ZoomConcept Reviews
Summary:
So I can comment on the design itself, knowing that it's a book cover design and that the name is "heart of darkness" I think you have achieved, the doom and gloom outlook.
I like the map of Africa, and the boat there's something subliminal there, not sure on the choice of font for "heart of" maybe try helvetica neue light condensed.
Overall a great effort!
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Summary:
Hi Ryan,
It is quiet on CF - I wish they'd bring back the weekly update of featured member and concept of the week etc - the community side of things feels a bit dead at the moment.
Overall I love lots of what you've got going on so far. The mood, subtle rain, map of Africa all works.
The choice of font isn't great - looks like Papyrus and Optima (I could be wrong). Either way I think for the subject matter rather than trying to find something which feels 'African', I'd go modern and hard hitting and try to find a font which is more in keeping with the mood and content so truthful, harsh, solid, serious.
The boat isn't a steamer type boat so doesn't feel entirely authentic to the story.
I do really like this though other than the font and the boat issue. You have some nice textures going on
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Ryan Bentin commented:Thank you...I agree with about the text. The "Heart of" is Papyrus but an altered version in my attempt to clean it up. Being the main imagery being African the text should give credit to the seriousness and philosophical nature of the book like you said. I think the real problem is that the "Heart of" feels to separate from "Darkness".
Its hard to see with such a small example but the canoe tells the part of the story of his sickly friend being transported upstream by locals. (the man is laying at the front of the boat.) I used this image of the story to reflect the feeling of despair. I felt the steamboat used by the captain would be too obvious, since this is a well known classic.
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Ryan Bentin commented:
Yeah I can't understand why there is not a casual place to blog and discuss different topics. There should be a way to openly communicate and share thoughts and ideas here other than only through concepts. I believe that would liven things don't you. We do not need another deviantart but something a little more openfaced would be great for this site.
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Serious Problem on back cover HOD.jpg 1 Between the font and the centering the text on the back is hard to read. Positive Feature on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 I like it - think you nailed the right amount of texture but not too much detail to take away from the rainy feeling. New Idea Journey - is lost
This is lost. Either it should be important or get rid of it.Summary:
I like the overall feeling. "A Journey .. " and back text are hard to read. The boat is not what I think of as a "riverboat captain". The author's name should be larger.
Minor Problem Subject of the book?
I do not feel as though the cover adequately conveys the content or subject matter of the to viewer. The sub heading suggests that it is related to the psyche. However I am not sure how that relates to Africa. Is it about the role of the subconscious in the hardships experienced by those in Africa? While I do agree that there should be an element of intrigue with a book cover to get a potential reader to pick it up, I do not feel as though this cover adequately conveys its subject matter.Positive Feature Background Image
Beautiful image of the African continent.Background Image
Beautiful image of the African continent.New Idea on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 Make larger/ Summary:
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Ryan Bentin commented:
Ummmm... read the book or at least the summary. Thanks for the review though. :)
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Minor Problem on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 I think the Book Title could stick out more and be made more eye pop-ing Serious Problem on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 This shadow is kind of weird and distracting Positive Feature on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 like the africa map Summary:
Very simple design and it does give the heart of darkness feel think it could be a little more eye appealing though
Positive Feature With the big Africa map, the first thing that comes to my mind is 'a book about Africa' . Not really the intrigue or mystery. Maybe reduce the Africa map and create more whitespaces around (or in blackspaces in this case :) ) New Idea I like the moon lightning to create this idea of intrigue/ mystery Other For the font for 'Heart of Darkness', I would use a Serif to make it more serious Also, you say darkness but the cover is quite shining ... Positive Feature on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 Sets a great mood New Idea on Front Cover HOD.jpg 1 Don't like this font very much 2 Perhaps placing this down a bit? Summary:
I like the overall mysterious mood of the cover and I think this is intensified by the green color.
The map of Africa doesn't work for me. It seems a little out of place and takes up a lot of space. This results in the texts on the cover being placed too much to the sides.
I especially like the boat, the water and the shadow of the text on the water.
The placement of "Heart of" feels good to me. The font does not however.
I would like the name of the author and the subtitle of the book to stand out more clearly.
Summary:
Overall I like it! The raindrops are awesome :) Since you thought that something was missing, the first thing that came into my mind was contrast.
Maybe make the text on the cover darker or even black ? Just a thought... :)
Yes, the "Heart of" is a bit disconnected from "Darkness." I will certainly try your approach.
I really like this piece because it was my first attempt at painting in photoshop. Only used the satellite photo of Africa, everything else is drawn with a stylus. Anyone think, going in and adding a bit more detail would improve the artwork or would it take away from the texture and mood?
I'm more of an vector guy these days so I could sure use the practice.