Overview
I designed the book cover for Bees and Plants - Story of a Love That We Are Making Impossible (Api e Piante - Storia di un amore che stiamo rendendo impossible) by Italian author, naturalist and beekeeper Romano Nesler. Through diary entries and insights on beekeeping, the book highlights the challenges faced by pollinators endangered by modern agricultural techniques and decreasing biodiversity.
The Vision
The client provided a draft of the book for me to read, along with keywords like coevolution, biodiversity, and memoir, as well as some basic illustrations. The cover needed to reflect a blend of scientific, narrative, and biographical elements, steering away from the technical style of his previous manuals.
Challenge
Due to his background in educational pedagogy, the author tended to structure every element of the book (text, cover, illustrations, photos) in a style typical of PowerPoint presentations. He needed guidance in applying a more fitting style to his work.
My Role
My goal was to embrace the author's vision and transform it into a modern, appealing cover design, creating a vector file that met the publisher's requirements. I also supported the author with ideation, pagination, layout, and general styling.
Visual Design
Layout and styling
Illustration
Client
Romano Nesler, Book Author
Type
Visual Design
Year
2024
Process
Working with the Author
As a beekeeper myself, I closely followed and supported the author in his work, gaining a profound understanding of not only the world of bees and natural beekeeping but also his vision, perspectives, and concerns.
Research
Fortunately, I own several nature-themed books. I gathered these to generate ideas, share and collaborate with the author, seeking not only visual inspiration but also pagination concepts for the text.
Drafting, Sharing, Repeating
I began by creating several cover drafts based on the author's ideas and the illustrations he provided. However, I also explored alternative, modern approaches that aligned more with the title of the book. This iterative process, involving myself, the author, and the illustrator, led to the selection of a final design that combined elements from both the author’s and my own proposals.
Fine Tuning
Once the final design was approved, I focused on the details—adjusting color hues, adapting illustrations and photographs, and fine-tuning the measurements for print.
Outcome
Some say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I firmly believe that first impressions have a significant impact on a reader's decision. What we created immediately conveys not only a sense of immersion in nature but also the delicate bond between bees and plants. It’s a connection as fragile as a thin line, threatened by human activity, yet presented in an attractive and organic way.
What made it memorable?
I was both happy and surprised to see the author’s enthusiasm and satisfaction with my design and layout solutions, especially ones I thought he wouldn’t like. Clearly, basing the work on solid research and tangible insights paid off. And, of course, this was my first book cover design—hopefully not the last! :)
