THE ALCHEMYST
Book series cover design
Michael Scott’s ‘The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel’ is a nostalgic series
inspired by the historical character of Nicholas Flamel, an alchemist best known for his search towards the discovery of the philosopher’s stone and immortality.
Throughout the 6 book series, author Michael Scott explores the relationship between magic, mythology and the modern world.
To maintain the ancient and rich theme that the original books possess, I chose to focus on the use of paper and how it interacts
with different mediums to create a sense of texture and depth. I wanted to avoid predictable designs featuring the likes of
coffee-stained paper and burnt edges, and instead opt for a design that was more modern in its use of both shape and colour. To do this, I used watercolour on paper. Through the exploration of methods such as watercolour resist, straw-blowing and
regular brushwork, the final outcomes contribute to paired back yet striking covers.
The pops of watercolour against the white
background are both eye-catching and simplistic, whilst the conical flask, magician’s hat and witch’s hat motifs also help to
provide an insight into the key themes and storyline of each book. Due to the adaptability of these motifs, they have also been
altered and reimagined in a way where they can be used along the spine of the books and in more compact contexts such as in
the symbol on the box cover. Through the addition of these illustrative elements, each book can be identified simply by its colour
and symbol, rather than just its title alone.
The typeface I chose for the main headings is Nanum Brush Script which I felt was well-suited to ancient and mythological
themes, whilst also being modern and legible at the same time. To compliment this, the secondary text uses the typeface
Gruppo which is a simple and contemporary sans serif font. As a pair, these typefaces work to compliment the books’
theme of the of the coming together of both fantasy and reality worlds.
BOX COVER
BOOK 1: THE ALCHEMYST
BOOK 2: THE MAGICIAN
BOOK 3: THE SORCERESS
