PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Black Skinhead is a collection of essays that ties the trajectory of Black votership and electoral politics through topics that vary from sports and film to the baffling mind of Kayne West.

Designing a cover for a book that has such varying topics is always tricky. Before we landed on the beautiful photograph by Faith Couch, we went through several rounds. The first round included a mix of collages that were made up of the author’s family photos. We also tried a direction with imagery popularized by Kayne West’s Black Skinhead music video and The Life of Pablo album art. Although both directions left us with striking covers, they felt too focused on one aspect of the book.

Faith Couch’s photograph anchors the cover and lends itself perfectly to the subject matter in a way the other directions did not. When it came to doing the type treatment, I decided on Druk because it always has a way of feeling bold and contemporary, yet serious, which matched the energy of Faith’s photo. Also, Faith and I are both MICA alumni, an art school based in Baltimore, and the city the author currently lives in. Because of this, there was immediately a connection that helped us seal the deal on the final cover.

BOOK INFORMATION

Trim Size: 6-1/8 x 9-1/4

Number of Pages: 304

Binding Method: burst hardcover

Paper: Jacket stock: jacket stock is100# coated one side blue white supplied by Coral Graphics, text stock is 40# Alternative Book, 400 ppi, cream white, made at Resolute Mill, Alma, QC, Canada

Typefaces: Druk XCond, Knockout, Baskerville

CREDIT INFORMATION

Creative Director: Anne Twomey

Art Director: Clay Smith

Book Designer: Jonathan Bennett

Jacket/Cover Designer: Clay Smith

Illustrator:

Photographer: Faith Couch

Picture Editor:

Production Director: Adriana Coada

Production Coordinator:

Production Artist:

Other Credits: Erin Cahill- Mechanical Designer

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