Designer: gray318
title: The Long Road of the Junkmailer
author: Patrick Holland
publisher: University of Queensland Press, 2006
Designer: gray318
title: The Long Road of the Junkmailer
author: Patrick Holland
publisher: University of Queensland Press, 2006
There (was) quite the discussion over on Foreword about one of gray318’s latest covers. See for yourself.
Personally, I think they’re off their rocker.
All frustrations I have with this headache-inducing treatment fit perfectly in with the concept, which makes it all that much more wonderful. I especially like how Gray seamlessly combined starlight with the mailing sticker silhouettes, (the story follows a junkmailer who wanders the streets at night, stumbling on an eclectic assortment of characters and stories.)
— Ben Pieratt, 2006-09-07 07:28:00
I think that’s quite brilliant. It’s ugly and confusing and spot on. It’s all the better for being just two colour (it could have been so tempting to throw lots of colour at it). The alterative cover shown on Forward doesn’t work for me at all, perhaps I’m a bit dim but I don’t get it.
— Richard Weston, 2006-09-07 07:57:00
An alternate version is posted on the publisher’s site:
http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book_details.php?id=0702235709
Not sure which represents the actual book.
— James, 2006-09-07 08:00:00
Ah, the “dotwhack!” Where do I look first? I have a headache. When I first looked at this I couldn’t figure out what it was trying to say . . . but the same is true with most junk mail. I do like the red version better but still like the two color. The more color just seems too easy.
The other concept on Forward . . . what the heck was that?
This just screams fantastic!
— C. A. Cherry, 2006-09-07 08:25:00
I don’t want to look at it.
— rek, 2006-09-07 09:00:00
The alternate color treatment loses the starry night color concept.
— Ben, 2006-09-07 09:15:00
I like the red version better. It’s a much easier read, especially with the author’s name in one box. I think that the 2 color looks too classy to be junkmail.
— mike, 2006-09-07 11:26:00
At first blush, the author’s name scanned as “Patrick Long”. Did this happen to anyone else?
— dekadetia, 2006-09-07 13:55:00
I think I read “The Patrick Long of The Junkmailer”
— Ben Pieratt, 2006-09-07 14:09:00
I’m not sold yet. Perhaps it’s because it makes me think of the ‘the new new journalism’ cover.
— cam, 2006-09-07 15:17:00
That’s the best cover I’ve seen in a while. I’d have to see more of the designer’s work to know what’s up. God knows they could have plucked this out of an abandoned Dover book.
— nonraymondhawkey, 2006-09-08 00:22:00
Brilliant!
The idea, the colors, everything.
Loves it!
— Olof, 2006-09-08 00:51:00
nonraysomething – Click the “FEATURES” button at the top of this site. Gray318 was our first interview a while back.
— Ben Pieratt, 2006-09-08 07:39:00
The author’s name reads much better on the red version. Since it’s on the publisher’s site, I assume the red version is the final, printed one.
— Jonathan Sainsbury, 2006-09-08 09:50:00
Thanks, Ben. Got it. If it was plucked from an abandoned Dover book—well, it was a brilliant pluck. Gray318 rulz.
— nonraymondhawkey, 2006-09-08 12:58:00
From an artistic standpoint, it’s very clever. However, from a functional (selling books) standpoint, I think it fails. If I saw that on a table at Borders or my local independent bookstore, I’d be making a mad dash for my Advil migraine rather than pick it up.
— dharmashanti, 2006-10-18 15:35:00
= i wish those were stickers that i could peel off and throw away =
— perry, 2006-11-09 17:59:00
because this is a wonderfull piece of Lierature i feel it deserves better than a page full of shapes taken from a computer
— Peter J, 2007-03-10 11:05:00
Too hard to read. I don’t like it. Hurts my eyes.
— Piglet, 2007-06-26 13:59:00