MacEwan Book of the Year Design Series:

"Foe"

Abstract

The front cover of this book design shows a significant amount of details that can be found throughout the novel. The worn-down wood texture represents the Barnhouse, its old age apparent by the deep carvings of the wood’s texture. A beetle rests inside the ‘O’ in FOE, which represents the beetle that the replacements, Junior and Henrietta, were captivated by when they first saw it. The beetle inside the “o” is inspired by a quote: “It’s not an infestation, I say. It’s only one.” The beetle’s colour easily blends well with the colour of the wood background, almost making the beetle seem like it’s making an infiltration into Junior’s home; this infiltration is how the replacement believed that Terrance wants to take over his spot as his replacement while he is out in space. The motif of the wood texture and the beetle are carried throughout the entire novel, creating an intriguing visual representation of the replacements and their original owners. It is the beetle that helps us tell the difference between the replacement and the original owners, and it is the Barnhouse that makes the two similar to each other. A serif font, Adobe Garamond Pro and Yu Mincho, is used throughout the entirety of the book, emphasizing Junior’s importance on keeping things the way they are and not willing to accept change. This also applies to Henrietta’s replacement, where the significance of her memories only caters to the original Junior’s image of her, representing their failed marriage.

Department: Design Studies 

Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pacher