Octopus, Seahorse, Jellyfish
There is no questioning what this book is about! The title says it all. David’s photographs are jewels, his attention to the craft of his images is inspiring. David worked with Richard Avedon in his early years and the influence is quite evident.
I will say that I was not particularly inspired by the literal title, I prefer something more poetic. But David is a truth-seeker and this title is thus apt. Since the title was so straight forward, I thought that maybe we didn’t actually need it on the cover itself: instead of the words, we could—like Egyptian hieroglyphs—just use images. Yes, place the title on the spine and the back cover, but leave it to the images on the front. Alas, the cover had previously been mocked up (before I came onto the project) for the Sales/Marketing departments and I could not persuade them to both change course and try something slightly more daring. And, please, I have zero sour grapes (OK, maybe 1%), since part of my job is to push a client beyond their comfort zone. Being told “no” just means we have found the edge of the canvas. Besides, I can save this idea for a future situation.
9-1/8 x10-7/8, 256 pages
Client: Published by National Geographic Partners (Disney)
Role: Art direction and design
The one that got away