Eight and Half Hours

Dreams// Prejudices// Classics

2011-04-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

It's every designer's dream to re-design for classics. We have our own thoughts, ideas, one can say dream versions of these covers. But at the same time these can be a challenge too. Because over the years there would be so many versions floating around that to come up with something different is a task. So is breaking other people's set idea about the cover, the book and its look. Because since the book is around for so long everyone from the reader to the sales-man would have their own visual in mind. their own perception their own prejudice. Doesn't that happen in life otherwise too? We expect certain things to be in a particular fashion and feel uncomfortable if they are not that way. Maybe... But as a designer I wish it was not that way.

This is my version of the George Orwell classics 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. Not ground breaking really but I guess not bad either.

Here is what I really wanted to do. (it's just at the idea stage and not the finished cover). But I guess the visuals overpowered the type and we went for the earlier version.

FUNNY BOY:

This is another classic by Shyam Selvadurai. It's his remarkable debut novel, a boy’s bittersweet passage to maturity and sexual awakening is set against escalating political tensions in Sri Lanka during the seven years leading up to the 1983 riots. Arjie Chelvaratnam is a Tamil boy growing up in an extended family in Colombo. It is through his eyes that the story unfolds and we meet a delightful, sometimes eccentric, cast of characters. Arjie’s journey from the luminous simplicity of childhood days into the more intricately shaded world of adults—with its secrets, its injustices, and its capacity for violence—is a memorable one, as time and time again the true longings of the human heart are held against the way things are.

This is my version of it. Which I enjoyed illustrating and had fun working on.

But this is the final version of the cover. Not bad but I loved the earlier one. Though what was interesting about the cover was getting the image. I had the most wonderful experience with the photographer Véronique Piaser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/piasermoyen)

She was so excited about the project since she had read the book and loved it and was super excited about her picture going on the cover.

Metro Reads III

2011-04-11T02:21:00.000-07:00

These have been happening all the while and there are more too. these are like fillers or promos/ advertisements between a movie or a TV program. Fun yet sometimes painful.

Accidental Joys!

2011-01-14T03:42:00.001-08:00

There are times when you see something and know that it is going to be fun and exciting! Something that you want to do/ work on/ buy/ get to know/ explore/ visit. But by the time you actually experience it you realize how wrong you were and the same thing has turned into a not so exciting thing or even a nightmare. While on the other hand there are things which you hardly expect anything out of but turn out to be fun and much better than the most appealing ones. Is it because one doesn't really expect much out of it that they eventually seem to be not so bad or even better? May be so ... Or is it because of what YOU MAKE OUT of it? I guess this happens to all in terms of work, personal life/ relations, places and so on.

These are covers for English-Hindi and Hindi-English Dictionary. Dictionary? Maybe not the most interesting brief that you are dyeing to take on. And the deadline was quiet short for the same. But I think I really enjoyed working on this because the my brief to myself was not to make it look like a dictionary for me. Why some thing that didn't excite me should look boring? And I had some fun with both the scripts. Thankfully it was appreciated and approved by all and went into print.

What do you expect when you hear a book about the life of Buddha? I thought I would be expected to look for a nice image/ painting of buddha and do a cover. But to my surprise and thanks to the editor and the author they didn't want to a buddha image on the cover. The Dhamma Man does not blindly revere the god but respectfully chronicles him, occasionally even critiquing Buddha. So I was free to ideate, illustrate and do something other than the buddha face on the cover. And I was very excited with this little surprise that came my way.

Freakonomics in Hindi

2011-01-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics, but has also been decried as "amateur sociology. There are couple of versions of the cover for this book. But what I had to do was a cover for the hindi translation of the book.

Cover

This would be my first non-english book ever. It was quiet a challenge since though the book is the same as the English one, it is meant for a different audience who speak a different language and have a different sensibility. And to add to that like all our regional language books, there was no money that I could spend for an image or illustration. In spite of all the confusion that we had about what the cover should be and what text it should have and all that, I enjoyed working on it. May be not the best cover but just the sheer idea of working with a different script than Roman was great.

Cover Spread

Accident

2011-01-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

It's been really long since I posted anything. Could be the Delhi winter I guess which makes you really slow and lazy. But today finally since the sun is out I thought I should post this sunny yellow cover :) which is a bit of an accident. Because when I got the brief for it, it sounded something that was quiet simple since it revolved round two interesting subjects: film and classical dance. But when I read a bit of the manuscript I started to realise that its not as simple as I thought it was. The stories were complex relationships and emotions and to get that across seemed a bit difficult. So I struggles for a few days and this is what came out eventually just out of some experiment that I was doing.

