Book cover design/illustration
Conceived to build off the irony of the title and inspire curiosity
Jim Paluch, long time motivational speaker and author commissioned me to illustrate his latest book, The Depressed Motivational Speaker in January of 2022.
Having designed and illustrated two of his previous book covers, Jim and I know how each other work and work effectively together. The entire development of this book cover, from concept through low resolution proofs to final high resolution production, took less than four weeks.
The process:
Initial concept
As Jim and his wife Beth lives in New England these days, our conversations took place via Zoom. He summarized his book for me and provided me the manuscript. As it was in PDF form, I downloaded an audio-reader app so I could listen to the book more quickly than reading it. But I knew I had to know the subtleties before I could propose a cover that it truly deserved.
In our follow up conversation I verbally proposed the idea of the motivational speaker on stage, but silhouetted to infer the emptiness of the depression. I also showed several images of other book covers that I thought had a look and feel that we were looking for. These two struck us the most because of their colors, mood and lighting. I had the green light to begin my first proofs.
First proofs
I assembled low resolution imagery of the different elements that I wanted to play around with – the stage, a few silhouettes and a few other elements that alluded to things within the story.
After experimenting with many combinations of elements, composition and plays on the initial concept, I presented these first proofs.
I saved the “Hang Man” version for last as I knew it was incredibly edgy… but so is the story. My priority with a book cover is to try to get someone curious enough to want to turn it over and read the back information — then we may have them hooked.
The first cover with the birds: The birds play a roll in the third act of the story. They’re actually owls in the story, but I thought owls would be too overwhelming and distracting.
The third one with the guy in the cocky pose… and tennis shoes? This character is revealed within the first ten pages. I was hoping to capitalize more on the irony of “depressed”. This guy definitely doesn’t look depressed. And the reader gets the reward of the “Ah Hah!” moment when the character is revealed and this makes perfect sense.
These went over very, very well and my client and his team had a few productive insights to try for proof 2 .
Second proofs
Jim and his team suggested that I play with versions of owls rather than the doves I used previously. I did present a couple versions, but the owls were just too distracting.
In real time while sharing my Zoom screen, I zoomed in on the speaker’s feet as you see above with these final two versions. We loved the focus on the sneakers, but agreed the warmer color palette was more eye-catching.
Armed with this information, I was provided the printer specifications for the entire book cover and began creating the high resolution art while my client worked on the back cover verbiage.
Final high resolution artwork for the book cover
The publisher requested 600 ppi artwork – a little overkill, but the end result is beautiful nonetheless.
Here, you can see how I drew one piece at a time of the floor, chairs and curtains, then cloned them to achieve the setting. Lighting is my favorite part of illustrating, and I took a lot of care to make sure it was as impactful as possible.
I already had the typography designed and approved, so I simply copy and pasted it into this final art.
If you’re interested in discussing a possible design or illustration for your endeavor, contact me. It won’t cost you anything, but a few minutes of time.
Jim Paluch | author
Barry Edwards has been a vital part of every creative project at JP Horizons for over 30 years. He always brings the design energy and expertise we need, and every collaboration is a fun adventure, yielding great results. When I asked Barry to create the cover for my newest book, “The Depressed Motivational Speaker”, he not only met with me to get an understanding of the content, but he read the entire book to make sure he represented it accurately.
– Jim Paluch
My thoughts on The Depressed Motivational Speaker
My thoughts on The Depressed Motivational SpeakerA critique from the cover artist
Barry Edwards • creative director/designer
When presented with the initial concept I was intrigued. Let’s face it, that title is full of irony and intrigue and I knew I wanted to convey exactly that in my cover art.
Upon reading the book, I would say that my intrigue raised another level to something of admiration. Not sure if that’s the best word, but I was immersed in the writing (it moved along quickly with humor and twists). And it soon caught my interest from the psychological angle. It had manic ups and downs of darkness and light that pieced together the complex main character with whom I identified quite a bit.
Mostly, I don’t think I ever read such an accurate definition of depression before. Perhaps because it was done through a slow building narrative and metaphors. Jim Paluch also used this technique to describe the healing process as well.
It’s not just a good, interesting and entertaining book. It’s also an IMPORTANT book. Anyone that has ever had a bout with depression at any level will likely find some revelation and catharsis by taking this journey with a unique band of characters.
Other cover art design/illustration
“Leaving a Legacy” book cover art
I designed this book cover in approximately 2004 for Jim Paluch. It’s an aspiring piece of fiction that follows three elderly men stuck in their life patterns that eventually learn that it’s never too late to leave a legacy in this world.
I remember Jim and I taking a walk through the woods discussing the book and it’s title. He was originally going to call it “Old Wood Flowers”, but together we decided Leaving a Legacy had more direct impact. Needless to say, the concept of being carved in stone speaks to the permanance of the impact we can have long after we’re gone.
TorchLight magazine cover art
Another cover that I created in 2004. This was commissioned by the Cleveland Advertising Association. They used to put out a monthly magazine called Torchlight.
The interesting aspect of this, is that I took this picture in Cleveland’s Little Italy in 1998 with a 1.6 megapixel Olympus digital camera — laughably low resolution by today’s standards. But with a variety of techniques, I was able to bring out the detail that I wanted and create a rustic italian flavor to the art.
Automotive restoration retro brand art
I created this logo and poster design for my former client in Cleveland Heights. They’ve since retired.
The owners were a couple of really good guys — always fair and honest with their customers and I wanted to capture that retro feeling with this poster art which also functioned as a print advertisement.
Cover art for Urban League’s RealSource Management Consultants
I was commissioned by the Urban League of Cleveland to create a brand image piece that would speak to the diversity and professionalism of their new RealSource Management Consultants program.
Upon revealing the color proof for the first time, the Director literally jumped up from his seat and said, “Damn, Barry! You’re the man!”
My thoughts on The Depressed Motivational Speaker
A critique from the cover artist
Barry Edwards • creative director/designer
When presented with the initial concept I was intrigued. Let’s face it, that title is full of irony and intrigue and I knew I wanted to convey exactly that in my cover art.
Upon reading the book, I would say that my intrigue raised another level to something of admiration. Not sure if that’s the best word, but I was immersed in the writing (it moved along quickly with humor and twists). And it soon caught my interest from the psychological angle. It had manic ups and downs of darkness and light that pieced together the complex main character with whom I identified quite a bit.
Mostly, I don’t think I ever read such an accurate definition of depression before. Perhaps because it was done through a slow building narrative and metaphors. Jim Paluch also used this technique to describe the healing process as well.
It’s not just a good, interesting and entertaining book. It’s also an IMPORTANT book. Anyone that has ever had a bout with depression at any level will likely find some revelation and catharsis by taking this journey with a unique band of characters.
Order your copy of The Depressed Motivational Speaker today on Amazon
Hardback, paperback, kindle. Your option awaits you on Amazon. Makes an excellent gift idea for any professional that has struggled with stress and self-doubt.
My recommendation is the hardbacked cover. It makes for an excellent keepsake and has the highest resolution reproduction of my cover art!
