an actual conversation that took place in my house the other day
“So this is the book I was talking about, don’t you think it’s adorable?”
“I don’t get it.”
“It’s a metaphor. Like, if a relationship goes on for too long, it’s ruined, and there isn’t really any going back, that’s what this book is about.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. How was it a relationship in the first place?”
“Well, they were perfectly good pieces of toast, but they didn’t take it out of the toaster fast enough.”
“How was the relationship while they were in the Wonder Bread bag?”
“That was courtship, I guess.”
“So the toaster is a metaphor for the duration of the marriage?”
“No, it kind of symbolizes… it’s the wrong toaster maybe. Or the pieces of bread didn’t belong together.”
“So is strawberry jam like the great, wild sex that keep people together despite being part of a relationship that shouldn’t really exist to begin with?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“And margarine is that sort of plain vanilla sex that people tell themselves is great but is really kind of unsatisfying?”
”...”
“If you’re sitting there eating toast, but secretly want bacon and some big links of breakfast sausage, does that mean you’re a closeted homosexual? Is a half a grapefruit with a nipple-like maraschino cherry the lesbian affair?”
“It’s just toast. It means that… it’s burnt, okay…”
“A crepe or a Belgian waffle is like some kind of torrid fling with a coworker from overseas that you tell yourself was just a one-time thing but you can’t stop asking yourself if it means that you are really incapable of having a lifelong monogamous relationship?”
“Yes.”
“A cup of Earl Grey represents the older parents, looking on sadly as a couple tries to make a breakfast out of a couple burnt pieces of toast.”
”...”
“I don’t even like breakfast. Like, I’d rather just skip to lunch. Does that make me asexual?”
Nobody likes burnt toast. I like the concept here. Kind of a snap back to reality. The type treatments blow, but i am a 100% sure it was editorial. Or a designer who likes small caps at a bunch of sizes and feels that it’s easy to read… one of those 2…
When you eat bread straight out of the bag, you are not obliged to finish it. You can eat half of it and put it back in. It will be just as fresh later. When you toast a piece of bread, you have made the firm commitment to eating it, because it is only good for so many minutes after coming out of the toaster. That commitment means you won’t leave the house and get some eggs at a diner or pick up bagels at the bakery around the corner. That commitment also represents the time you’ve put in to waiting god knows how many minutes for the bread to toast.
When does bread get burnt? When you forget about the commitment you’ve made to it. Your eyes linger. You’ve been diverted by the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial on the television in the adjoining room. You can’t decide what shirt wear, so you try on several outfits, forgetting what’s cooking downstairs. You seek a belt that you can adjust after lunch and dinner.
And sometimes, you say screw it. What you really want is an egg McMuffin, and you let that toast turn from lightly brown to black. In a haste, you head two blocks north to the McDonald’s on Richmond.
You’d never be so torn if you didn’t have to toast that bread. But some people, if they are ready to make that kind of commitment, well . . . they don’t burn their toast. What’s more delicious then a perfectly crisp piece of bread? So many delicious things melt on it that wouldn’t melt on untoasted breads. And when you make a sandwich on toasted bread, the soft part doesn’t get stuck to the roof of your mouth.
who are these people? i think its unnecessary to put their names on front. or maybe with that height it needs more stuff to include in the cover. but still its doesnt look good on the lower part.
i like the concept though… “your marriage is toast!” hahaha… thanks to those names….lol
too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text.
Haha! I love this cover. Simple, centered type. The image abstracting the title. Simple and powerful. I mean…burnt toast? Could there be anything worse in the morning? Well, maybe.. !
It’s a real pain in the ass when a publisher wants this much text on a cover. There is no logical marketing reason for it. It’s so reflective of the shortsightedness of many publishers in regard to the graphic image. A picture is still worth a thousand words. It will always be. But it is true, the type could have been set a bit nicer here…
God what a depressing topic. Ick type. I’m hoping this was art directed by an over-enthusiastic editor.
After reading several blogs I’m curious where this Ian character works. Is he a book designer? Forgive my ignorance, I’ve never run across the name before.
Hm. I art directed this, so the concept is mine, still, I should have had better control over all that type. ther’s a leson her for me.
I remeber showing an earlier version-with less type- at a meeting, and some editor actually said ” I don’t get it”.
