The cover of the Iliad was brought to our attention by a recent Boing Boing post. Ben and I agreed that the idea was intriguing, but something seemed to be missing from it. The cover of the Odyssey, on the other hand, is a knock outta the park.
Very weak cover. I would even venture to say it would be impossible to make a great cover using this image which is probably on of the most reproduced images of the 20th century. What is going on with the type on the bottom? I can honestly say that 99% of the time large and small caps don’t work. In this case with the choice of font and tight kerning only compound the problem. The type on the bottom of the cover is completely disconnected from the title font.
The Iliad cover is amazing, but that type at the bottom is a travesty. Also a travesty: The overly silly serifs in “Odyssey’s” font. Looks like a logo for an Irish bar or something.
The Iliad cover completely fails as a cover – either pick an era and stick with it, or make a better transition from one part of the cover to the next!
The Odyssey cover sort of works… the image is lovely, (text is awkward) but it doesn’t seem to fit at all. Add an astronaut in the landscape, staring up at the Earth, and you’ve got it made. But just this – this is sort of pointless.
It’s interesting to see how varied the responses are to these two covers – loving one and dismissing the other.
I saw the same Boing Boing post and was immediately impressed by the Iliad cover (probably most by the concept and photo…I don’t think the type was well executed) while the Odyssey cover leaves me completely cold.
Looking at them side by side reminds me of the Grove Press Pocket Canon Books. Some of the covers I thought were fantastic, others terribly clichéd. Possibly just a danger of trying to capture well known works with a single photo.
the poor use of space relating to the type on both these books kill them for me – especially the letter spacing! poor font choice aswell in my opinion. They could both be so much better! shame.
Bloomsbury Auctions has a very fine old copy of ‘Ilias’ on sale. Designed by the famous Aristide Maillol, 1907-1910. (Maillol began with interes in tapestry design.) See how the meaning arises through ornament (as in Helen Yentus’s design for Camus’s Exile and Kingdom).
I admire the designer’s attempt to come up with a new fresh take on these classic poems by linking them with modern parallels.
One is a story of two empires at war that will determine the course of history.
The other is an epic long journey to get back home.
Conceptually it works for me. Unfortunately the execution doesn’t really help push the concept.
But Lucian Bernhard’s Bernhard Modern is a great font.
That is exactly the point. The concept is interesting but it fails in the execution. Both images are so iconic that they overwhelm the content in a way that the Pocket Canon images do not. The title font is a great font but how can you try and compliment it with that “Danielle Steele” font below.
It could be reasonably argued that the whole point of the series is to piggyback on the emotional context of the momentous images in order to relevantize the books to contemporary readers.
This : is to : This, as That : is to: That
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen would be to dilute the concept and the intent.
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen but that were provocative and impactful would not dilute the concept–just the contrary. That is what made the Pocket Canon series so strong.
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen but that were provocative and impactful would not dilute the concept–just the contrary. That is what made the Pocket Canon series so strong. The premise is good but I am convinced that there is a more original way to express it.
The Pocket Canons and these have nothing to do with each other. Just because they both use black and white photography and wrap a classic text in unexpected packaging doesn’t mean they’re attempting to achieve the same goal.
Lambardo’s translation is an every-man’s translation. It’s simple and modern. It’s easily read by anyone, it’s completely new in the respect. As such, the purpose of these books is to place these classic texts in a new and familiar frame of reference for potential new buyers.
By using well-known photos, the designer (and marketers) are drawing parallels between these different epics in an attempt to give the potential customer a new understanding of the book, one they may not have considered before, and subsequently get them more interested in picking it up for the first time. “The moon landing was an amazing feat of adventure, suspense, and dedication. So is this!”
This isn’t a universal solution for the Odyssey or the Iliad, this is a specific attempt to gain a new market for a very specific translation aimed at a certain kind of reader and audience.
I guess what I am saying is that the rationale for the covers makes sense but I still feel it was an opportunity lost. They fail on the execution end of the process. Most of my comments are directed at the Odyssey which is the least successful of the three. The view of the earth from the moon is a hackneyed image which deprives the cover of any potential visual impact. That is probably my biggest beef with the cover.
beauGeste, I think you’re missing the point of these covers. Even though I agree that the typography of the secondary information is botched (a clean sans-serif, set small and all caps, would have killed), the overall concept is quite sophisticated, and, as Ben points out, incompatible with the style of allusive photography in the Pocket Canon.
