Book Description
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a poignant retelling of the Trojan War, focusing on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Set in ancient Greece, it explores themes of love, friendship, and destiny, depicting the bond between the two characters as it evolves from childhood companionship to profound love. Through vivid prose and emotional resonance, Miller captures the glory and brutality of war, while delving into the personal struggles and sacrifices of its heroes.
Creative Description
For the book jacket design, I wanted to incorporate elements and symbols from the story and apply them to the cover design tastefully. I also wanted to play around with the interactive aspect of the cover and explore the notion of hiding and revealing pieces of the design to change meaning.
The result is a cover that is simple. The bottom cover is black, with a thin, delicate design of a lyre on the front and a set of dice on the back. The dice belong to Patroclus and represent him. The lyre belongs to Achilles and represents his “song.” The design of the lyre also transforms into the tip of an arrow with a drop of blood at the bottom to reference the tragic nature of the story. However, the blood and arrow are covered and hidden by a partial outside cover, which is the sea and a fig branch. The figs are important because they are a staple of Achilles and Patroclus’ childhood they spent together and a symbol of their innocence. The sea is the ocean over which they travel to reach Troy… and their doom.
The typeface is meant to reference the setting of the story since it looks like Ancient Greek, but is still English.
The color palette I chose was meant to reference ancient greek vases called amphoras, which often had stories from mythology painted on them.
