Re-design of Pocket:
The Journey of Odysseus
Konstskolan Basis
Pocket Cover
Year
2023
Tools
Illustrator
InDesign
Award
Best Design
The primary goal of this assignment was to redesign a pocketbook with a unique challenge: to make the pocket spine stand out. Each student was randomly assigned a book title, and I was tasked with reimagining the cover for Odysseus — a timeless classic with countless editions.
Through my research, I discovered that Odysseus is often presented with a traditional thick calligraphy font and a Greek-inspired, ancient illustrative style. Instead of following the same pattern, I opted for a more minimalistic and modern approach, with a focus on typography to appeal to a new audience.
For this redesign, I chose Forma DJR, an Italian sans-serif typeface that shares visual similarities with Helvetica, but features slightly rounded corners. To enhance the typography, the names of events and places from Odysseus's journey are printed on both sides of the book.
A secondary cover paper
- serving as a map
By studying maps of Odysseus' journey, I printed his pathway on a Daler-Rowney Tracing Paper (90g, A3) transparent paper. When wrapped around the book, this secondary cover reveals a map of Odysseus' journey from Troy to Ithaca. Additionally, I created a cutout in the center, allowing the title and description text on the spine to remain visible when the book is on a shelf.
Konstskolan Basis
Pocket Cover
2023
Re-design of Pocket:
The Journey of Odysseus
The primary goal of this assignment was to redesign a pocket book with a unique challenge: to make the spine stand out. Each student was randomly assigned a book title, and I was tasked with reimagining the cover for Odysseus—a timeless classic with countless editions.
Through my research, I discovered that Odysseus is often presented with a traditional thick calligraphy font and a Greek-inspired, ancient illustrative style. Instead of following the same pattern, I opted for a more minimalistic and modern approach, with a focus on typography to appeal to a new audience. For this redesign, I chose Forma DJR, an Italian sans-serif typeface that shares visual similarities with Helvetica, but features slightly rounded corners. To enhance the typography, the names of events and places from Odysseus's journey are printed on both sides of the book.
A secondary cover paper serving as a map
By studying maps of Odysseus' journey, I printed his pathway on a Daler-Rowney Tracing Paper (90g, A3) transparent paper. When wrapped around the book, this secondary cover reveals a map of Odysseus' journey from Troy to Ithaca. Additionally, I created a cutout in the center, allowing the title and description text on the spine to remain visible when the book is on a shelf.
Symbol
The final part of this assignment involved designing a logo for a fictional publishing company, which was to be printed somewhere on the designed pocket cover. I chose to create a logo for Konstskolan Basis Independent Publishing.
Konstskolan Basis is located in an old stone house on Södermalm, built in 1748. This historic building is iconic for the school and serves as a creative landmark, making it an ideal element to feature in the logo. The image below shows the view when approaching the school's entrance. This logo was placed at the bottom of the book's spine.
Symbol
The final part of this assignment involved designing a logo for a fictional publishing company, which was to be printed somewhere on the designed pocket cover. I chose to create a logo for Konstskolan Basis Independent Publishing.
Konstskolan Basis is located in an old stone house on Södermalm, built in 1748. This historic building is iconic for the school and serves as a creative landmark, making it an ideal element to feature in the logo. The image below shows the view when approaching the school's entrance. This logo was placed at the bottom of the book's spine.