These three works exist in our culture as more than literary classics: they have become reference points by which we define our experience. It’s impossible to talk about a perilous journey without thinking of the Odyssey; our ideas of bravery and sacrifice cannot be extricated from their description on the Illiad. Though perhaps less famous, the Aenid has in many ways defined our language for catastrophic loss—and eventual resurgeance. By choosing such iconic images for the covers, the designer has clevely alluded to the cultural significance of these works. Would there have been a moon landing without the Odyssey? Perhaps, but it certainly would not have been understood in the same way.
There is great, latteral thinking on display here; too bad that they did not handle the secondary type with the same grace and intelligence.
Just to make it clear. I GOT THE CONCEPT from the get go. If I had read Ben and Jose’s rationale for the series before actually having seen them I would have thought, on an intellectual level, these are going to be great. Upon seeing them however, they fall short and I am trying to understand why that is. One possibility is that using iconic images, that are so infused with their own meaning, and putting them in another context can result in a kind of ‘push and pull’ that never quite resolves itself.
This cover blows. It’s out of this world how utterly uninspired it is. This is the Odyssey for crying out load! Not a cheap version of “My Life as A Dog”! And yes, the type treatment stinks. Sorry. Better luck next time. Unfortunately the Earth is running out of trees… to create more shit covers like this. But what are you gonna do? All your covers have been shot down. The publisher needs something. You take the cliché image of earth form the moon, slap some old looking font on there and Viola! The publisher loves it. In fact they have commissioned you to design 10 more of their “Classics”. And your still in business. Your happy. You have food and a roof over your head. Your a “Graphic Designer”. And you feel lucky to be able to say that…
I suppose I can appreciate the attempt to contemporize antiquarian text through the use of modern photography, but why use deliberately specific photographs which have no direct, or indirect, bearing on the text?
Goofy.
Awkward.
Perplexing.
From a literary standpoint it plays with the source text too much. This is an example of when the cover tries to transcend the content, or tries to make the content transcend to another level, and falls flat.
I like the concept, but my problem with the comparison is that it seems too literal—the specific photographs just kill it for me. (And I’m not fond of the typography either.) Instead of saying “the Odyssey is a story of anyone far from home,” for example, it seems to say, “Look! The Odyssey is JUST LIKE the journey to the moon!” And that doesn’t work for me, on a lot of levels.
Conceptually, these only work for people who are very familiar with the novels. That being said, the iliad one is slightly better than the odyssey cover. I feel like the odyssey cover basically fails, however.
Typefaces man, typefaces. I dunno, I’m torn between the clever-ness and the lack of depth.
Has anyone here read these translations? The covers reflect the the style of Stanley Lombardo; his translations are retellings of the story in a different mode and for a different audience than the original. The wwII theme and the lunar journey theme aren’t divorced form the content of either book
I thought they were great, though as others have said the execution could be a little better. Not as big a fan of the Odyssey cover, since it just seems too obvious (I’m largely thinking of the “Odyssey” module from the Apollo XIII attempt).
But the parallels between the Greek war against Troy and the allied landings in Normandy are right on.
They’re still doing it too, with Aeschylus’ Oresteia featuring the famour shot of General MacArthur’s parade in New York city, and Euripides’ Bacchae having for a cover what I believe is a police mug shot of Elvis Presley.
I have to admit though, with some of the latest one’s they’re sort of watering down the concept.
The cover of the Iliad was brought to our attention by a recent Boing Boing post. Ben and I agreed that the idea was intriguing, but something seemed to be missing from it. The cover of the Odyssey, on the other hand, is a knock outta the park.
— Eric Jacobsen, 2007-04-13 12:37:00
eh…
— mike, 2007-04-13 16:10:00
Very weak cover. I would even venture to say it would be impossible to make a great cover using this image which is probably on of the most reproduced images of the 20th century. What is going on with the type on the bottom? I can honestly say that 99% of the time large and small caps don’t work. In this case with the choice of font and tight kerning only compound the problem. The type on the bottom of the cover is completely disconnected from the title font.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-13 17:33:00
The Iliad cover is amazing, but that type at the bottom is a travesty. Also a travesty: The overly silly serifs in “Odyssey’s” font. Looks like a logo for an Irish bar or something.
— Doug Nelson, 2007-04-13 17:53:00
The Iliad cover completely fails as a cover – either pick an era and stick with it, or make a better transition from one part of the cover to the next!
