Rachel Vale of Macmillan Children's Books is one of my VERY favourite of a whole host of amazing cover designers working on YA and MG novels! When I found out that awesome author Sita Brahmachari had interviewed her to celebrate Rachel's glorious cover for Sita's new novel Tender Earth, I was excited to read it - and even more thrilled to be asked to share it with my readers on my blog! This is such a fascinating piece; I hope you all enjoy as much as I did!
In 2011 Sita Brahmachari wrote her first novel ‘Artichoke Hearts’ and it won
the Waterstones Children’s Book Award. In 2012 she followed it with ‘Jasmine
Skies’ returning to The Levenson family and now in 2017 comes ‘Tender Earth’ told
through the eyes of Mira’s sister Laila Levenson who is twelve years old and finding
much in our world to protest about. Rachel Vale has been the designer on all of
Sita’s books for Macmillan Children’s Books. Here Sita interviews Rachel (Art Director for Children's Fiction, Non Fiction & Poetry
at Pan Macmillan) and poses the questions that she
is asked by so many readers…
How are covers created?
An
initial brief comes from the Editorial department; it will usually cover the
basic information – title, author, the best market for the book, etc. –
followed by a brief synopsis (character descriptions if relevant) and some
visual references – other successful book covers in the same genre, pictures or
movies posters, for example.
From
there I will usually go away and read the book (or at least a good portion of
it), to get a feel for the writing. As a designer I think we pick up on visual things
in a way that not everyone else does – for instance, a very small detail in a
book that isn’t hugely significant in terms of the overall story. I start to
jot down thoughts, ideas, sentences from the book that I think may be useful.
I’ll also go on to sites like Pinterest for inspiration – collecting lots of visual
references like typography, colour, texture, images . . . you name it!
With
lots of references gathered, I’ll start to think about how they might come
together to create a suitable cover solution – and if this is something I will
generate entirely in-house or whether it would benefit from the help of a
sympathetic illustrator/designer. In this case, and with three covers to
generate, I invested some help to bring these covers to life from the very
talented Helen Crawford-White. I’ve worked with her before and I knew she would
be a great fit for these. We worked together on some initial thoughts and
ideas, until I was happy we were at a point to present to the rest of the
in-house team.
Assuming
I present something that inspires everyone, there will then be a process of
specific feedback and tweaking as a final, approved version of the cover takes
shape.
Who is involved in the process, e.g.
author, editor, marketing, etc.?
It’s
an incredibly collaborative process. At times there can be a lot of voices, but
all are worth listening to. Key people/teams involved in the process are
Editorial, the Publisher, Sales, Marketing & Publicity, and of course the
author.
When you first started working on the
covers for Artichoke Hearts and Jasmine Skies, what was the spirit you wanted to capture?
The
vibrancy of the landscapes and the spirit of the characters. I find the
locations evocative, and wanted to capture that with colour and energy.
In Jasmine
Skies there is a family tree. It also appears in Tender Earth as a friend and family tree. You commissioned an
artist to create vignettes in these books. How do these images impact on the
reader's experience?
The
interior illustrations for Jasmine Skies
were from the very lovely Kate Forrester. In the case of the family tree in
particular, this provides a very quick and accessible visual reference to
something that can be quite complicated to understand when just reading about
it. It acts as a shorthand that can be referred to over and over again as you
discover the family in the book.
With the publication of Tender Earth – a story that returns to the Levenson family – what was the purpose of re-jacketing the previous two
books?
The
first of the two original books was published back in 2011. Design-wise, trends
are constantly moving and progressing. At the time the book covers really stood
out; they felt very fresh and new – combining photography and illustration. But
in the six years since then, though more books followed along similar lines, designs
have moved on. We felt this new book gave us the perfect opportunity to re-energize
and reinvigorate the two older covers, thereby showcasing the new Tender Earth while at the same time reminding
readers with the new look of the links to Artichoke
Hearts and Jasmine Skies.
What was the cover concept behind the
new jackets?
The
concept or key ideas behind these new jackets were vibrancy and energy. I
wanted to keep the strong sense of location and character, but in a more
graphic/illustrative way, where colour and natural motifs played a big part in
the identity of each book.
When you read Tender Earth, what aspects of the book struck you as important to
bring out in the cover?
As
this returns to the world of Artichoke
Hearts and Jasmine Skies, I
really wanted to bring the character of Laila, the youngest member of the
Levenson family, to life. I wanted the cover to represent her voice, strength
and independence.
Were there any aspects of the book(s)
that you especially drew on when designing?
The
locations and associated culture were a big part of designing these covers – I
drew a lot of inspiration from the jewel-like colour combinations in
particular. It proved an important tool in ensuring that these sat together as
well as standing apart confidently on their own.
Can you offer a list of words/phrases/qualities
that you would like readers to take from the design of these three books, and Tender Earth in particular?
Hope
Adventure
Independence
Community
I’d
like readers to be inspired by these three books and their covers. Inspired to
read them in the first instance and be inspired to be confident in who they are
on their own journeys.
Thank you Rachel for all your beautiful
covers. They say ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ but I think lots of people
do and I feel very lucky to have had you designing mine.
Sita
x
Tender Earth - ‘A coming of age story
for young protestors everywhere’ is edited by Venetia Gosling. Publication date
June 1st 2017.
Tender Earth is endorsed by Amnesty International UK because
it illuminates the importance of equality, friendship and solidarity, and
upholds our right to protest against injustice.'
Rachel
Vale is Art Director for Children's Fiction, Non Fiction & Poetry at Pan
Macmillan
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