Picador publishing company are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, and to celebrate, they are re-issuing 12 of their fiction books. The titles include prize-winners, global sales hits, or controversial books. Along with the release of the new book covers, they have created some animated gifs to further promote the titles. Neil Lang, a Senior Designer at Macmillan Publishers has given us an insight into the process of the creative side behind this and his views on animated book titles.
‘The main aim of the project was to create ... something distinctive that would shout out when sat next to the latest thriller with its silhouetted figure. Something that was desirable and hopefully you would like to collect and keep, as these books have already sold thousands, and you still want the old fans to pick them up again yet also capture the attention of new readers.’
With many different titles and genres, the challenge for Lang was to make them look part of a set whilst still depicting the main story behind the individual books. ‘The picador 40th design initially started before any titles were confirmed, which while not an ideal way of working, enabled me to concentrate on creating a series style....By using black and white you get a series look but it still enables you to be creative on each individual title with a strong graphic image that also works well online’
With many different titles and genres, the challenge for Lang was to make them look part of a set whilst still depicting the main story behind the individual books. ‘The picador 40th design initially started before any titles were confirmed, which while not an ideal way of working, enabled me to concentrate on creating a series style....By using black and white you get a series look but it still enables you to be creative on each individual title with a strong graphic image that also works well online’
‘I’ve easily done over 200 designs doing this series... and I always started trying to create something different whilst staying true to the book, but all the covers evolved in a different way. All the covers had to be shown in a cover meeting with around 20 people and like it or not that does shape the design as ultimately you are trying to please everyone whilst being creative.’
The designs have also been created as Gif animations, Neil explains the reason behind this. ‘Once I’d finished the designs for the Picador 40th series I wanted to see if I could push the designs any further and create extra interest specifically for displaying them online. Publishing is constantly changing and so I think its important we try out new ideas and capture the attention of as many people as we can.’
Full piece here.
The designs have also been created as Gif animations, Neil explains the reason behind this. ‘Once I’d finished the designs for the Picador 40th series I wanted to see if I could push the designs any further and create extra interest specifically for displaying them online. Publishing is constantly changing and so I think its important we try out new ideas and capture the attention of as many people as we can.’
Full piece here.
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