This project began as a class assignment in my Digital Rhetorics graduate class at Clemson University. We were asked to create a mock up for a cover design for a Parlor Press book. Much to my surprise, the author, Brook Biaz, liked my design and chose it to be the cover of his novel The Invention of Dying. The bottom version is my first attempt, and the top version is the final draft. The book will be available for purchase at parlorpress.com in April, 2015. 

 

The Invention of Dying explores the relationship between medicine and death in a quirky tale of a doctor visiting a remote island with her bats. In my cover, I wanted to convey the mysteriousness of the doctor along with the purity of the island. I liked the contrast of the woman’s dark silhouette against the simple and natural background. I also added the bat and the cloudy sky to communicate the sense of looming trouble that is present in the story. I used Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign to create this cover.