Wordsmith Publishers is an idea that I had for a publishing company. The logo is meant to look like the bellows that are so often seen in the blacksmith industry and also like the open pages of a book. Alongside the branding of this company, I designed book covers for three different books.
RIVER MUMMA
River Mumma is a Jamaican folktale. River Mumma is a mermaid like creature that lives in the rivers of Jamaica. She protects a golden table that dwells in the rivers and kills anyone who tries to take it. The lore of River Mumma states that creatures that reside in the River are her children. I decided to use this as the focal point of the book cover. The fish a coral color as a warning sign that River Mumma is near.
TANABATA
Tanabata is a Japanese folktale that follows the tragic love story of Orihime and Hikoboshi. The two lovers are separated by her father, the God of Heavens. Seeing how sad his daughter is, he sets aside one day of the year for the two to meet. Magpies create a bridge and allow for the couple to meet. I chose to use the Magpies as the focal point of the book cover because they play a big role in bringing the couple back together. The red string they carry is the "red string of fate" that is so often seen in many Japanese folktale.
BLUEBEARD
BlueBeard is a French folktale about a woman who marries a man and finds out that he has murdered all of his previous wives. I made the key the focal point of this book cover because its BlueBeard who gives her the keys that eventually lead her to finding out his secret. It's stained with a bit of blood as a way to hint to the crimes that BlueBeard has committed.
