PROCESS
EXTRACTING THEMES
The key themes of Othello are somewhat divisive. While many focus on race, I wanted to pull out out themes of identity, losing the sense of yourself as Othello does under the manipulation of Iago.
TYPE CHOICES
Or something more modern and humanist, really paying attention to the power of perfect humanist O.
SKETCHES + IMAGE STUDIES
In sketches, I was trying to see how the composition could spread over the two covers, experimenting with the simple composition of the text and its visual treatment.
BROKEN IDENTITY
SELF-REFLECTION
MANIPULATION
I had to decide if I wanted something representative of the time period of Shakespeare writing.
Ultimately I went for serif fonts that were in the middle. I wanted shapes that were slightly more modern than old scripture inspired typefaces but shared the sharp serifs that carried the violence theme.
DARK/COERCIVE
SHARP/VIOLENT
The image studies were looking at what the type could be made of.
Or how type could be used with a mirror and light/shadow.
Or how cut up paper could get that reflected and shard language across when the type was printed on it.
Then it was about how a shattered mirror could
be photographed (I amassed plenty of bad luck)
This was the most successful study in terms of capturing a reflection, the broken mirror, and the type somewhat clearly.
COVER MOCKUPS
Next was realizing some of these image studies with better photography and the full cover layout.
Next was realizing some of these image studies with better photography and the full cover layout.
FINAL
OTHELLO
A reimagining of the infamous Othello by William Shakespeare. Pulling out themes of broken identity, mistrust, and race, I knew this cover needed to have a clear subject and
a clear interruption of his image. Photographed with hand painted type on a mirror, there is a violence to the final image that connect to much of Othello’s narrative.
