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Post by csc on Mar 28, 2012 20:26:10 GMT -5
I choose the uncomfortable fence-- the illustrations are pretty cool, and the background color scheme is well-chosen, but I do have some criticisms: - The whole layout seems jumbled. I actually preferred the teaser cover, where the jumble of images seemed appropriate.
- The colors clash too much, especially that bright orange of the title/author card.
- The font used to write "Lemony Snicket" also seems out of place, too cartoony and gimmicky.
- I like the design of title card, but it's too small and awkwardly placed (centered at the top or bottom would be better). In its current place, it just looks tacked on, and its color also clashes with all the blue.
Overall, then, this cover strikes me as good material poorly arranged. Can I join you guys here in the fence? I agree with all this. Seems very jumbled. Sometimes, when I try to make some sort of background for a PowerPoint presentation, and use images, the finished work looks something like this. Mediocre. Also, the drawings seems pretty childish for my taste. But over all I think I would enjoy this a lot better, if the "Lemony Snicket" and "All The Wrong Questions" boxes went the whole way through the cover, instead of simply being awkwardly put in the corner. But, I must say, the drawings, even though childish, are nice and I do like the style they went for here. Poorly executed, though. I think that's an appropriate description: Poorly executed.
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Post by Dante on Mar 29, 2012 4:18:54 GMT -5
Just as a thought experiment, I put the cover in MS Paint and rearranged it a little. I'm no graphic artist, so obviously this isn't perfect, but what would people have thought of something a bit more like this?
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Post by Christmas Chief on Mar 29, 2012 5:10:02 GMT -5
Now that's classy. Maybe make the ATWQ plate a little bigger, but that variation is a lot less cluttered - and I noticed you got rid of the pesky line.
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Post by B. on Mar 29, 2012 9:58:27 GMT -5
That cover looks better, I like the way Snicket's name is at the bottom, somehow it fits a little better with the overall cover. The nameplate for ATWQ still clashes though, but I suspect that's down to how the original cover was designed.
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Post by Dante on Mar 29, 2012 11:03:34 GMT -5
The more I think about it, the more I think that "Be" should be on the same line as "Who Could That" rather than "At This Hour." "Who Could That Be" is a question on its own, with "At This Hour" modifying it. The way it's laid out on the true cover occupies the right amount of space with "Be" on the bottom line, but conceptually I think it belongs on the top.
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Post by csc on Mar 29, 2012 12:01:00 GMT -5
I like that a lot better. I think it would be better if the "Who Could That" and "Be at This Hour?" lines weren't separated.
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Post by Dante on Mar 29, 2012 12:04:05 GMT -5
I like that a lot better. I think it would be better if the "Who Could That" and "Be at This Hour?" lines weren't separated. That's a variant that I thought about putting together, too. I think the title would look good in a separate box in the centre of the image, with the series plate above and Snicket's name at the bottom (as in the present draft).
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Post by B. on Mar 29, 2012 13:27:10 GMT -5
I know it's a little small, but how about this?
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Post by Dante on Mar 29, 2012 14:34:52 GMT -5
That looks pretty good to me, too. I assume we're all viewing these as if they were official, that is, overlooking the little errors caused by our limited technology and seeing the ideas as they would be if these had been produced by graphic design experts with access to the original material. In that sense then I think these alternative cover designs we're cooking up have a lot going for them.
Looking at the real cover again... I sense that what they're going for is a kind of jumbled aesthetic. Throwing the title and series plate in almost at random is in-keeping with the general profusion and confusion of images, with things happening all over the place that we don't quite understand. I think their arrangement is consistent with that principle, and in that sense I see what they were doing... but clearly it's not a very popular artistic motif here. I'd really like to see some draft versions of the cover and see what other arrangements they considered.
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Post by B. on Mar 29, 2012 15:32:39 GMT -5
What if (and this is just a crazy fantasy of mine) this isn't the real cover. The subject line "Just a cover until October 23rd?" and the quote about not judging a book by it's cover, could possibly be them messing with us. Is it possible that they could redesign this cover because it was accidentally leaked?
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Post by Dante on Mar 29, 2012 15:43:20 GMT -5
I wouldn't go there if I were you, Brunch. I can't think of a single example of suspicions like these turning out to be correct. You say it's a crazy fantasy - well, that's it, really, it's wishful thinking. So long as it stays wishful thinking, that's fine, but if you start to think it could happen, you're set for disappointment. Some people were convinced pretty much right up until release day that The End wasn't The End's real title - that it might even have a sticker on the cover covering up the real title. And that was another case of wishful thinking. At best, I think expressing our concerns might be something that could lead to a reconsideration of exactly how to arrange the covers of future installments and editions, but it's not within the bounds of probability for WCTBATH to change now. Backpedalling would look worse than the cover, basically; at the end of the day it's not that big a deal.
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Post by Christmas Chief on Mar 29, 2012 15:48:08 GMT -5
Indeed, disappointed as one might be with the cover, what we're actually anticipating is what's under that cover. We can't expect all Snicket's work to be designed sophisticated as ASOUE. Edit: That said, I like you're variation, too, Brunch, and I think, had you access to the original images, that layout would prove very attractive.
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Post by B. on Mar 29, 2012 15:56:44 GMT -5
You are right of course. Cover aside, I'm interested to see the inside illustrations. I hope they're black and white, because Seth's style does have a very retro feel to it, and a monochrome colour scheme inside would just add to this.
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Post by Christmas Chief on Mar 29, 2012 16:09:51 GMT -5
Can we connect what we see on the cover to the teasers in any significant way? We know the maybe-it's-a-seahorse is a statue, there was a reference to ink, and Lemony is being dropped. Are there any hints about the plot we can glean from this?
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Post by Hermes on Mar 29, 2012 16:48:06 GMT -5
I quite like it. It looks cartoony, but then, Seth is a cartoon artist. I wouldn't want something that was too reminiscent of ASOUE - this is a new departure.
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