"Memoirs of a Madman" Book Cover

For the final project of my Typography 270 class, our professor tasked us with designing the cover for the publication of a short story. I chose “Memoirs of a Madman,” written by Nikolai Gogol, a 19th century Russian writer who combined realism, romanticism, and surrealism. “Memoirs” follows the descent of its narrator into madness. The combined context of the plot and Gogol’s life influenced my typographic and compositional decisions. The main typeface, “Insignia,” possesses a feel which is oddly reminiscent of later Russian posters. I struggled with the tendency to follow too closely the style employed by Russian Constructivist designers, as that was my initial association with the story. I averted the issue by shaking up the piece with a mixture of lower and upper case letters for a disorganized (though still legible) tone that reflected the thematic insanity. Helvetica Neue for the author and details keeps attention focused on the title.