Maybe something as complex things need a simple solutions? At least this logic worked here and I am quiet happy with what result I got finally.

Cover

About the book:

This collection of eight short stories traces the life of a dancer through the years. In the seventies, she is sent, as a teenager, from Canada to study dance in India, away from the corrupting influences of the West. She finds, instead, a world of sensuality beyond anything previously experienced. She meets a movie star, goes on bike rides with boys she doesn’t know, and learns about the perils of falling in love from the plight of an older, revered man. Time and again, she comes back to India, as a wife and a mother, to rediscover the earthiness and passion of her youth.

Cover Spread

DELHI...Again

2010-09-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

Been in the city for a year and a half. Still don't know really if I like her or no. Its a love hate relationship with her I guess. There are many things I like about her and many I just dislike. Nobody to blame for it but I guess its this one basic thing that makes me feel this way.
The 'INEQUALITY'. It's there almost everywhere, but it shows way too much here; almost in your face here like may other things here. But that's the way it is.

Front Cover
(Photograph 'Simple Man' by Jogeshwar Mishra)

Recently I did one more book on Delhi (after Trickster City http://eightandhalfhours.blogspot.com/2009/12/trickster-city.html). Its called 'Finding Delhi'. It is an anthology where people from different segments write about various subjects as diverse as public transport, the state of the Yamuna, women and the mega city, housing rights for the poor, recycling and recyclers, shopping malls and the officially sanctioned campaign against street vendors and the homeless ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Cover Spread

Flashback Continued...

2010-08-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of my post called 'Flashback'
http://eightandhalfhours.blogspot.com/2009/11/flashback_17.html

Some more covers in the same series... Absolutely love working on it.

Wind Flowers: Malayalam (Letter 'ma' in Malayalam)

A Place to Live: Tamil (Letter 'Ta' in Tamil)

Art, Posters, Packaging, Book Cover?

2010-08-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Every time I do a cover (the conceptual ones) its like doing an art piece (be it a painting or in my case a mix of digital and hand done art). And at the same time its like making a poster. In one year of book design I am still contemplating if what I am doing is a art piece, a poster art or a packaging? Maybe all of it, which is wonderful I think.

Manasrovar: Cover

So be it a complex fiction like this one where there is no single image that can be used.

Manasrovar: Cover Spread

Or a non-fiction book which nobody usually wants to take on because the first impression is boring. It's up to me as a designer to make it boring or interesting. To treat it like a poster, book cover or a packaging...or all in one.

Lost River Cover + Spread

Back in Time

2010-07-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

Cover

I am not much f a reader and had never ventured into the area of historical fiction ever. So when I got this brief I was a bit puzzled as to what to do. Most obvious was to read the manuscript. The story is very quiet fascinating. A travel into another era and a completely different life style, with secrets. Though the most difficult thing for me was to keep remembering so many characters and their names. But managed. Though after reading the book naturally had to come up with the cover. What most people do for historic fiction is to get a painting for the period and use it. But that is equally difficult. After hunting for such painting and no luck finally got back to paper and pencil. Hunted for references and tested my Photoshop skills to get what I had in mind for the cover. Did all possible things that I would have normally not done...

Cover Spread

There is a photograph by Kathleen Hall http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=humayun%27s%20tomb&w=7195409%40N04 (which I treated), another picture which I had shot (of the Jali) and then the illustration of the figures and of course some parchment texture and motifs.

One Amazing Thing...

2010-07-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

This is a long due post. Its been couple of months since the book has been published. But just was being lazy I guess. This is one of my first big books. Here by big book I mean known author and large number of copies printed. I was very excited. Read the entire manuscript and wanted to do something really different and all that.

The story is about a group of nine people who are trapped in the visa office at an Indian Consulate after a massive earthquake in an American city. Two visa officers on the verge of an adulterous affair; Jiang, a Chinese–Indian woman in her last years; her gifted teenage granddaughter Lily; an ex-soldier haunted by guilt; Uma, an Indian–American girl bewildered by her parents’ decision to return to Kolkata after twenty years; Tariq, a young Muslim man angry with the new America; and an enraged and bitter elderly white couple. As they wait to be rescued—or to die—they begin to tell each other stories, each recalling ‘one amazing thing’ in their life, sharing things they have never spoken of before. Their tales are tragic and life-affirming, revealing what it means to be human and the incredible power of storytelling. For one of the girls the most amazing thing is the Aurora Borealis that she witnesses. The cover is inspired by the same. This phenomena is also called Northern Lights.

