Broken Souls jacket book cover
Design and illustration by Hanny Traugott
I was commissioned to create the design and artwork for a book jacket cover for the novel "Broken Souls," authored by Lya Álmeida, a Brazilian writer.
"ELE ERA TEMPESTADE. ELA FOI O RAIO DE SOL QUE SILENCIOU SEUS TROVÕES".
The author explained that while it was a romance story, it wasn't something light and ordinary. Chloe and Aaron, the couple, navigated through a series of life situations that profoundly affected them, with each of them coping in their unique ways. While Aaron evolved into a young skeptic and subversive, Chloe consistently prioritized taking care of those she considered special, often placing herself in the background.
With this concept in mind, she didn't want something colorful, only expressing a preference for the blush pink color - which was already used in her initial cover. Therefore, I attempted to employ just three colors: blush pink, silver, and black, to create something minimalist and somewhat serious, yet captivating, thus conveying the message she desired.
She mentioned that Chloe was symbolized by the sun, and Aaron by the moon. Therefore, aiming to incorporate these two elements, I crafted a more contemporary icon, wherein the circle represented the moon, and the star denoted the sun. This concept is also reflected within the title itself, in "Souls."
Two bookmark designs were also created, one emphasizing the illustration, and the other focusing on the title and a memorable sentence from the book.
The dots adorning the entire cover background could be interpreted as stars (given the strong connection to the universe in the story) and as particles, as she stated, "broken pieces into a thousand particles will never become whole again."
