This project posed the challenge of redesigning a book cover for a public domain novel, giving it a new look while staying true to the themes and aesthetic qualities of the written work. I selected one of my favourite novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by C.S. Lewis. Design decisions were informed by extensive visual and textual research about the novel and the time period in which it is set and written. This project went through two rounds of refinement focusing on the effectiveness of the visual language. 

I wanted to push the preconceptions of the viewer to reevaluate how they see this famous story. I selected key pieces of imagery from the novel to use on the cover that retold Alice’s story as one of rebellion and exploration. Alice can be seen lazily puffing on the Caterpillar’s hookah pipe wearing the Mad Hatter’s hat. The playing card is a nod to the Red Queen but Alice’s placement within the composition shifts the noble title onto herself. The colour palette is meant to be a more vibrant, almost chaotic version of Alice’s blue dress as it was adapted into colour illustrations and films. I took it upon myself to redesign the type by hand which is inspired by the Victorian era in which the original work was written. The visual theme is a nod to history and the revival of ornamental style in architecture and design of the late nineteenth century.