The first step I took for this project was looking into the artists behind some of my favourite book cover series.
Manuja Waldia
http://www.manujawaldia.com
The Pelican Shakespeare series is a collection I’ve fell in love with at first sight. For these electrifying covers, Waldia was awarded a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.
Maira Kalman
http://www.mairakalman.com/books
Maira Kalman is an Israeli-born American illustrator, writer, artist, and designer. Her work most widely held in WorldCat libraries is Fireboat: the heroic adventures of the John J. Harvey, a picture book she both wrote and illustrated. It won the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003.
Marta Monteiro
http://www.martamonteiro.com
“The illustrator based in Penafiel, Portugal been busy at work since we last checked in, creating all manner of editorial illustrations for the likes of The New York Times and the Washington Post, not to mention some self-initiated projects which have materialised into beautiful books, like Sombras.” (in It’s Nice That)
Peter Mendelsund
http://www.covers.petermendelsund.com/
Another series I quite liked was Mendelsund’s Kafka collection. “In the post, Mendelsund writes about the fascinating history of publishing Kafka’s work and describes the design process he went through in creating a new look for the forthcoming series, which adamantly forgoes the traditional take on marketing the writer with bleak, dark colouring and unsettling imagery.” (+)
Mariana, a Miserável
http://www.marianaamiseravel.com
Mariana, “a Miserável”– whose nickname means “the miserable one” – is a Portuguese illustrator and graphic designer. “She self-deprecatingly describes her style as “not knowing how to draw,” but her miniature figures glow naïvely with a universality that transcends linguistic and stylistic barriers. In fact, the weirder her work is the better; (…) There’s something really charming about her little people – miserable or not.” (in It’s Nice That)