Cover + Cover Spread

But the excitement did not translate into something as great as I wanted it to be. I guess happens. Though everyone was really happy with the cover including the author according to whom this is the best version of all the covers she has for this book. Well but I had something else that I liked. I thought it was much bolder and had layers which every story has in the book.

Cover option I had liked

The Flickr Experience

2010-02-25T01:32:00.000-08:00

Photographs/ illustrations are a major and integral part of cover design. Through these images we try to tell/ not tell what the book is about. In our studio here we deal with lot of photographers, photo agencies and illustrators. One of the biggest source for photographs is Flickr too.
I personally haven't done may covers with photographs...but the few which I have; have a story; specially the ones that have pictures from Flickr. Here you don't deal with a photo agency. These are sometimes professional photographers but lot of times conman people too form all over the world. They could be somewhere in a small village in Vietnam or somewhere in USA or Pakistan. It's a wonderful experience (though not always) but most of the times.
I have taken pictures for covers from Flickr and have usually had very pleasant experiences. Some people don't even bother with the money. They are more than happy to just have the credit on the cover. while some don't even bother to reply to your requests. Some are very suspicious to an extent that they go to an extent of calling the customer care to check if a person of this name exists in the organization.
Here are few of the covers that gave me all these experiences with small notes about each...

This picture is by Nga Nguyen lives in a very small village in Vietnam. Picture by Jade

We were looking for a very specific picture for this book. A top view of Lahore.
Was quiet difficult to find the same but managed. Cover picture by Rizwan Sarwar from Lahore. It was very sweet of him to not only give his picture for the cover but also to thank me on his Flickr profile with praises for the cover.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsarwar/3922147031/

This is my latest favorite book. Its a wonderful mix of mythology with a contemporary story. Best is the myth at the end. It is an unusual and compelling drama about belief, deception and delusion. This is one of the few books that I read completely before I did the cover. The cover photograph is by Jeff Mackey. Here the it was very nice of the photographer where he was so happy just to have his picture on the cover that he refused to accept money. We have had instances where some photographers just ask us to donate that money to some organization.

But not all the experiences are so pleasant. Lately while I had a very strange experience too where the photographer just kept ignoring my mails for 2 weeks to such extent that he even deleted the comments I left on his picture. Finally hunted for a similar picture and fished the cover...

Ink Splashes, Motifs and Dilemmas

2010-02-25T01:23:00.000-08:00

These are out of my earlier covers. The ones I did initially. It was a set of two books by the same author. I had done three options out of which two are here...

I dont know how the books sold but I enjoyed working on the covers. I think this is the first time that I did this layered treatment for a cover. But I also tried a photographic cover which was liked by all actually. But the author chose the illustrated cover and then there was this dilemma internally as to which one will work for the book. But in the end we went with the author's pick. Maybe the photographic ones were more evocative or striking more commercial and would have sold too I guess but in my heart very selfishly I wanted the illustrated covers to get printed. I know its not right as a designer to think like this but I guess sometimes we get tempted. And so did I. I think its quiet human to think so.

But this does not happen all the time really...

Year of the Tiger

2010-02-11T04:27:00.000-08:00

When I design for clients on other projects I share work with other co-designers or friends and feel happy when get appreciated. But when designing a book if the author appreciates the work I feel its the best appreciation. Because its the author's baby and you are just giving it a form. As a designer you give a visual form to the idea enhancing it further with your imagination. Most often the author has a visual in mind for the cover. Valid. But you as a designer obviously have your interpretation. Sometimes it matches the author's sometimes it doesn't. At times you strike a bargain. Take in a few ideas and give some of yours. Try to achieve a balance. There are also times when you just give up as a designer and execute what is expected. Its a sad feeling for a designer to give on his/ her idea and submit to the others. But one cannot complain. is bound to happen when more than one creative head is at a job.

But sometimes as in this one I got very lucky with very compliments from the author itself. It is very rewarding since I feel its a sense being on the same page with another creative person. But at the same time also giving a new dimension to his/ her ideas.

Cover

This is what the author wrote to the editor.

