Invisible Man

April 2023

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison has a long history of book designs that take various approaches to illustrating the story, so I was excited at the opportunity to design my own take. For Graphic Design Software II’s book design project, we were given a selection of three books: The Handmaid’s Tale, Fight Club, and Invisible Man. I was immediately drawn to the different directions previous iterations took and explored where to take my inspiration from.

As Invisible Man primarily takes place in Harlem, I was inspired by artwork from the Harlem Renaissance showcasing the city in blocky shapes and vivid colors. After seeing the memorial sculpture commemorating Ralph Ellison of a man cut out from a metal plate, I decided to merge the two concepts. My book dust jacket cover depicts the Invisible Man born from the negative space in the streets of Harlem, with bright red, blue, orange, and green commonly found in paintings depicting the neighborhood. This project was a fun and challenging exercise in research, creative direction, and inspired book design.

studiorahman.com

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