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Top 5 Book Covers from 2019
03/07/20

By Ashley Tomlinson Provisional RGD, Freelance Graphic Designer

 

I have always been an avid reader. As a kid I would hide underneath my blanket and read until the early hours of the morning. I am always updating my reading list and have found that diving into a book has helped me mentally during this pandemic. As a visual person, I always remember the covers of books I’ve read, here are my top favourites from 2019.
 
 

Know My Name

Author: Chanel Miller
Cover Design: Jason Ramirez and Nayon Cho
 
I thought this cover was beautiful before I learned that it was inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi or “golden repair,” where broken pottery pieces are mended using lacquer and powdered gold, illustrating that the fragments of something broken can be made whole again.
 

The Testaments

Author: Margaret Atwood
Cover Design: Noma Bar
 
The cover of this highly anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale did not disappoint. Noma Bar’s illustrations are simple but impactful. If you look closely, there are nods to the plot of the book hidden on both the front and back covers.   
 

Queenie

Author: Candice Carty-Williams
Cover Design: Donna Cheng
Cover Illustration: Gerrel Saunders
 
I love how Queenie is the star of this cover, her braids are tucked into the title,  ‘A Novel’ is cleverly placed above her ear resembling a tattoo and the fact that her face is not included on the cover. It’s reflective of her struggle to find a place between two cultures and figure out who she is.
 
 

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

Author: Patrick Radden Keefe
Cover Design: Oliver Munday
 
Simple but effective, this cover gives you all the information about the story. The green and orange lines are a nod toward the Irish Flag and the bold image of Dolorous Price staring over the edge of her turtleneck, the classic uniform of the IRA.
 
 

The Uninhabitable Earth Life After Warming

Author: David Wallace-Wells
Cover Design: Richard Green
 
Devastating to look at but effective in its execution, this cover really speaks for itself. The bee lying in the fetal position surrounded by nothing drives home the title and the crisis we face of global warming.
 

Ashley is a multidisciplinary graphic designer based in Toronto, Canada. She received an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design from Humber College in 2019. Recently, she was the junior designer at Studio Wyse where she worked on editorial projects for the University of Toronto, Ryerson University and the Creative Destruction Lab. Ashley is always up for a conversation; her favourite topics include magazines, dogs, books and Lizzo.

 

 

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