One of my collegues screamed “it’s a metaphor!”. Then they buty it and ask you later to add more type and make it bigger
It’s not easy, even with a good concept.
Hm. I art directed this, so the concept is mine, still, I should have had better control over all that type. ther’s a leson her for me.
I remeber showing an earlier version-with less type- at a meeting, and some editor actually said ” I don’t get it”.
One of my collegues screamed “it’s a metaphor!”. Then they buty it and ask you later to add more type and make it bigger
It’s not easy, even with a good concept.
Isn’t the burned toast metaphor a little sexist? To me it evokes the old complaints amount women who don’t care enough or know enough to prepare a decent meal for their husbands.
I’m a woman, and I didn’t take offense at it. On the other hand, I’m an older woman, and I grew up with those stereotypes. So maybe I’m just burned-out :)
The image is eye-catching. The relationship between the image and titling isn’t 1:1 or counterpoint…so just what is it? (And so the consumer picks up the book to find out just what this book is all about).
Glad it wasn’t a fish…
Clever cover. I just think it’s missing the refinment it really deserves. How people don’t understand it is beyond me.
I wonder how the book would look without any of the overly distracting texts, and the title simply edited onto the toast as maybe unburnt parts of toast, e.g. in Direct Smile or other software, or even just masked out so the toast doesn’t burn. Only a idea though, probably looks rubbish in execution haha.
Great job as a whole though, shame about the amount of text.
an actual conversation that took place in my house the other day
“So this is the book I was talking about, don’t you think it’s adorable?”
“I don’t get it.”
“It’s a metaphor. Like, if a relationship goes on for too long, it’s ruined, and there isn’t really any going back, that’s what this book is about.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. How was it a relationship in the first place?”
“Well, they were perfectly good pieces of toast, but they didn’t take it out of the toaster fast enough.”
“How was the relationship while they were in the Wonder Bread bag?”
“That was courtship, I guess.”
“So the toaster is a metaphor for the duration of the marriage?”
“No, it kind of symbolizes… it’s the wrong toaster maybe. Or the pieces of bread didn’t belong together.”
“So is strawberry jam like the great, wild sex that keep people together despite being part of a relationship that shouldn’t really exist to begin with?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“And margarine is that sort of plain vanilla sex that people tell themselves is great but is really kind of unsatisfying?”
”...”
“If you’re sitting there eating toast, but secretly want bacon and some big links of breakfast sausage, does that mean you’re a closeted homosexual? Is a half a grapefruit with a nipple-like maraschino cherry the lesbian affair?”
“It’s just toast. It means that… it’s burnt, okay…”
“A crepe or a Belgian waffle is like some kind of torrid fling with a coworker from overseas that you tell yourself was just a one-time thing but you can’t stop asking yourself if it means that you are really incapable of having a lifelong monogamous relationship?”
“Yes.”
“A cup of Earl Grey represents the older parents, looking on sadly as a couple tries to make a breakfast out of a couple burnt pieces of toast.”
”...”
“I don’t even like breakfast. Like, I’d rather just skip to lunch. Does that make me asexual?”
“It means you’re a wanker.”
— Eric Jacobsen, 2007-07-28 20:49:00
Large and small caps run amok – Yikes!
— beauGeste, 2007-07-30 08:31:00
Nobody likes burnt toast. I like the concept here. Kind of a snap back to reality. The type treatments blow, but i am a 100% sure it was editorial. Or a designer who likes small caps at a bunch of sizes and feels that it’s easy to read… one of those 2…
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2007-07-30 08:53:00
When you eat bread straight out of the bag, you are not obliged to finish it. You can eat half of it and put it back in. It will be just as fresh later. When you toast a piece of bread, you have made the firm commitment to eating it, because it is only good for so many minutes after coming out of the toaster. That commitment means you won’t leave the house and get some eggs at a diner or pick up bagels at the bakery around the corner. That commitment also represents the time you’ve put in to waiting god knows how many minutes for the bread to toast.
When does bread get burnt? When you forget about the commitment you’ve made to it. Your eyes linger. You’ve been diverted by the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial on the television in the adjoining room. You can’t decide what shirt wear, so you try on several outfits, forgetting what’s cooking downstairs. You seek a belt that you can adjust after lunch and dinner.
