FOLLOWING VAN GOGH — Book Cover ✻ 2024
Client name: Storyhouse Works - Hannah Huber
Recently I have collaborated with Storyhouse Works and author Tea Gudek Snajdar, who choose a bespoke cover design for her forthcoming novel: FOLLOWING VAN GOGH: Travel through Europe in search of lost art. (To be released in spring 2025.) I can confidently tell that this project could be my most favourite cover design project I have worked on so far. It was almost magical when I think back now, how the visual concept matched the story Tea tells in her crime novel.
I have so far worked on the front cover and spine layout of the book including a illustrative map that would go inside the book. The back cover will be designed in the coming weeks when the book blurb and the reviews are ready to go!
Following Van Gogh is a crime novel that follows a Van Gogh Museum guide as she embarks on a journey from Amsterdam to France, visiting locations associated with Van Gogh. Along the way, she gets involved in uncovering a criminal group that has been stealing artwork from museums, galleries, and private collections across Europe.
The story is a journey across Europe through the eyes of one of the most famous painters of all time, Vincent van Gogh. And around some of the best European museums through the eyes of an art historian.
Talking about the design concept for the cover: I came out with this concept of torn paper and canvas layers hiding the painter's actual masterpieces underneath them, after Tea mentioned this was the technique criminals used in the novel to hide Van Gogh’s stolen paintings under a fake layer of painting. These vivid coloured brush stroke surprises placed on a dark background also reflects the excitement the story in the book carries. Multiple layers of canvas also represents the versatility in Van Gogh’s life and professional journey.
Colour palette of the book cover
It is all about the PROCESS. This is how my graphic design process behind a book cover project looks like.The journey from concept to final design. When I collaborate with Storyhouse Works, there are certain steps that I follow to create these artworks, such as:
✻ Research and brainstorming with the author
✻ Visual mood board creation
✻ Exploring colour palette and typeface options
✻ Creating initial hand-drawn sketches
✻ Concept development and presenting the ideas
✻ Feedback and refinement
✻ Final delivery of the cover artwork and the mock-up visuals.
✻ Visual mood board creation
✻ Exploring colour palette and typeface options
✻ Creating initial hand-drawn sketches
✻ Concept development and presenting the ideas
✻ Feedback and refinement
✻ Final delivery of the cover artwork and the mock-up visuals.
At Storyhouse Works, we offer authors both bespoke and standardised book cover options. You can learn more about this on Storyhouse Works' website.
Exploring various typefaces for the front cover
Hand-drawn sketches for the book cover concept
Illustrative map design to be used in book layout
This playful map illustrates the route of Van Gogh starting from The Netherlands, going through Belgium and then ending in France. Soon you'll be able to discover about this journey, this crime novel and travelling through Europe in search of lost art. You can pre order your copy from here.
Map detail