The Odyssey cover sort of works… the image is lovely, (text is awkward) but it doesn’t seem to fit at all. Add an astronaut in the landscape, staring up at the Earth, and you’ve got it made. But just this – this is sort of pointless.
— cfk, 2007-04-13 18:01:00
It’s interesting to see how varied the responses are to these two covers – loving one and dismissing the other.
I saw the same Boing Boing post and was immediately impressed by the Iliad cover (probably most by the concept and photo…I don’t think the type was well executed) while the Odyssey cover leaves me completely cold.
Looking at them side by side reminds me of the Grove Press Pocket Canon Books. Some of the covers I thought were fantastic, others terribly clichéd. Possibly just a danger of trying to capture well known works with a single photo.
— Connal Hughes, 2007-04-13 19:43:00
I really dislike both of them – the Iliad one, with its image, seems to me to do a disservice on the level of “Troy”!
— GH, 2007-04-13 20:53:00
REALLY, REALLY BIZARRE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS.
And that font is definitely on my “DO NOT USE” list.
Nice try though…
— C-Dog, 2007-04-14 00:43:00
I like both, they are tightly related to the plot of the books. Great work.
— Max, 2007-04-14 01:10:00
A view of the earth from the moon??? What were they thinking? It isn’t related to the Odyssey at all! And the Iliad didn’t take place in WW2!
— Terry Bigham, 2007-04-14 02:51:00
Eric,
Could you expound on why you think the Odyssey cover is ” a knock outta the park”?
— beauGeste, 2007-04-14 09:12:00
the poor use of space relating to the type on both these books kill them for me – especially the letter spacing! poor font choice aswell in my opinion. They could both be so much better! shame.
— Luke Tonge, 2007-04-14 10:31:00
Bloomsbury Auctions has a very fine old copy of ‘Ilias’ on sale. Designed by the famous Aristide Maillol, 1907-1910. (Maillol began with interes in tapestry design.) See how the meaning arises through ornament (as in Helen Yentus’s design for Camus’s Exile and Kingdom).
http://www.bloomsburyauctions.com/auction/609/10.html
Scroll down to lot 198 to see a photo.
— priit, 2007-04-14 13:41:00
I admire the designer’s attempt to come up with a new fresh take on these classic poems by linking them with modern parallels.
One is a story of two empires at war that will determine the course of history.
The other is an epic long journey to get back home.
Conceptually it works for me. Unfortunately the execution doesn’t really help push the concept.
But Lucian Bernhard’s Bernhard Modern is a great font.
— a 1000 words, 2007-04-14 19:38:00
That is exactly the point. The concept is interesting but it fails in the execution. Both images are so iconic that they overwhelm the content in a way that the Pocket Canon images do not. The title font is a great font but how can you try and compliment it with that “Danielle Steele” font below.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-15 04:20:00
It could be reasonably argued that the whole point of the series is to piggyback on the emotional context of the momentous images in order to relevantize the books to contemporary readers.
This : is to : This, as That : is to: That
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen would be to dilute the concept and the intent.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-04-15 10:58:00
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen but that were provocative and impactful would not dilute the concept–just the contrary. That is what made the Pocket Canon series so strong.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-15 12:37:00
To use photos that everyone hasn’t seen but that were provocative and impactful would not dilute the concept–just the contrary. That is what made the Pocket Canon series so strong. The premise is good but I am convinced that there is a more original way to express it.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-15 12:41:00
The Pocket Canons and these have nothing to do with each other. Just because they both use black and white photography and wrap a classic text in unexpected packaging doesn’t mean they’re attempting to achieve the same goal.
Lambardo’s translation is an every-man’s translation. It’s simple and modern. It’s easily read by anyone, it’s completely new in the respect. As such, the purpose of these books is to place these classic texts in a new and familiar frame of reference for potential new buyers.
By using well-known photos, the designer (and marketers) are drawing parallels between these different epics in an attempt to give the potential customer a new understanding of the book, one they may not have considered before, and subsequently get them more interested in picking it up for the first time. “The moon landing was an amazing feat of adventure, suspense, and dedication. So is this!”
This isn’t a universal solution for the Odyssey or the Iliad, this is a specific attempt to gain a new market for a very specific translation aimed at a certain kind of reader and audience.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-04-15 14:51:00
Also note that there is a third cover in this series, Virgil’s Aeneid, set in the context of the Vietnam memorial.
