Every year I make the covers for the Michigan Writers Coop Press. It’s one of the only truly create projects I do all year, and I always look forward to it. What makes it “truly creative”? That I don’t have to first provide a design that conforms to the author’s preference. Most authors don’t know anything about design and even less about typography. Often they show up with an image they’ve captured with their smartphone or a drawing their kid did in high school. My job is to do the best I can with the author’s concept, then create something fresher and more marketable and convince them that fresh and marketable is the correct choice. In other words, I end up wasting time and feeling slightly demoralized.
Michigan Writers Coop Press is different in that I’m provided with the book text and asked to come up with two or three concepts without author input. That’s what makes this project “truly creative.”
This year, I have two mss. to work with. The first one I chose to work on is a book of poetry called “Crime Story.” I LOVE doing poetry covers more than anything, They’re so conceptual, so metaphorical.
My initial task is always to read the manuscript. I generally let the words percolate for a day or so, then go back and read it again. In this case, after the second reading, I had a strong concept. I tried drawing it on my Wacom, but couldn’t get the detail I wanted and switched to paper and a Micron pen.
The idea was a sense of isolation from layers and layers of meaning. I added a graduated filter to the original b/w drawing.
While this was my first choice, I try and provide authors with other concepts. Besides, who could resist the play of “Love Story” and “Crime Story”? I was pretty sure it wouldn’t fly, but I couldn’t resist.
Finally, I needed a more serious entry. I reread the ms. one more time and noticed an image in one of the poems that involved a bird cage.
Las Casas 