When discussing a book, one typically ignores its design–after all, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Not to mention, the author usually doesn't get much of a say in the cover of a book. As an artist and graphic design enthusiast, I can tell you that the cover of a book matters a whole lot. I can think of countless times when the design and layout of a book seriously changed my opinion on it. This is why I thought it was important to point out that Citizen has possibly the best cover I have ever seen.
The cover of Citizen is an art piece on its own, and it holds up to the theme of the book perfectly. The hood is an instantly recognizable symbol; every American has heard the tale of the "suspicious" black man in a hoodie. The fact that it is messily cut from the rest of the jacket enforces the idea: when you're wearing this, people will not see a whole body, just the hood, and they won't see a whole person, just the idea of the dangerous black man this hood has come to represent. And, of course, the black hood is "thrown against a sharp white background," as is the title, Citizen, a title deemed worthless by the weight of the image above it.
I totally agree with you! Although I try not to pick books out by their covers, I often find myself reading summaries and looking at covers to pick what I want to read next. Covers are so carefully constructed from the art to the fonts that they decide to use. I think that Rankine's cover is very powerful and conveys a lot of what she talks about in the book and theme that she delivers to the audience.
ReplyDeleteThis makes a lot of sense, and I too think that cover art and design are immensely important in one's understanding of a book. I also feel like the sparing, condensed black text on the blank pages background of most pages reinforces the same notion of the 'sharp white background.' Overall, I think that the design of the book is very successful in reinforcing the message.
ReplyDeleteThis book is a multimedia project and the aesthetic of it is very important to it's meaning. I totally agree with you on the importance of graphic design in Citizen. What I noticed the most is the use of negative space on the cover and in the art pieces in the book. I am not really sure what that means, or even if it has a meaning but it goes with Graphic Design.
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