Study Task 03 - Drawing the Detectives

The idea for this book design is a combination of the plot line and the meaning behind the title of the book itself.

Taken at the Flood is a reference to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in a speech by Brutus in Act IV: 
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;       
Omitted, all the voyage of their life       
 Is bound in shallows and in miseries.       
On such a full sea are we now afloat,       
And we must take the current when it serves,       
Or lose our ventures.

What this means that there is a power in time that works like the ebb and flow of a tide and one must go with the flow. To take the opportunities when it presents itself otherwise you’ll flow back and be stranded. Thus taken at the flood means taking the opportunity at high tide, referring to taking an opportunity at it highest potential.

The main story is revolved around inheritance issues following the death of a husband that was caused by the blitz. Hence I looked at propaganda posters that were used to inform the public of the dangers of the blitz.

Finally I looked at the bomb design that the Germans were making and based my cover design on that.  
The gradient along the bomb is a reference to the tides that Shakespeare was referring to. At the base of the bomb is at its 'highest tide' and gradually it fades to the lowest at the tail. The colour scheme used within the cover is reference to the commonly used tones in British propaganda posters. Blue, red and white hinting at the colours of the Union Jack.


I chose to use Bebas Neue for the typeface as it is clean and impactful, much like the typefaces used on the propaganda posters that had to convey a persuasive message.