Cover designs

Olio is a printed showcase of work from students on the Illustration course at the University of Gloucestershire, which is presented in a publication by Pitville Press. For the cover design of the Olio 12 publication, I had several ideas about what I wanted my cover to look like. I experimented with different compositions of the same theme, which is shown below.

My idea consisted of a clock face against a simple background, with the number '12' in the central space - to emphasise that this is the twelfth edition of Olio. Potential compositions included incorporating the title into the clock or as the gears of the clock, a Roman numeral design, and a more modern layout of the text. 

I decided to further develop the idea of the top part of the clock face being shown against a darker background, and presented the new compositions on the left page. However, I felt that the most effective design was the first one, with a good contrast of light and dark elements, and clearly illustrated numbers.

I started a larger rough illustration of my chosen design at the appropriate size stated in the brief. This includes the clockface with evenly spaced numbers, a 'hand' pointing to the top, and the title in the corner. I feel that the simple and structured nature of this design helps to make the cover look more friendly and less cluttered than other designs. By including the '11' and the '1' it subtly references the first and the most recent editions of the Olio publication - adding another layer to the theme of the progression of time.

Then, I went over the illustration with fine-liner to make the lines bolder and more crisp. Cleaning the white space up digitally also helps to visualise what the final design will look like, while introducing the professional qualities required for this sort of publication.

Finally, I blocked out two tones of flat grey colour onto the illustration to show where the light and dark colours will go, and how the image will look when colour is eventually added. The lighter grey against the white brings the clock face to the foreground, while remaining flanked by dark grey space. The darker grey highlights the white title and give shape to the semicircle of the clock.

This is the finished greyscale rough for my cover design, and I feel that the simplicity of the design could help it stand out against other potential designs, as well as being more relatable to all audiences - with the symbol of a clock face and its 'hand' representing what time it is.