L’Automne à Pékin
Communication Design (BA) University of Lisbon, 2011
―For this project, we were assigned with the design of a book cover (as well as several objects) for a special edition of the classic novel L'Automne à Pékin, by French writer Boris Vian. This collection includes: a copy of the book; a promotional poster; a small brochure; a personalized pencil; and a unique package accommodating all these elements.
This book is especially interesting for the strange universe that it inspires. For once, the story doesn't have anything to do with the Autumn or even Peking, since the action takes place in the middle of the desert, as a group of unusual characters attempts to construct a railroad. To take advantage of the surreal nature of this novel, I decided to create a visual language based on the collage of multiple materials and textures. The contrast between these nearly abstract shapes, thus, creates a suggestive atmosphere that evokes recurrent themes (eg: the desert dunes or the allusion to female sensuality) and builds new metaphors. This strategy is particularly evident in the design of the book cover, as well as in the communication of the poster and brochure.
The package is covered in craft paper, with a false bottom made from a thin sliding platform. The top lid is also deliberately torn to reveal the title of the book underneath: signaling, once again, the importance of these literal and symbolic layers in the structure of the novel.
This book is especially interesting for the strange universe that it inspires. For once, the story doesn't have anything to do with the Autumn or even Peking, since the action takes place in the middle of the desert, as a group of unusual characters attempts to construct a railroad. To take advantage of the surreal nature of this novel, I decided to create a visual language based on the collage of multiple materials and textures. The contrast between these nearly abstract shapes, thus, creates a suggestive atmosphere that evokes recurrent themes (eg: the desert dunes or the allusion to female sensuality) and builds new metaphors. This strategy is particularly evident in the design of the book cover, as well as in the communication of the poster and brochure.
The package is covered in craft paper, with a false bottom made from a thin sliding platform. The top lid is also deliberately torn to reveal the title of the book underneath: signaling, once again, the importance of these literal and symbolic layers in the structure of the novel.
Editorial Design
Print Design
Packaging