I LOVE the blue one and I HATE the other one!!!The blue one is fantastic! It gets the right tone of lightness in the book. Let's face it, it's a light book and the dark cover is a bit too noir-ish. In fact, the one based on my brief is the one I dislike, so that just shows what I know. You're too brilliant. Thank you thank you. it's utterly gorgeous. Is there any room for minor changes, or is this it? If there is, I might have minor suggestions, but it's lovely as it is, I'm not quibbling. If you were here, I would give you a big fat hug right now. Please hug the designer.
Cheers,
Sohaila

Cover spread

Year of the Tiger is a story about identity and work, unexpected love and finding one’s place in the world, set in New York . Layered. A bit on the lighter side.

The photograph that I have masked in the cityscape is by my friend Aashim

Ampersand

2010-01-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

This should have been one of my earlier posts. But I think just got lost somewhere...
I love traveling on the roads, in public transport. I think its a Bombay (Mumbai) phenomena or habit. So when I moved to Delhi and got the confidence of moving around on my own I started taking the auto to go around the city. Most of the time I would have to pass Adhchini (that's the name of an area in Delhi). Its sort of the main road. Once while I was on my way somewhere and passing this same road; saw this amazing 'Ampersand'.

Being a designer I could immediately say that it had to be some designer or trained artist's work. The proportions, the balance of the form, the rendering was superb. I would then look out for it always while traveling and finally shot it.
It is really a beautiful form I thought...

(recently got to know that it was really the work of designers from Wieden Kennedy had painted it)

Fogged Out

2010-01-16T05:44:00.000-08:00

Winter! Till now I knew that there are 4 seasons and on of them is winter. But never experienced it really. In Delhi winters are extreme like many other things. And it being my first winter is some experience. I kind of enjoy this season, excluding the fact that you have to layer yourself with numerous clothes. Thought I know people who love it. Other than that its quite good.

The best part is with the advent of winter one can see so many small day-to-day things change. The markets is the most wonderful thing. I love going to the market these days. And considering I live in a sort of village (you can say urban village); makes it all the more exciting. They look fresh, vibrant and not dull, dry and gloomy like the summers. They are fuller, busier, happier and colourful.While I was enjoying all this towards the beginning, little did I know the other side of the season. The days when the sun starts visiting for a short while or completely vacationing somewhere hiding behind the fog. Towards the new years eve and even later Delhi experienced an all time low in the temperature and resulting in many days of fog. I live on the 2nd floor and from there I felt I was almost living in some fantasy land in the clouds.

Considering it was a long week end and with the temperature so low I sat in the warmth of my home and while my husband enjoyed his hobby which is calligraphy; I did mine. Shot some pictures after a long time.

Mission Moon

2010-01-07T02:19:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying designing for books for a while now but designing for children book is another game I guess. Specially when its not a fun subject. Something more informative and not the typical cartoon books. This is my first children book cover; meant for much older kids, and a serious subject.

Metro Reads II

2009-12-15T02:34:00.001-08:00

Metro Reads is not just one of my posts... its also a project that
I recently finished working on. After a series of serious books
these are a series of short, fast, light books with a balance
between a language that reaches out to common readers
as well as the literary. These have a variety of content with
good story-line; priced reasonably. These are targeted towards
the so called multi-taskers with less attention span but care
for good quality content and are well tuned-in to what is happening
around them. Interesting!!! So I had to design a look for the series
and to start with three covers.

This is where I started...

Finally a working on for around 3 months
with many trials and explorations; got these...

The Complete Set

The books are out and we have a mini site too!
http://www.metroreads.in/home.asp

Metro Reads I

2009-12-10T01:50:00.001-08:00

Metro=fast, on the move, no time for anything.
I guess that's how city life is. People have no time
for anything. Everyone is constantly running
behind something. From very basic things like a bus/
train to reach the work place ti more fancier things.
have no time to eat, sleep or their families. There
are couple who meet on airports/ only on weekends.

Guess all of us live a more or less similar lives...
There is so much to do and we as individuals want
to do million things at work and in personal lives.
There is always a big to-do-list with no ticks.

Multitasking... is another metro phenomina.
I personally feel in this whole multi-tasking business
we miss so many details, so many small things in life
without realising what we have lost...

Captive Imagination

2009-12-07T02:47:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorites. So thought I must share it.
I did this cover long back guess immediately after Laburnum
for my Head.

The book is a compilation of essays written in prison by a
Naxalite sympathizer, Maosist ideologue and poet,
Varavara Rao. The essays deal with the anxieties of solitary
confinement. They are reflective, lyrical letters to the world
outside.

