but it is mysterious and memorable.
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2008-05-21 09:47:00
I’m not loving the placement of the praise quote. Otherwise, I like this cover enough to coment on it here. Which is to say I like it a lot.
As for the typography, I think the fact that it’s not spectacularly set allows for a more genuine feel. The business card is designed to look like just that: a run-of-the-mill business card. And while some designers may have used that card as an opportunity to perfectly set the type (or otherwise design a card how they feel they should be designed), I’m very satisfied with this designer’s choice to set aside designery aspirations and simply design it like it usually is: in a pretty mediocre, not-flashy-at-all manner.
I really wish that USA Today quote wasn’t there, though.
— Alfonso, 2008-05-21 13:09:00
Where would you place the quote?
— Jason R Gabbert, 2008-05-21 13:12:00
i feel like i’ve seen this only about 45 million times.
— perry, 2008-05-21 14:45:00
one better example: http://www.livrosdeareia.com/livros_DaTreta.htm
— one better example, 2008-05-21 18:52:00
So, basically, the designer held a business card up to the flatbed scanner and… presto!
It’s an okay solution, but I think, in this case, it’s a bit lackluster and there’s an absence of correlation between the topic and the imagery (like you said, Ben). How about putting the business card on an embalming or morgue table with blood coming close to it, or touching it? Why a hand at all?
Actually, I did the hand on the flatbed scanner trick myself. Here’s a calender I made featuring my artwork… I scanned my hand one day after I’d finished painting.
http://chadwys.com/001.jpg
— C-Dog, 2008-05-21 21:25:00
in a word: awful
— pogo, 2008-05-22 01:21:00
I think the hand coming out of the darkness might have something to do with how a funeral director is in the background. He’s the guy who moves around the funeral unnoticed, quietly moving the procession along. Anyway, in terms of the design telling me what type of book it is I would not have guessed this to be a collection of poems. My first thought was “Ooh a memoir about being an undertaker, I’d read that.”
— angela, 2008-05-22 06:32:00
I like.
— dave, 2008-05-22 07:51:00
So… if any cover gets posted here, the majority of feedback will be how someone else could have done it better… A little bored of the overload in negative criticism.
— Jason R Gabbert, 2008-05-22 08:11:00
I think this cover works perfectly. And I agree with Jason.
— Blair, 2008-05-22 09:13:00
I agree. Very appropriate on a number of subtle levels. It alludes and hints strongly at the content with a good sense of somberness and quiet. Like your entering a funeral home. “Hello, welcome, the casket’s over there…”
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2008-05-22 10:02:00
I agree with Angela’s assessment of the cover design. I think it’s great. The blackness is kind of menacing, but that could be appropriate… depending on how you feel about funeral directors…
One thing that always gets picked on here is when a designer takes the ‘obvious’ route in designing a book cover. To me, putting a business card on a morgue table with blood creeping towards it would be the painfully ‘obvious’ (and morbid/sensationalist) route.
— jack, 2008-05-22 11:05:00
so Ian what happened between comments 1 + 2?
comment 1: ‘Not sure what it means’ , comment 2 : ‘it alludes and hints strongly at the content blah, blah, blah’.... I guess you must be a fast reader.
— jim rockford, 2008-05-22 14:45:00
The only comment I would have besides ‘well done’ is that I wonder if some care could have been taken to make it look less like it was done on a scanner – otherwise it fits and I daresay I wouldn’t have the guts to do it myself.
— Chris Papasadero / Fwis, 2008-05-22 20:12:00
Great cover. 10 years old and still kicks ass.
— David, 2008-05-23 03:54:00
i like it. appropriate for the book. and i’m a sucker for the scanner look. unfortunately tori amos comes to mind first when i see this. the posters/cds for ‘choirgirl hotel’ basically look like they scanned her in. came out same year as this book. i don’t like tori amos. for the record.
— zach, 2008-05-23 06:50:00
Jim. Maybe I read the book. Or, maybe, just maybe, I read the Amazon synopsis??? Who knows? Most importantly? Who cares?
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2008-05-23 08:35:00
It’s worth remembering that this was done in the back room at Knopf ten years ago, when necessity mothered the invention of standing over a scanning machine for hours trying to get the right look. It’s not what technology could produce now, but it was pretty inventive at the time.
— scottaleh, 2008-05-23 08:39:00
Jason R Gabbert said: Where would you place the quote?
Off the top of my head…
Center-align the text, and align its center with the center of the text on the card, half-way between the thumb and the bottom edge of the cover. Of course, this means moving that award seal the hell out of there, perhaps a bit smaller, to the left of the quote text (near where the quote text is right now).
— Alfonso, 2008-05-23 21:37:00
Or at least leave it in that area, but align the left side of the textbox with the left edge of the business card. A bit higher. Done.
My point is that its current placement holds no relation with anything else on the cover. Its placement seems to have been decided in spite of the other (more important) elements in the design, instead of respecting the margins and rhythm established by those other elements.
— Alfonso, 2008-05-23 21:43:00
in general i like it, except i think it falls into a large box of covers that are ruined by the placement of the quote, it’s obvious it was thrown on at the last moment – the same with the sticker.
— roseanna, 2008-05-26 06:30:00
Trivia note: The spooky hand belongs to book designer Archie Ferguson, who was at Knopf at the time.
— scottaleh, 2008-05-26 08:09:00
What ever happened to Archie Ferguson?
— ian shimkoviak, 2008-05-26 09:34:00
He’s at Harper Collins now, I think.
— nate s., 2008-05-26 14:04:00
no. I think that ended a while ago. Anyone know? I think Joseph someone took over for him at Harper…
— ian shimkoviak, 2008-05-26 15:58:00
Ultimately, the fact she did this ten years ago and we are discussing it as visually relevant reveals it to be successful design.
The other thing to consider is that we are talking about the paperback adapt. The jacket would be even more striking without the quote, penguin, and sticker.
— jason booher, 2008-05-27 13:30:00
1o years isn’t really that long… I mean, that’s the late 90s.
— C-Dog, 2008-05-28 13:29:00
10 years ago? The late 90s doesn’t really seem that long ago… I was doing most of the same stuff then that I’m doing now.
— C-Dog, 2008-05-28 13:31:00
Did anyone notice that the penguin logo is facing the wrong way? This is bothering me.
— Melinda, 2008-05-29 06:57:00
Maybe if the logo is on the right, it faces left, and vice versa. That little penguin looks towards the content.
— nate s., 2008-05-29 08:16:00
a funny story lingers behind that I am sure. Not surprising though—that logo has been worked and reworked a bunch of times…
— ian shimkoviak, 2008-05-29 08:17:00
I find it a bit to cluttered. I hate how the publisher puts those starry stickers on books. All it does is fudge up the designers final vision. I also feel like the quote could have gone inside the book. Although if i were to see this on the shelf it probably wouldnt stand out to me. If its ment to ominous and slighly terrifying i personally feel that a image evoking a stronger response would have been a better call. Its just not scary.
— Branden Vondrak, 2008-08-14 11:18:00