OUGD603 / Penguin Design Awards / How To Be A Woman

1 Day Brief on International Women’s day

‘It's a good time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain... 

Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should we use Botox? Do men secretly hate us? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby? 

Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking.’

Target Audience:

Both Male and Female

Regardless of age – definitely the younger side.

Book shop goers – Online suggestions

What needs to be communicated?

The cover need to concisely reflect the book’s content, narrative and intent:

Everyday sexism experienced by women.

‘Petty subjects’ such as Waxing / Shoes / Kitchen / Housewife / Comfort eating / Magazine sexism / Women in western world.

Abolishing sexism in 21^st Century.

The pressure to act like a woman ‘should’ – shave, be thin, be pretty, be subject to a man’s world, be flawless, wear heels and skirts, be Marilyn Monroe, be a mother.

Format:

• PDF
• 300ppi
• CMYK
• 5mm bleed
• Ideally colour managed to ISO Coated 39 or ISO Uncoated 29 (optional)
• Trim and crop marks to be included
• Maximum file size 5 meg

Material:

The brief does not state an ability to vary stock, folds or material which dictates a traditional cover format on regular stock will be appropriate.

Research

Context:

The visual history of Feminism, equality and protest, outside of publishing, will allow me to identify signs and symbols relevant to the content of the book.

/ Suffragettes Research

/ Modern Feminism

/ Feminism in Art / Pop Culture

Investigation of the inequality and pressures faced by modern women will allow me to better understand the prejudice in order to inform my own practice.

Strategy:

Investigation into the techniques used by publishers to capture an audience in both digital and traditional bookstores through design.

How does this inform the design?

Visually:

The Suffragettes, as investigated online, reflect the mentality of equality strived for in Moran’s writing. The typography used upon the communication tools of these women is the source of inspiration here, derived from a ‘Votes For Women’ banner, the hand-rendered typography embodies the mentalities, effort and strive for change sought for by the group.

The colour of the banner graphic has remained consistent to that of the original, black paint upon canvas.

Application:

The application of the typography too derives from the protest material of the Suffragettes, traditionally, a book cover is a collation of 3 parts (Front, Spine, Back), when treated as a singularity, the horizontal format resembles a banner. This thought process and relevance to the source inspiration developed into the use of a book cover as a visual space to communicate.

The book cover can be used as, not necessarily a tool for protest, but as a means for gentle agitation. The full ‘How To Be A Woman’ will be viewed when a reader has the book open facing outwards to whoever is opposite (imagine a tube). The satirical nature of seeing, most probably a female, reading a book entitled her ‘How To Be A Women’ will compliment Moran’s intentions of naming the book such.

Ideas:

List of How to be a woman

Brazillian wax illustration

High heel painted onto a platform shoe – perhaps a dr martin?

Pink & Blue abstract colour imbalance

Riot Grrrl activist – esque.

Art – subversive statements on stereotypical woman clothing – bags, shoes, tops

Focus on feminine typography – or subverted male typography

Lipstick/ tampon / heel held in place of a middle finger – fuck you

Brief:

The Brief

We would like you to design a new, classic cover for Caitlin Moran's book, How to Be a Woman.

The design needs to feel timeless and classic, whilst at the same time making it clear to the reader that it is very entertaining and often very funny. The book should feel very accessible, immediately ‘pickupable’ and something that exists within the world of Popular Culture. You are welcome to use an image of the author, but do not feel that you need to take that approach.

The ideal design will make us smile, make us want to own a copy of the book, and keep it proudly on our shelves for a long time.

What the judges are looking for:

We are looking for a striking cover design that is well executed, has an imaginative concept and clearly places the book for its market. While all elements of the jacket need to work together as a cohesive whole, remember that the front cover must be effective on its own and be eye-catching within a crowded bookshop setting. It also needs to be able to work on screen for digital retailers such as Amazon.

Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy as supplied and be designed to the specified design template (B format, 198mm high x 126mm wide, spine width 20mm).

The winning design will need to:

have an imaginative concept and original interpretation of the brief

be competently executed with strong use of typography

appeal to a contemporary readership

show a good understanding of the marketplace

have a point of difference from the many other book covers it is competing against

be able to sit on the shelves of a supermarket or ebook store as easily as it sits on those of more traditional bookshops.

Copyright must be cleared for all images used in your cover design.

Audience:

Digital and bookstore traffic

Caitlin Moran’s fanbase

Culturally engaged 18+ predominantly female (although not exclusive)

‘Modern Women’

The visual language of Feminism was explored in order to inform the application of colour, image and typography to the design. Through investigation, it came apparent that there are several forms of Feminist visual language, it is then the defining of the most appropriate to develop in order to communicate Moran and the book in the most appropriate of manners.

Inspiration from (predominately) peaceful campaigners such as the Suffragettes is to be more appropriate than more unorthodox activists such as RIOT GRRL Zine and PUSSY RIOT. More recent campaigns such as #freethenipple and CHANEL’s 2015 ready to wear launch informed my understanding of contemporary translations of Feminist agenda – as the brief demands.

The defining of appropriate visual language and manners in which these can be communicated in the contemporary was to then inform a selection of initial ideas.

Visual Development

Colour

A history of pink was explored in order to understand and then inform the use of it’s gender connotations within my own practice – understanding WHY a colour is used reflects an informed practice.

History & Typography

The typography found upon Suffragette communication derived from it’s method of production - hand-rendered glyphs, unequal kerning, leading and size reflect the context of the Women activists; pre-digital, working-class without means of more professional print.

The use of typography appropriated from Suffragette protest material will communicate these connotations while being used in a contemporary context not only pay homage to the earliest Feminist efforts, but encapsulate the history since, of Woman’s strive for equality – in which Moran explores the most contemporary end.

Working with the 13 characters found in ‘VOTES FOR WOMEN’, the title of Moran’s book was created using image manipulation of the typographic elements.

Typography:

Working with the copy provided in the brief; title, author, ISBN and blurb were typeset over the image. Set in a contemporary sans-serif font in order to contrast the traditional appearance of the Suffragette font while representing the modern context of Moran’s feminism.

Composition:

The composition of the text intends to sit in the negative space of the image in order to sustain legibility.

Colour:

Firstly, the hue of the typography intended to contrast the grey scale image it would sit upon. Secondly, the use of pink was chosen due to its connotations of femininity, as investigated.