Song of Achilles Book Cover Redesign

Overview

I was given the prompt to redesign any book cover I wanted, and I chose my very favorite book: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Main Illustration

The book is centered around the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, which is complicated by the war and the expectations put on Achilles. I wanted to final illustration to show both the passion between the two main characters and the tragedy of the war.

I played around with multiple different patterns and colors to be surrounding them, but I ended up using swirling mosaics that referenced the famous Ancient Greek art form.

Cover Layout

I chose to use design elements that drew from Greek iconography. I used a gold texture to fill these elements and the main text. The end result is a cover that reflects the flowing prose of Miller's writing, the main elements of the story, and reflects the culture in which it is set.