George Orwell's 1984 is a classic that over the years, has received a number of cover treatments. Most of these covers though, are unimaginitive and largely focused on the powerful iconography of the watching eye and Big Brother.

 

1984 is my favorite book and for this project, I decided to parallel its reputation as a forewarning from the past with its relevance with the increasing control of governments today. Surveillance has risen as a major concern on the plane of digital information and privacy; the Edward Snowden/NSA scandal actually led to a surge in 1984 book sales last year!

 

This book cover design captures the idea of telescreens/computers surveilling infinitely. They are everywhere, they are always watching, and they are all in an interconnected network of the government's watchful force. The computer itself is inspired by the Macintosh 2, since it came out around the 1980s.

Transforming this print project to a digital bookcover GIF was fairly straightforward; the idea of an active network of surveilling computers came to life once I added animation into the equation. As the eyes blink and the viewer is slowly exposed to the depths of the evil existing behind this old computer, they are taken through an intriguing and enlightening journey as Winston experiences in the story of 1984.