This project was part of a college assignment focused on choosing a book and designing a book cover entirely with vector graphics. I chose The Trial by Franz Kafka because of its mysterious theming. For this project, I used stark, symbolic imagery to capture the novel’s themes of existential paranoia, confusion, and faceless authority.
The cover features a silhouetted figure representing the main character running aimlessly under the gaze of a target, portraying the book's theme of inescapable bureaucracy. The title typography is bold with sharp points pointing in all directions to create a sense of rigid tension and echo the main character's disorientation. , The back cover presents an empty courtroom interior, reinforcing the legal ambiguity that is in the story. Both the aimed target on the silhouetted figure and the stained glass in the shape of an eye represent how endlessly the main character is watched.
Beyond the cover, the book’s interior layout was constructed to support the book's theming. The chapter opener and end page incorporate heavy symmetry, reminiscent of the courthouse displayed on the back cover, reinforcing the story’s motifs of judgment and order. The chapter opener also includes the "pupil" of the eye that the stained glass creates to include visual similarities to the cover. The typography and layout follow a strict grid, balancing readability with atmospheric tone.