I’ve added it to the above set.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-04-15 14:56:00
I guess what I am saying is that the rationale for the covers makes sense but I still feel it was an opportunity lost. They fail on the execution end of the process. Most of my comments are directed at the Odyssey which is the least successful of the three. The view of the earth from the moon is a hackneyed image which deprives the cover of any potential visual impact. That is probably my biggest beef with the cover.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-15 15:22:00
beauGeste, I think you’re missing the point of these covers. Even though I agree that the typography of the secondary information is botched (a clean sans-serif, set small and all caps, would have killed), the overall concept is quite sophisticated, and, as Ben points out, incompatible with the style of allusive photography in the Pocket Canon.
These three works exist in our culture as more than literary classics: they have become reference points by which we define our experience. It’s impossible to talk about a perilous journey without thinking of the Odyssey; our ideas of bravery and sacrifice cannot be extricated from their description on the Illiad. Though perhaps less famous, the Aenid has in many ways defined our language for catastrophic loss—and eventual resurgeance. By choosing such iconic images for the covers, the designer has clevely alluded to the cultural significance of these works. Would there have been a moon landing without the Odyssey? Perhaps, but it certainly would not have been understood in the same way.
There is great, latteral thinking on display here; too bad that they did not handle the secondary type with the same grace and intelligence.
— Jose q, 2007-04-15 20:28:00
Just to make it clear. I GOT THE CONCEPT from the get go. If I had read Ben and Jose’s rationale for the series before actually having seen them I would have thought, on an intellectual level, these are going to be great. Upon seeing them however, they fall short and I am trying to understand why that is. One possibility is that using iconic images, that are so infused with their own meaning, and putting them in another context can result in a kind of ‘push and pull’ that never quite resolves itself.
— beauGeste, 2007-04-16 06:05:00
This cover blows. It’s out of this world how utterly uninspired it is. This is the Odyssey for crying out load! Not a cheap version of “My Life as A Dog”! And yes, the type treatment stinks. Sorry. Better luck next time. Unfortunately the Earth is running out of trees… to create more shit covers like this. But what are you gonna do? All your covers have been shot down. The publisher needs something. You take the cliché image of earth form the moon, slap some old looking font on there and Viola! The publisher loves it. In fact they have commissioned you to design 10 more of their “Classics”. And your still in business. Your happy. You have food and a roof over your head. Your a “Graphic Designer”. And you feel lucky to be able to say that…
— Ian B. Shimkoviak, 2007-04-17 12:36:00
I suppose I can appreciate the attempt to contemporize antiquarian text through the use of modern photography, but why use deliberately specific photographs which have no direct, or indirect, bearing on the text?
Goofy.
Awkward.
Perplexing.
From a literary standpoint it plays with the source text too much. This is an example of when the cover tries to transcend the content, or tries to make the content transcend to another level, and falls flat.
If it ain’t broke, don’t try to break it.
— C-Dog, 2007-04-17 20:39:00
I like the concept, but my problem with the comparison is that it seems too literal—the specific photographs just kill it for me. (And I’m not fond of the typography either.) Instead of saying “the Odyssey is a story of anyone far from home,” for example, it seems to say, “Look! The Odyssey is JUST LIKE the journey to the moon!” And that doesn’t work for me, on a lot of levels.
— Persia, 2007-04-19 06:08:00
Conceptually, these only work for people who are very familiar with the novels. That being said, the iliad one is slightly better than the odyssey cover. I feel like the odyssey cover basically fails, however.
Typefaces man, typefaces. I dunno, I’m torn between the clever-ness and the lack of depth.
— Ned Wright, 2007-04-26 07:44:00
Has anyone here read these translations? The covers reflect the the style of Stanley Lombardo; his translations are retellings of the story in a different mode and for a different audience than the original. The wwII theme and the lunar journey theme aren’t divorced form the content of either book
— PA, 2007-11-04 19:14:00
I thought they were great, though as others have said the execution could be a little better. Not as big a fan of the Odyssey cover, since it just seems too obvious (I’m largely thinking of the “Odyssey” module from the Apollo XIII attempt).
But the parallels between the Greek war against Troy and the allied landings in Normandy are right on.
They’re still doing it too, with Aeschylus’ Oresteia featuring the famour shot of General MacArthur’s parade in New York city, and Euripides’ Bacchae having for a cover what I believe is a police mug shot of Elvis Presley.
I have to admit though, with some of the latest one’s they’re sort of watering down the concept.
— Andrew, 2008-07-22 13:45:00