Narrator Four

Narrator Three

Narrator Two

Narrator One

Cover

Typeface Choices

For the first narrator, I want to use an old style typeface called Jenson. The first narrator is a shifty character; but the one thing everyone else agrees on is that he's concerned with his appearance: he's a snappy dresser, he wears too much perfume, and so on. Jenson has a certain style to it. The lowercase t's in particular have an extra flourish to them that fit very well with the character of the first narrator.
For the second narrator, I want to use a modern typeface called Berhard Modern. The second narrator is a pretentious man. He thinks more of himself than he ought to. Berhard Modern isn't overly decorative, but it does have unique serifs that are angled back toward the stroke. There's a sharpness and formality about the font that matches the narrator.
For the third narrator, I want to use a transitional typeface called Usherwood. The third narrator is a suspicious man who sees all sorts of cloak and dagger schemes going on around him whether they are or not. Usherwood has lots of sharp edges to it. The serifs have straight edges; nothing is rounded or soft. This lack of any softness matches the character of the narrator well.
For the four narrator, I want to use a sans serif typeface called Century Gothic. The fourth narrator is the only one who seems to have no ulterior motive for telling his story. He simply tells what happened with no justifications. That straightforwardness called for a sans serif font, I thought. The narrator is also a timid man, so I thought the narrowness of the strokes of Century Gothic reflected that.

Revised Cover

Book Cover

The book I chose to work with is An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. It's told by four narrators who are all telling about a murder, trial, and execution in which they were all involved. Since the murder happened in England in the early 1660's, I wanted the cover to be reminicent of the books of the time: leatherbound with the decorations and title embossed in gold. I want it to look like something you might find in your great grandparent's attic, something with a weight of history behind it.
Since I'm going for that Old World antique book feel, I thought I'd put some sort of decoration on the front. Starting there, I drew a few different decorations that could go on the front. Eventually though, I decided on designing a celtic knot to go on the front cover. I think this is appropriate for the spirit of the book in because of the way all the narrator's stories work together. They twist in and out of each other, and still manage to leave you with no real answer to the question at hand (Who is the real murder?).

Definition Revised

New Definition