A Place for Grayson
AUTHOR: Kaitlin Kalagher
PROJECT: Book Cover Design (Paperback•eBook)
This book is about Grayson, a young adult that struggles with drug addiction and his girlfriend, Emily, a recovering alcoholic. Emily takes her sobriety very seriously, while Grayson has not been able to make that commitment yet.
Instead of showing the characters, I decided to go for a more symbolic approach, in order to make it different from the common romance books.
I used the contrast between cold and warm tones to transmit the concept of “choices” that the characters need to make in their lives.
In this design the blue tones represent the sad and numb life of addiction, the struggles and the dramatic consequences… and the yellow/orange tones represent the recovery and the achievement of finally become sober.
Grayson is still struggling in a “cold life”, while Emily has already overcome her battle. The orange flower is Emily that blossoms from branches that seem to be almost dry. While Grayson is still the cold reflex in the water of what can become his future.