To mark the 200th anniversary since Jane Austens death, The Times Literary Supplement wanted to create an illustrated book that gathered together the writings on the celebrated author from the likes of Melvyn Bragg, EM Forster and Virginia Woolf.
According to the TLS, the purpose of the book was to give “Janeites” (hardcore Austen fans) something that “lives up to the standards of the literary excellence that they expect” while also appealing to non-experts looking to learn more about her life and work. Creatively, it meant making sure there was a diversity of long and short articles, the basics as well as esoteric facts and anecdotes, and that the visuals really complemented the words without drowning them out. The “bookazine” format was chosen to allow readers to easily flick through different texts in a similar way they would read a magazine, while upholding a degree of academic rigour.
The cover image was created by graphic designer Valentina Verc, who says that the main challenge was to show the breadth of Austen’s work in a single image. “For me it all came back to the heart,” she says. “Jane Austen’s novels are all about romance, love, passion. I think she captures all the complications of the human heart in her books, and so I created what looks like a heart but within it you can see symbols and icons that represent each of her books. At first glance simple, but full of layers of complexity: that is what Jane Austen’s writing is all about.”
The book was published in July 2017 and featured in both Campaign and Creative Review.
Credits: Issue Editor - Michael Caines, Creative Director - Darren Smith, Art Director - Sachini Imbuldeniya, Designer - Graham Smith, Picture Editors - Matt Glynn and Kara Messina, Illustrators - Darren Smith, Valentina Verc, Dan Neather, Simon Jugovic Fink and Martin Haake
