Emily Christensen - BYU Idaho - ART 235

This assignment pushed each of us to redesign possible book covers for an older novel. Les Misérables was one of those books. As part of this redesigning project, we were instructed to approach three different categories: typography, handmade, and designer's choice. Each of them is different in specific ways, but requires attention to detail nonetheless. 

Les Misérables is a book that follows the character, Jean Valjean, through his journey of becoming who God wanted him to be. His story begins in prison. He had been imprisoned for stealing bread for his family, which resulted in more time than was just. Upon his release from prison, he is taken in by a Bishop from a nearby church. In the night, Jean Valjean steals several things of value from the place where the Bishop resides and attempts to flee in the night without being caught. He is found by the police, taken back to the Bishop, and prepared to be sent back to prison. Upon returning to the Bishop, the Bishop saves him by lending a couple more items that Jean "forgot". The police release him and the Bishop explains to Jean that his soul has been bought by God to do good. This is a turning point for him that results in him becoming a better person. The rest of the story is packed full of the action from the Second French Revolution, running from the law, love, setting his name straight, and becoming a better man. This story teaches us that true change can occur in anyone, and sometimes we are the reason someone may or may not change. 

Through a series of sketches, mind maps, words, and other exercises, a series of designs were explored. Different elements were brought into place and each played a specific role in bettering the final outcomes of each design. The following images help to show the thought process behind the overall scheme of the designs.

Each draft was different and unique but several stood out above the rest. The boxes highlighted above were some of my favorites but not all of them made it to the final drafts. I worked with different icons to perfect them, but some didn't turn out as successful as I had hoped. A few of the drafts are shown below. Some were modified for the final products but others were left on the drawing board.

After working through the positives and negatives of the images above, I was able to narrow it down to the things of most importance. The Type Cover was a modified version of the last draft above, the Handmade Cover was similar to the first three drafts, and the Designer's Choice Cover was rooted in the fifth draft above. Each brings the positives from each and helps to make each better as well. I'm excited for you to see the improvements in there mockup form! 

Thank you for following along through my brain dumps and drafts! I hope you enjoyed the final products!