Thursday, August 11, 2011

Book cover

Hardcover 11x8.5 inches, 50 pages, color images & text.
Thoughts?

8 comments:

Ian van Coller said...

To me if you are speaking of a new start (new dawn), the image should be more positive. Right now the image contradicts the title, no? Also, DAWN in red speaks of blood. Are the font colors the Iraqi flag colors or something?

Justin L. Stewart said...

I don't like the colors of the text. I'm guessing those are flag colors but they just don't communicate that very well. Maybe if you supper imposed the actual flag into the title it'd look better but I doubt it. Summary: Do something different with the text IMO

John Schlepp said...

New Dawn is a twilight book. Just thought you should know.

John Schlepp said...

Ok, it's not. But it sounds like one

Collin Avery said...

I'd say different font as well as smaller text without a variation in color. As of now, it is hard for me to look at anything other than the title (which I guess in some respects is the point) but it definitely could flow better.


Check out the Indie Photobook Library for cover inspiration.
http://www.indiephotobooklibrary.org/

Sean Foulkes said...

Yea, the flag colors for Iraq (since before they were a monarchy and then a dictatorship) are pan-arab Red White and Black with the Takbir (the symbolism for the Arabic phrase meaning "God is Great") in green down the middle.

My original idea wasn't for the colored title, I just put it in there last minute. Although I specifically used green for the word NEW and red for the word Dawn (there have been something like 490 civilians killed in car bombings and public protests/violence against the people of iraq by extremist political groups since I got here). So both contexts of the use of red would be appropriate once the reader finished the book. If i use color, i am going to darken the green and red to a lower luminosity so the correct colors are there, but they aren't as bold and detracting to the panoramic wrap-around image of the air-bombed Iraqi Air Force MiG-21 that I found in the desert near an old Iraqi Air Base.

New Dawn is a reference to the "final" stage of NATO liberation of Iraq, which is the US military Operation New Dawn. It officially started Sept 2010, and is slated to end December of this year, assuming Iraq doesn't request troop presence after we pull out all forces from the country.

I could write an entire other book exploring the politics over here, i'm sure i'll touch on it in the book itself, but after just letting my camera go for a year, my take on this country has been surprisingly journalistic.

Tyler Busby said...

I am all about the idea, the text is a bit contrived and the title could be worked on, but I also understand that everything has a stronger meaning to you, and that you need to convey that to us the readers/viewers. If you work out those issues, the rest will be easy, your photographs are great.

Aly said...

I personally think the title is perfect. I mean, it is Operation New Dawn. I disagree with making the title seem more positive. It wasn't a positive deployment (maybe it was for you? Not so for me LOL), so I like the darkness it implies.