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The Handmaid’s Tale
Dust Jacket
Dust jacket, 18.39 x 14.65 in
Adobe Illustrator
2022
This dust jacket was created for the novel “The Handmaid’s Tale”. I wanted to create an abstract design based on the overarching themes of the book that could be interpreted in more than one way.
I searched through the story’s motifs, themes, and symbols to find other defining representations beyond the iconic flocked bonnet and red dress. In the book, there is a recurring motif of “eyes”, with a secret police force named “the Eyes”, which is short for the Eyes of God. Reusing a concept from a drawing I had done a few years ago that I titled “Judgement”, the dust jacket features several eyes connected by lines of varying weights.
For the primary typeface, I chose Mrs. Eaves which is an “imperfect” and “loose” style of Baskerville. It was named after John Baskerville’s mistress-turned-wife, Sarah Eaves. This ties into the overall themes of the book about the dynamic between men and women. As for the title font, I chose Sabbath Black which is a blackletter typeface with some missing parts that imitate ink bleeding. This calligraphic font recalls Puritan times in which the Republic of Gilead is reminiscent of.
This dust jacket folds over on the top and bottom like the inner flaps to enforce the idea of a restrictive, stiff community found in the story’s society. It is also intended to represent how concealed the handmaids are kept, as the protagonist is described as having to wear fabric from head to toe, with a flocked bonnet to limit how much of her is revealed.
Additionally created a fictional publishing house and its logo.