‘Seekers’
Book Cover
Occasionally
I freelance!
In 2022, Patrick Kelly reached out to me to create a cover for his upcoming book about the history of his family! It is a story about overcoming struggles and immigrating to America after their family was divided and separated. Through family records and historical context, he’s pieced together a compelling story of oppression, resistance and escape to freedom.
The book is not published yet - but will be available to purchase soon!
Project Type
Freelance
Year
2024
Role
Designer
Tools Used
Illustrator & Photoshop
Alternate Concepts
Through many different discussions and editing rounds, we finalized the book cover above using an image he took himself while visiting his family’s town in Ireland! However, here are some of the previous concepts that I created during my initial conversations with Patrick about his vision.
Using the backdrop of old newspaper articles from the time period, I hoped this concept would help the readers ground history to the books content. These real events affected the people in the book - and really the future generations reading!
I also chose to show cobbler hammer and shoe block - another historical nod to the occupation of many family members who immigrated to America. Some members even filed for patents on designs for shoe making.
I thought the earthy vibes with the red provided great contrast and overall vivid cover!
Originally Patrick thought this would be a two volume book set; however, that ended up changing in the end.
This cover was inspired by the voyage the family members take during their escape to America - highlighting the Irish coast and the stormy clouds of the unknown.
The gears on the back cover were meant to hint at the families ingenuity and mechanical innovations they later on made in America.