Penguin Book - Animal Farm - Brief Analysis

The Brief

‘In a hundred ways Animal Farm triggers our modern intelligence and persists in its relevance, and its seemingly simple yet subtle fable still belongs to us as we try to find our way through the changing political and moral labyrinths of twentieth-century history.’ - Malcolm Bradbury

We are looking for a cover design which will reflect the book’s status as one of the great modern political allegories of our time, as relevant today as it was when it was first published over 50 years ago.  It is rich with ideas, characters, allegory, political and moral philosophy – read it and decide for yourself how best to showcase the content of this remarkable novel through your cover design and bring it to a new generation of readers.

Your cover design needs to include all the cover copy supplied and be designed to the specified design template – B format, 198mm high x 129mm wide, spine width 8 mm, incorporating the Penguin branding and all additional elements such as the barcode. Please refer to the Submissions Details page for full details of the spec and how to submit your entry.

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.

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

Analysis

Deadline:

Tuesday 6 March 2018, 12:00

Mandatory Requirements:

Needs to have a strong use of typography, needs to be innovative and stand out against other existing titles. The design needs to be contemporary and imaginative. 

Target Audience:

Young and Older Adults

Keywords: 

- Engaging
- Innovative
- Unique
- Distinct
- Abstract
- Contemporary 
- Different
- Imaginaitve
- Original

Initial Ideas:

- Silhouettes
- Type, using quotes from the books
- In the style of tsarist propaganda posters
- Animal commandments

Research:

- Read and analyse the book and the characters
- Look up famous quotes and different opinions and meanings of the book
- Look at existing covers
- Look at the marketplace, similar style and genre of books and which ones do well. 
- Research tsarist Russia and the artwork that was around at that time.