For a typography assignment, we were asked to create a book cover from a list given by my professor. Of those books, I chose to create one of Romeo and Juliet, wishing to convey primary themes of the book while making it visually intriguing as well. For the design of the text "Romeo and Juliet", I wanted to incorporate the image of the cross that links the two names, speaking on the connection religion has within this book and how it reinforces the purity of their love. However, the line through the cross is also meant to appear as a divide between the two names, symbolizing that while they are bound by their loves, many external forces wish to keep them apart.
I decided I wanted to make the whole cover appear like a medieval embroidery, using bright red floral fabric to allude to the passion and bloodshed within the book. I used the fabric of a skirt I found at a thrift store to then embroider the text on, then adding text to the spine, back cover, and inner folds in illustrator. I chose to use the brown, leather texture image for the spine and inner folds to break up the fabric pattern as well as add to the old appearance.
