24) Book Cover Design

About this class

Some experts thought that reading books would disappear in the future. If you love reading and making art (and disagree with “futurists”!) this class is for you! Design a book cover for a short story not only to create something that has good aesthetics, but also to challenge your creative process and to come up with a design that says something and really communicates your thought-out and honest interpretation of the author’s text.

This is about marrying meaning with great design. Learn how to read as a graphic designer, iterate with imagination, and break the “rules” to make your message stand out. Create a cover of your own.

This class is inspiring and will please anyone with a witty sense of creativity. It also is well-suited for graphic design enthusiasts and anyone who loves to hold a book in their hands.

Class Outline

1. Look at book designs and other designs and question yourself as to why you like them or why you think they do not work; introduce terminology
2. Explore typography and imagery to express your ideas for the target audience
3. Calligraphy and hand-drawn titles or computer-generated text
4. Copyright and how to stay within a production budget with illustrations and pictures
5. Design for the different parts of the book cover
6. Presentation and group critique

Materials needed

Please note: VCUQatar reserves the right to cancel classes for which not enough participants are registered. Already paid fees will be refunded.

Please do not purchase materials until VCUQatar has sent final course confirmation.

Items to buy for this class

Participants are required to buy their own materials beforehand and to bring them to every class.

• An idea box, clippings of pictures, fonts or illustrations. This is an actual  box or file or plastic pocket to contain images that inspire you. It’s a bit like a Pinterest board but a physical one. A real Pinterest board accessible on your own phone or iPad would do as well. This will help us engage in a conversation about where you want your project to go visually, and we can discuss styles while sorting images by color or message or typography or….
• A computer with necessary software and fonts will be available in class.

On occasions, there may be some more materials to be bought and brought in if and when advised by the instructor.

Where to buy your materials

Most of the materials are available from any art supply shop, for example:

• Cass Art (Fire station): Community Classes students get a 15% discount upon presenting the registration ticket
• Jarir Bookstore: on Rayyan Road or Salwa Road
• Color Note: on Al Nasser Street
• Ibn Al Qayyim: at Markhiya Roundabout
• Al Rawnaq

Schedule

Start: Sat, 15 Apr, 2017
End: Sat, 20 May, 2017
Lessons: 6
Days: Saturdays
Time: 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Location: VCUQatar, Room 165
Cost: QAR 637.50

Instructors

Register

To register for this course, access the form.