PROJECT EIGHT

Visual Design Report

Project Type: Visual Design Analysis and Redesign

Unit: Visual Design Communication, Semester 1 2023

Report Introduction

In this analysis and report, I will be studying a great classic

children’s novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett 1911, ‘The

Secret Garden’. This beautiful book immerses the reader in an array

of beautiful imagery and storytelling, whilst also teaching them that

true happiness comes from ones selflessness. Therefore, I would like

to redesign the cover of this book for a new publication, that is more

modern and encourages adolescents and young adults to also

immerse themselves in this novel.

Original Design Analysis

This ‘The Secret Garden’ book cover was published in 2018, and it

features a very graphic representation of the secret garden on the

front page and the novels blurb on the back cover. I have chosen to

redesign this specific cover, as I believed it has a few shortcomings

in graphic design, and the stylistic choices are dated, therefore not

reaching the new targeted audience that I wish to design for. Hence,

I must consider this designs typography, colour, composition and

graphic materials.

Firstly, as stated in the Module 3 lecture, typography should express

a “mood, intention or personal character” (Hurle, A. 2023). On the

front page of the books cover, the title’s font clearly encapsulates the

time-period of the book, yet it could be considered slightly dated

today, specifically for its targeted audience of children. However, I

believe the choice of the colour white successfully contrasts the title

from the graphic background and the drop shadow is an effective

way of adding depth to the lettering and making it stand out on the

page. On the back page, the blurbs text is justified, which I believe is successful as this design principle makes the writing easier to read,

thus I wish to mirror this concept in my redesign. Additionally, colour is an important aspect of this covers design, yet I don’t believe the chosen colours and tonal values are effective in reaching its targeted audience and communicating the story. Whilst the green colouring of the page clearly depicts the gardens grass and trees, I believe it would be more effective to have a variety of colours to show the blooming flowers of the garden. The two main objectives of a good composition are “creating visual interest and communicating a message” (Hurle, A. 2023), and hence I believe incorporating more bright colours into the design would increase interest in the targeted audience whilst also portraying the story of this beautiful secret garden.

Further, I believe that the open composition of the design is effective as it “turns the space into something like a window onto a largerlandscape” (Hurle, A. 2023), which really creates the idea that you are walking through this garden. However, I think this design idea is slightly tarnished by the graphic keyhole placed in the centre of the page. Whilst this graphic material does encapsulate the story behind the main character trying to enter the garden, it is not a very aesthetic design and pulls away from the greatness of the background.

Overall, I think this book cover of ‘The Secret Garden’ does communicate the story in some areas but does fully adhere to the interests of its targeted audience. Therefore, I am very excited to redesign this book for a more contemporary audience and challenge a new age demographic to read this classic novel.

New Design Report

My re-design of the cover of ‘The Secret Garden’ successfully brings this classic story into a more contemporary context whilst also adhering to both a young and more mature audience.

Firstly, when considering the layout/composition of the new cover, I wanted to challenge myself by using a simple background. I chose to add texture to the soft background colour, which helps “unify open space” (Lecture 4, 2023) and allow the other design choices to speak for themselves. I also chose to have a very symmetrical design with very clear margins on the front page of the cover as this aligns with the stylistic choices of modern design.

In regards to the typographic design choices of the title, I was influenced by the work of Cesare Cunaccia, particularly the hardcover of ‘Tuscany Marvel’. I chose to emulate the bold font and colour choices of the books title, as well as the accompanying simple graphic that is centred in the middle of the page. As a result, I chose to create a ‘supporting relationship’ between the title and graphics, as I believe that this further creates a modern design and draws the audience towards the title of the book. On the back page, there is two different sections of typography, a significant quote from the book and the blurb. To create a hierarchy of lettering I choice to use two different sizes of text as it is “an easy way to indicate emphasis” (Saltz, I. 2019). I wanted to clearly empathises the quote as I think it aligns with the graphic style and design choices of my re-design, thus emphasising the garden that I tried to emulate in a contemporary way.

Lastly, to take a new approach to this novel, I wanted to include more modern graphics in comparison to the original cover. Therefore, by using bright colours I created a unique perspective on a secret garden by having a variety of contrasting flowers placed in a grid to create a beautiful piece of art. Whilst I believe it is playful enough for a child, I also believe it will catch the eye of an olderaudience, which is one of my main objectives in re-designing this work. All three sections of the book work symbiotic to one another and create an aesthetically pleasing book, with the flowers on the back page creating a grid like area for the quote and blurb, the flowers hugging the text on the spin of the book, and the flowers creating an eye catching graphic grid on the front cover.

To conclude, I believe that I have successfully redesigned a contemporary cover of the classic book ‘The Secret Garden’. I clearly achieved my design goals of adhering to both a young and more mature audience, thus creating a beautiful piece of work that one would love immerse themselves in.