The Last Petal to Fall
Fan fiction concept based on a classic novel and a book jacket focused on typographic elements and layout.
Service
Book Jacket, Print
Client
College Project
Year
2024
Concept
This project aimed to create a fan fiction concept based on a classic novel and design a book jacket focused on typographic elements and layout. The novel I chose was The Secret Garden. With this book in mind, I decided to continue the story of the two main characters 20 years later. Mary and Colin find themselves back at the manor by a wicked twist of fate. They find that the garden has withered, and it’s their job to find out why.
For this book design, it was essential to reflect the essence of the original while updating it for a new era. I chose to use a bold, all-caps, “stone look” font for most of the title, adding the sophisticated elegance of a script font. I also utilized this font for the tagline “Secrets never stay buried.”. For the body copy, I chose an elegant sans-serif font with a slightly spooky element that is representative of the mysterious brewing with the pages.
Color Pallet
The color pallet I chose is designed to be classic, with the black and white elements as a nod to the classic original book. It has a dark component to allude to a dark time in the character’s lives, with a pop of a muted peach to represent dried flowers. This correlates with the central imagery of the wilting rose and flower petals. In a prior iteration of the design, I went with a white and muted but more colorful pallet and a more whimsical aesthetic; however, after receiving feedback on both designs, I realized the darker pallet represented what readers could expect to find in the book’s pages.
Target Audience
The target audience was anyone who loved The Secret Garden and wanted to see this continuation of their story. This audience could also be expanded to mystery, romance, and fiction book lovers. With all of the books available on shelves nowadays, it is common for people to do the age-old sin and judge a book by its cover. For this reason, it was vital that potential readers could grasp the concept and vibe of the book at first glance.
