Penguin Random House required a redesign for the cover ofthe non-fiction book by David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth. The covershould reflect the ideas that the book encompasses. The new cover aims to reachall audiences and be a book that everyone is drawn to so they can read aboutthe serious impact we are having on the earth.
The research process drew me to World War propaganda posters as a tool to motivate people to fight for a better future, ironically the mass consumer culture that grew after the world wars is partly to blame for global warming. An experimental approach was taken to demonstrate the fate of the world in an abstract way with intensity. Using photography, 3D modelling, light and illustration a visual has been created that represents the earth and targets people's emotions to catch their attention and inspire them to do better.
The final design is a bold and powerful glimpse at what our world could become with circular motifs throughout representing our earth and bold oranges and reds representing extreme heat or burning. At the same time, the silhouette of a family illustrates how delicate life is. Providing a snippet of David Wallace Wells’ original newspaper article on the front cover highlights the newspaper style and gives a glimpse at what is to come both in the book and on the planet. The typography has been chosen with newspaper styles in mind to represent David Wallace-Wells’ intention behind the book to tell people the real consequences of climate change rather than the washed-down version that the media presents. The back of the book is designed to bean eerie glimpse of the gap the earth would leave if it were gone symbolising the gap people would leave if they could not survive.
Alongside the book cover, merchandise has been created to market the book and attract attention to it. A tote bag is seen as a way to help the environment and they are used often where others will see them. This tote bag is designed to be eye-catching and encourage people to want to know more. The imagery has also been used to make a bookmark which is something that can be reused and is a constant visual reminder of the meanings behind it. No one will want to put this book down but it's there if they need to.
