We're always told that you should never judge a book by its cover, but a strong look can sometimes do much more than just sell the publication. This clever design for George Orwell's 1984 is getting a lot of love for its simple and direct reference to the book's theme of authoritarian state censorship and the revision of history.
The name of the book itself has been redacted and is only visible in certain lighting conditions, and yet the book's fame alone may be enough for many readers to guess which title it is (take some inspiration from the best free fonts if you're working on your own non-redacted book covers).
Currently receiving much discussion on Reddit, graphic designer David Pearson's design for Penguin's 2013 edition of 1984 references the look of redacted documents. It uses the traditional Penguin white and orange design and logo, which already made individual books rather anonymous. But it also uses matt black foil to hide the lettering. The strips over the title and the author's name were designed to fade over time, suggesting a hint of optimism that the truth will out.
The cover becomes less 'censored' over time (Image credit: Penguin Random House / u/L-boyontheting on Reddit)
For another classic book cover that's getting a lot of love on Reddit, see the Great Gatsby cover which makes very clever use of negative space. See the best current prices on Adobe's Creative Cloud apps below if you need to upgrade your own design tools.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
