IGOR UDUSHLIVY

"Book jacket and bookmark can work together. 

They can create a unique image of a book"

"Robin Hood"

"The Sword in the Stone"

Images from the Behance gallery of Igor Udushlivy

These are the book jackets and bookmarks of 'Robin Hood' and 'The Sword in the Stone', which are part of the 'Jacket+Bookmark' series assigned and created by Igor Udushlivy. I have chosen to analyse these pieces of work for his techniques and inspiration for my final book jackets of George Orwell books.

According to Udushlivy, the jacket and bookmark "expands the book's space and gives it new image and feel". This is true, as the bookmark goes well with the cover of the book, which is rarely ever the case with bookmarks, as they usually are bought as a separate item. In addition, both of these items work well together to depict the central element of the book, reinforcing his statement (see above). It can be suggested the the designer found inspiration from main elements of the book.

With 'Robin Hood' the apple and the arrow are featured. Because the arrow is a well-known object associated with Robin Hood, it was most likely essential to include it somewhere on the design. It could also symbolise Robin Hood's resistance against the unfair laws made by King Richard and the Sheriff of Nottingham, and how he fights to get justice for this who do not have much say. The typeface itself is bold and simplistic, resembling the 'Impact' typeface. Although, it looks to have been digitally edited from the rough texture seen on the final 'D' on 'Hood'. How it was made is unknown, but the designer could have used Photoshop's 'Layers' system to overlay the rough texture over another, or a particular type of brush to achieve the rough surface, or simply a typeface designed this way. Alternatively on Illustrator, where he may have used the Clipping Mask technique. The overall composition is simplistic, keeping to minimalism, so as to convey the elements effectively to the viewer. The cover was probably done by hand and then edited digitally to clean up the appearance or to add more texture to the apple (if looked at closely the different surfaces can be seen), whereas the bookmark was most likely done by hand, using card for its sturdiness.

With 'The Sword in the Stone', it has very similar features. This includes the minimalist composition, the same typeface in the same centre alignment and the same placement of the 'Icoeye' logo. The obvious differences being a the story, different elements and title. Unlike 'Robin Hood' where the title was kept at the same size, this the last three words have decreased in size, so as to fit all the text on the page, and more of the rough texture is seen on more words, almost gives the impression of ink that ran out, or conveys the possible struggles that the main protagonist has to endure.  The cover and bookmark are that of the sword and stone that is central to the story, with the sword being the bookmark. It gives the impression that it's actually stuck in the stone, which is clever. 

I like the simplicity of the designs, and the originality of the main elements being used for the cover and bookmark. It reminded me of the 'Harry Potter' book cover designs by Christian Peterson, which were also minimalistic but conveyed the elements well. In my final book cover designs of Orwell books, I may use the roughly surfaced fonts, as I think that this would match the theme of the book.