This was another option that I tried for the same cover

Trickster City

2009-12-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

Trickster City... That's what my new book is called.
An apt name or the city that it talks about. DELHI. The city
where I have began to get to know slowly. Its not a city its
an URBAN VILLAGE.

Cover

The book is a compilation of writings, essays, by twelve
authors who write for the sarai-cybermohalla.
http://www.sarai.net/practices/cybermohalla

Cover Jacket

The book chronicles the difficult period of loss of home and
livelihood in the city through urban eviction, encounters with
the agencies of the state, love stories gone awry, the fragility
of relationships, and the sustained effort to build life in
anticipation of beauty and pleasure.

The authors draw from experiences, events and biographies, part
fictive, part documentary, to inscribe an image of the city that is
rarely available. The book is layered and jumbled with incidents,
experiences, emotions and the constant question in the minds of
the people weather they know this city or even belong to this city.
So is the cover... a jumbled up image with may things which are
not known to the tourists. The other side of Delhi which is a complete
contrast to the image that we usually see.

This is another illustration option that I had tried and liked.

Flashback

2009-11-17T02:56:00.000-08:00

Flashback/ Influence/ Inspiration... couldn't really decide
the name for this post... But anyways doesn't matter as
much as the post... Back in college we had to study calligraphy.
Basically letter-forms types and so on. I loved it. But when
I left college slowly I forgot about it and sadly got busy with
the regular client and briefs and so on and things were
pretty much the same till recent.

It all re-started when I got the brief for a series of classic
stories from different states, translated into English.
Interesting. started looking for things/ elements which
were distinctive of a state. Textiles, arts, crafts... fiddled
with lot of thoughts. But nothing great came up. Then
one day while traveling, on my way back home saw this
road-sign in three languages/scripts. Hindi, Gurumukhi
and English (Delhi has a lot of them). There was the answer.
So back to college. Calligraphy. Script.

T is what I did finally. Covers inspired by the scripts of the region.
And of course Calligraphy. It was great going back in time. Felt like
doing a college assignment.

Laburnum For Me Too...

2009-11-13T03:42:00.001-08:00

Delhi for me is a green city. When I moved here in April
it was summer; yet much greener than Bombay is.
May be because of the numerous trees and parks in the city.
And more over because the trees are not blocked by
advertisement hoardings.

But there were colours other than green too. A bright red-orange
of the Gulmohor, which I was familiar with but also a nice bright
soft yellow. This was new to me. These trees were all over the city.
The beautiful part of these flowers was that the bunches hung
upside down on its branches; almost dangling . They were simply
lovely. Fascinated me completely. I would keep looking for them
whenever traveling on the road. But I had no clue what they
were called.

Then one day I received this brief for Laburnum for my Head.
My first book. So first thing I Googled was the word 'Laburnum'.
I was so thrilled to see the same flowers that I fancied for so long.

The brief was the answer to my long pending question and
a question in itself that I had to solve.

My First Cover Design

2009-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

This is my first Book Cover...
First time tried my hand at a new medium...

Laburnum for my Head is a collection of short stories with a strong
flavour of the North-East India. The title story is about a lady who
has a fascination for the laburnum flower but is unsuccessful in her
attempts to plant the tree in her house. As she grows older she thinks
about death and does not like the idea of having a concrete tombstone
as her grave. So she decides to plant a laburnum tree on her would-be
grave site. The story is about the anticipation, whether the tree
will flower before her death. And it does...

The picture used is from Photolibrary which I have worked on and treated.

Eight & Half Hours

2009-11-12T01:45:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since I wanted to start
a blog. Just as an expression of what I feel

and share what I do; which basically means
design. But then I always had my portfolio
to share. Why a blog? So kept ignoring
the thought.

Six months back I got married and moved
to a new city. Delhi. Everything was new
for me. The place, the people, the cultural.
So in this new city where everything was new
I thought of experimenting with my work too.
I started designing book covers, (which I had
never done) Thanks to the publishing house
I joined as a Senior Designer.
Now that was a good enough subject
to start a blog.

As designer we are always thinking of ideas.
At work, at home, while traveling and so on.
But for eight and half hours I design books
officially at work, and many more hours otherwise;
at different places at different time.

Eight and Half hours is mostly a collection
of the book cover that I design and my experience
during the process. Each has a story. The book
as well as the cover. Sometimes it might surprise
you with a real-life story or experience too...