RELATIONSHIP OF THE AUTHOR AND DESIGNER.
We all are aware of the cover of "The Great Gatsby". It features a pair of melancholic eyes and lips that hover in the blue skies of the bright and lit city. But why is it one of the most iconic book covers of all time?
Obviously, one of the reasons is the exact interpretation of the themes of the story - the eyes reflect Daisy Buchanan's, Blue Skies are a classic sign of ultimate melancholy and the well-lit city below depicts the glamour of the roaring twenties. All of these aspects are developed and well crafted into the book in writing. So even though the cover is too pretty, it gives the correct representation. But how is it possible such an amazing cover and represent the right ideas?
The cover was hand painted before the manuscript of The Great Gatsby was over. Although it seemed a little bit of an off collaboration. But no matter what, this is what makes the best covers; absolute collaboration and admiration and studying of each other's works.
Some designers complain about the authors demanding constant changes in the covers. Such a thing won't ever occur if the designer of the cover will read and understand the book and then carve something that speaks right with the themes of the book.
Covers that are self-made, either by the author who probably doesn't have knowledge of design or by a designer who didn't read the book but only asked silly questions related to it fail to hold the buyer's eye and tell them to take it home altogether.
It is almost as if the equilibrium between the authority of the author and the designer has an imbalance, which shouldn't be necessary. Collaboration has to do with the surrender of success of an individual and the anatomy of teamwork and greater achievements. Collaboration is the ultimate understanding of perspectives and thoughts and most of all, mutual respect which if absent the team will fall and fail. And so will the project of success.
There are many collaborators that never meet or speak with each other. The absence of communication results in a lack of understanding which in time leads to dissatisfaction, if not a failure. Many books with covers that have never complied with the author have been successfully celebrated. Yet it somehow plays with the author's mind and manages to come out abruptly.
Translation of a book is not just the transition of the language of the content but also the book covers'. Almost every country or language has a different cover for the same book, that means more unsuccessful collaborations and unsatisfactory results. But many authors live with it.
If books didn't have covers, collaborations and understandings between two different realms of art would've never taken place. The relationship between the author and designer bridges the gap of two worlds in literature and then, in turn, their product bridge the gap between the reader and the book.
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YOU ARE READING
(What if).. Books didn't have covers?
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