Artifact Book (More iterations)

My original cover designs were all symmetry and text. Gross (or somethin'). When I began to wonder what else I could add, I first wanted to use an image of a gangster holding a tommy gun, wearing a fedora and zoot suit, and standing next to some crates of alcohol and a Model A car. Too easy though. Besides the crooks and bandits of this time were extremely notorious. We know about them 90 years later, so I can't even imagine how big they were at the time. I know in my research I learned that most were on the FBI's most wanted list. The three on the cover of my book might be the most infamous of all 1920s gangsters. So I decided to play up this infamy and crime aspect. Also, each criminal relates to the values I have listed on the cover. Clyde Barrow from Bonnie and Clyde goes with notorious since Bonnie and Clyde might be the most famous mobsters I know. John Dillinger goes with wealth, because he robbed a lot of banks. And finally Al Capone goes with power, although he could go with any of the three. However, Capone may have been the biggest gangster of all time so I feel like he has earned a title of power over others.  

Using the infamy of these criminals and their mugshots I decided to set my book up to look like a police report or a criminal file. The gridded and symmetrical layouts were meant to replicate the gridded forms of police reports.

In these iterations I tried to expand my idea  of a police file. I tried my duotone images on this print. These duotone images printed nicely (for the most part) on my choice of paper, while the images with highlighted  objects all printed pretty badly. Some were tolerable but most were terrible. The color was really just horrible and especially on the paper I planned on using. 

I also tried a few variations on some layouts. On the car layout, all the images touch on each page. There isn't a gutter between the images. For the alcohol I tried one image on the left page and then tightly showcasing the rest in a packed grid on the right page. The tommy gun is showcased in a similar way to the alcohol. Two images on the left page to show the subject then a few more images in a nice line to further show it off. I wanted to keep the gridded structure. No cutout images for me. Some are in places, and its still an idea I need to check up on, but I definitely wanted a domination of rectangles and squares.  I don't think the police file idea would be as strong without the clearly defined grids.

The covers all deal with the same elements but the compositions are different. I started with small, practically actual size thumbprints, but soon took a liking to the thumbprint taking up half the cover and sitting in front of or behind some of the other elements. I tried laying the mugshots and text on angles but dismissed the idea rather quickly because it went against the grids on the inside of the book.