Suzanne Dean collaborates with Bryn Perrott for There There

Suzanne Dean collaborates with Bryn Perrott for There There

Suzanne Dean is the Creative Director at Vintage Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK. Here Dean describes her process for developing the book cover for There There by Tommy Orange.


Fierce, funny and groundbreaking, There There is a multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power. I wanted something simple, strident and bold that used type and image in a stark combination. There There was such a commanding title, I instinctively knew it would look incredibly graphic, filling the cover dimensions perfectly.  I thought the US woodcut artist, Bryn Perrott, would be particularly good for the cover. She had a raw energy about her work that, in my mind, perfectly matched the tone of the novel.

 
Bryn Perrott, Top Images: Courtesy photos, Bottom Image: fun--mag.com

Bryn Perrott, Top Images: Courtesy photos, Bottom Image: fun--mag.com

 

I asked Bryn to work up a single large feather accompanied by her signature water/tear drop motifs. I placed the feather in a blazing red directly over the black title, and then started to wipe away some of the feather vanes – the feather now looked entwined with the title lettering.  It partially obscured There There, but the title was still readable. The cover was printed using red foil, which sits on top of the matt background, giving a hand-printed feel to the cover.

 
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Editor, artworker and lifelong bibliophile.

@PaintbrushMania