Brief: Following on from the discussion of George Orwell’s novel 1984, look at the covers for Margaret Atwood’s equally dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), in which a woman finds herself surviving inside a harsh American fundamentalist society, that sees women’s roles as subservient cooks, matrons, and mothers. Alternatively, you can pick a different book to respond to, but it needs to be one with more than one cover design, so avoid recently published books. Are there key conceptual motifs being used over and over again within different cover treatments? Can you identify more expressive versions of the covers? Check the date of each version and try to speculate about the historical, political or social context for each one. (Don’t spend long on this but it’s important to realise that creative design doesn’t happen in a vacuum.) Using one of the main motifs you have identified (such as the uniforms that feature the book), the title of the book, author’s name, and no more than three colours (including black and white), generate as many different layouts of the cover design as you can. Think about how you can dynamically layer, organise, frame, clash, or balance these elements. Work quickly and come up with lots of different visual possibilities.
Research
I firstly wanted to educate myself on the book ‘The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood’. The Handmaid’s Tale, originally published in 1985, is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian state, known as Gilead, resembling a theonomy that overthrows the United States government. The Handmaid’s Tale explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society and the various means by which these women resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale)
I found an interesting article online showing covers of The Handmaid’s Tale from the past 30 years from all over the world. http://www.rebeccaromney.com/cover-designs-handmaids-tale/
The true first edition, 1985 (Canada) Jacket design by Tad Aronowicz. Illustration by Gail Geltner.
The cover to this edition is very odd, it shows the Commander holding a distorted figure with an infants body and adult head, it is clear that this is his handmaid. He appears to have a very protective hold over the figure keeping a close eye on her. There is an immediate sense of power in this, showing how much bigger the Commander is, to show his charge.
Dust jacket for the first American edition of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, illustration by Fred Marcellino, 1986.
This edition is quite different from the original considering it was only released a year after the original. This design shows two women wearing the traditional Handmaid’s attire with the red cloaks and white bonnets. They are seen walking alongside a very tall wall which is said to represent the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. This cover gives more information about what the book is about with a traditional style.
Vintage Classic, 1996
This cover is more expressive than the last two, If shows a painting of a Handmaid with a blurred face. This makes the book look ‘dark’ and mysterious with the woman’s identity hidden. This could portray the way other’s of a higher position see the Handmaid’s as an unrecognisable person due to the order of hierarchy in the past and the way they are made to feel?
Published by Bloomsbury 2009
Unlike the previous designs, this decorative cover consists of objects rather than people, with a striking red background, the title and author are placed largely in the centre making this the focal point of the book. All objects used on the cover give the reader an insight to what the book is about if they aren’t familiar with the famous title.
Vintage Classics, 2010
This minimalist cover shows a repetitive lino effect print of faceless woman continuing with the colour palette of just red & white. Again this could be representing the lack of identity for the Handmaid’s within this book. The positioning and posture of the figures looks formal and strict.
Vintage Publishing, 2017 Designed by Suzanne Dean, illustrated by Noma Bar
This hardback cover feels more modern compared to the others with the simple abstract shapes of the red dress & white bonnet and the title and author’s name being embossed on the cover. I like the simplicity of this cover and with the black background creating a deep contrast between the red and white.
Vintage Classic 2017
This edition focuses on the hit Tv series, making the book recognisable to those who have seen the programme. This photographic cover still keeps to the red & white colour palette, with the typography on the cover contrasting against the background revealing the image in white. From looking at the cover it doesn’t give much away unless you are familiar with the actress Elisabeth Moss who plays the main character in the tv series.
Vintage Publishing, 2019 Renee Nault (illustrator)
This design caught my eye due to its typographic cover, the simple monospaced sans-serif typeface creates a clean and sophisticated cover. The small image of the Handmaid in red creates the perfect eye catching thumbnail image. Although the cover doesn’t give away a lot of information, I feel that it does show it’s a mature book.
Key Conceptual Motifs
- Colour palettes of red, white and black
- Imagery of white bonnets and red dresses (Handmaid’s clothing)
- Female figures
- Faceless – representing lack of identity
The uniform seems to be one of the more iconic symbols which I think is important to include on my designs. Below I have created a selection of 18 covers.
I started of by creating a more detailed silhouette however I didn’t feel it looked right, it felt too rigid and digital? I then went on to create a more basic silhouette with more of a side profile to see the bonnet clearer. On some designs I have given the red cloak a rigid edge to add depth and effect to the designs. I played around with text positioning and typefaces, I feel that the Serif typeface suits the design and book more as it feels more formal. Following traditions from previous existing designs I kept my image faceless as I feel this expresses the lack of identity for the woman in the story.
Reflection
I enjoyed getting back into a design exercise again after what seems to be a lot of research (however still being informative!) This was a useful quick thinking process to get myself back in the game and thinking about imagery and text positioning.
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