And sometimes, you say screw it. What you really want is an egg McMuffin, and you let that toast turn from lightly brown to black. In a haste, you head two blocks north to the McDonald’s on Richmond.
You’d never be so torn if you didn’t have to toast that bread. But some people, if they are ready to make that kind of commitment, well . . . they don’t burn their toast. What’s more delicious then a perfectly crisp piece of bread? So many delicious things melt on it that wouldn’t melt on untoasted breads. And when you make a sandwich on toasted bread, the soft part doesn’t get stuck to the roof of your mouth.
— dylan, 2007-07-30 09:52:00
That’s so beautiful, dylan, I could cry.
— Corey V., 2007-07-30 13:31:00
When did this turn into a poetry reading?
— mike, 2007-07-30 15:50:00
who are these people? i think its unnecessary to put their names on front. or maybe with that height it needs more stuff to include in the cover. but still its doesnt look good on the lower part.
i like the concept though… “your marriage is toast!” hahaha… thanks to those names….lol
— supercow, 2007-07-30 20:54:00
I agree. Good concept, bad execution.
— Auguste, 2007-07-30 22:08:00
too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text. too much text.
— Luke Tonge, 2007-07-31 02:53:00
Haha! I love this cover. Simple, centered type. The image abstracting the title. Simple and powerful. I mean…burnt toast? Could there be anything worse in the morning? Well, maybe.. !
— Blake, 2007-07-31 04:56:00
Trainwreck.
— Babs, 2007-07-31 09:25:00
It’s a real pain in the ass when a publisher wants this much text on a cover. There is no logical marketing reason for it. It’s so reflective of the shortsightedness of many publishers in regard to the graphic image. A picture is still worth a thousand words. It will always be. But it is true, the type could have been set a bit nicer here…
— Ian Shimkoviak, 2007-07-31 10:49:00
I’ll pass. Gassssssss.
— C-Dog, 2007-08-01 02:35:00
God what a depressing topic. Ick type. I’m hoping this was art directed by an over-enthusiastic editor.
After reading several blogs I’m curious where this Ian character works. Is he a book designer? Forgive my ignorance, I’ve never run across the name before.
— slocumnavigator, 2007-08-02 08:35:00
Hm. I art directed this, so the concept is mine, still, I should have had better control over all that type. ther’s a leson her for me.
I remeber showing an earlier version-with less type- at a meeting, and some editor actually said ” I don’t get it”.
One of my collegues screamed “it’s a metaphor!”. Then they buty it and ask you later to add more type and make it bigger
It’s not easy, even with a good concept.
— Anne Twomey, 2007-08-03 20:31:00
Hm. I art directed this, so the concept is mine, still, I should have had better control over all that type. ther’s a leson her for me.
I remeber showing an earlier version-with less type- at a meeting, and some editor actually said ” I don’t get it”.
One of my collegues screamed “it’s a metaphor!”. Then they buty it and ask you later to add more type and make it bigger
It’s not easy, even with a good concept.
— Anne Twomey, 2007-08-03 20:32:00
Excuse my spelling above.
— Anne Twomey, 2007-08-03 20:34:00
Isn’t the burned toast metaphor a little sexist? To me it evokes the old complaints amount women who don’t care enough or know enough to prepare a decent meal for their husbands.
— Karl Weber, 2007-08-23 08:24:00
I’m a woman, and I didn’t take offense at it. On the other hand, I’m an older woman, and I grew up with those stereotypes. So maybe I’m just burned-out :)
— shorty, 2007-08-31 11:18:00
The image is eye-catching. The relationship between the image and titling isn’t 1:1 or counterpoint…so just what is it? (And so the consumer picks up the book to find out just what this book is all about).
Glad it wasn’t a fish…
— Leora, 2007-09-05 22:32:00
Clever cover. I just think it’s missing the refinment it really deserves. How people don’t understand it is beyond me.
I wonder how the book would look without any of the overly distracting texts, and the title simply edited onto the toast as maybe unburnt parts of toast, e.g. in Direct Smile or other software, or even just masked out so the toast doesn’t burn. Only a idea though, probably looks rubbish in execution haha.
Great job as a whole though, shame about the amount of text.
— James Alexander, 2008-10-25 01:17:00