For our second project, we were to choose a novel from a list of classics and redesign its cover.  We were to design three separate covers for an event featuring historical artifacts and first editions.  The event would focus on the deeper meanings and themes within the book rather than the more familiar story of the book we chose.  

One of my favorites on the list was Les Misérables.  I did some additional research into the book and discovered several themes that could be explored.  My favorite was Hugo's use of birds to describe some characters, so I wanted one of my covers to include that motif.    

After the initial sketching phase, I started making my digital compositions.  Each design went through several iterations before reaching its final result.  Feedback was constructive and helpful throughout the refining process. 

For this first cover, I found two quotes about Cossette by Hugo. In the first one, he describes her as a Lark. I found it interesting that a Lark can't fully sing until it flies. Then, at another point, Hugo says, "Cosette was not very timid by nature. There flowed in her veins some of the bohemian and the adventuress who runs barefoot.  It will be remembered that she was more of a lark than a dove.  There was a foundation of wildness and bravery in her." I used elements from my garden to create the border as well as the bird. I took macro shots of some of the flowers and then used them as background for the letters of the font of the title and the author's name. 

The theme of this cover is a bit more traditional and is what most associate with Les Misérables.  I first needed to create the scene of the period barricade.  Then I combined that image and another using layer masks. 

For the typographic cover, I wanted to represent the theme of transformational change that runs throughout the book, particularly of Jean Valjean. He starts as a prisoner branded a thief, believing the world is against him.  He's one of "Les Misérables", the wretched.  Then mercy and love lead to change and hope.  Ultimately, I switched directions on this cover as I felt that message was getting lost in my initial efforts and it seemed the collage cover captured it much better. 

I had a great time with this project.  Les Misérables is one of my favorites, for many reasons.  This was a great project to integrate and help master Adobe skills. I also appreciated the critiques I received about my designs and the opportunity to improve the overall designs in my efforts to capture this classic.