Concepting

Some of the concepting processes I’ve done and had a hand in. These include writing briefs, commissioning illustrators, reviewing and providing feedback to the illustrators, getting thoughts and reactions from the wider internal team and translating that into a product the entire team feels is best suited to the book.

Cover concepts

Creating several different concepts for Stepping Up: COVID-19 Checkpoints and Rangatiratanga by Luke Fitzmaurice and Maria Bargh, published by Huia Publishers.

My brief was to create a cover that 1) created the foundations for an ongoing mini-series of academic texts, future-proofing its design, and 2) still could speak to the content, in this case the roadside checkpoints that were set up by Māori to protect communities during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

The final series title is now known as Huatau. The final cover can be seen on their website, here.

These are cover concepts for this title, which is still in progress. None of these images are final and everything on these concepts are subject to change. These are merely ideas I have designed – they have yet to be approved, narrowed down, presented and refined.

Designing the concepts

Just a quick snapshot of the changes I make between receiving a first draft to making it a cover concept, ready to present to authors.

Original illustration

Concept #1, illustrated by Miriama Grace-Smith

Edited cover

Turning the illustration into one of the cover concepts.

Original illustration

Concept #2, illustrated by Miriama Grace-Smith

Edited cover

Editing the illustration into one of the cover concepts.

Original illustration

Concept #1, illustrated by Katharine Hall

Edited concept

I had access to other illustrations by Katharine from the first book in this series, and was able to create this instead. This concept is meant to follow off the first book, and as such is reminiscent of Whetū Toa and the Magician.

Original illustration

Concept #2, illustrated by Katharine Hall. This idea was also meant to resemble the first book, but to divert it slightly so it wouldn’t be mistaken as the same book.

Edited concept

Using illustrations also from the first book, I was able to edit the original illustration to create this second concept.

Original illustration

Concept #3, illustrated by Katharine Hall.

Edited concept

This was our curveball idea – something completely different from the first book, and the other two concepts. The author liked this best.

Final cover

Illustrated by Katharine Hall

Original illustration

Illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse

Illustration feedback

Final English cover

Final Māori cover

Original illustration

Illustrated by Story Hemi-Morehouse

Edited concept

Originally intended as a cover concept, we decided it actually made a great back cover instead. This is my feedback and the final back cover can be seen on the published book, which can be bought from Huia Publishers.