BRIEF: Re-design The Secret History by Donna Tartt in the style of a Penguin Modern Classic.
SOLUTION: Create a new cover that is in line with the design guidelines for a ‘Penguin Modern Classic’. ‘Bold, distinctive and mass - appeal. Whilst also conveying the major themes of the novel; obsession, corruption and the death of innocence.
DESIGN RESEARCH:
The secret history follows the play structure of a greek tragedy, following the lives of 6 greek students at university as they coping with the death of a friend, the rising guilt behind it. Delving into greek painting, I focused on the depiction of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and debauchery. A bacchanal is conducted in this novel, and becomes a central theme of the story.
I decided to use a painting of Bacchus and Hercules for the wax stamp, to pay homage to the original cover, while depicting villains and heroes, as another major theme. The main photo is from a still life painting called ‘Still life with Partridges’ by Willem van Aelst. This painting depicts the death of an innocent, a faultless bird maimed and displayed centre stage.
The death of a friend, a lifeless body to be discovered on page 1 of the novel.
GRID LAYOUT:
The Secret History is often praised as a modern classic, so I decided to re-design the cover using the penguin modern classic layout. I wanted to put my own spin on the re-design and did so by changing the image for the wax stamp as well as adding a new cover photo.
