Last year I was once again asked by Penguin Random House to design a book cover for 'King Solomon's Mines' as a part of their 'Puffin Classics' range. It was a super fun project to work on, trying to capture a sense of adventure and discovery to match the book.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/c82dfc8e-5417-4308-b3ad-8b14ee231dc5_rw_1920.png?h=5a6366913a5215e70cdf5f2630f1195f)
Super rough idea sketches
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/4f8ef6f8-0c01-45a6-88e0-60074cd68efd_rw_1920.png?h=fecc3e4f6f1b5c646d0ff80482c53b07)
A couple initial layout options
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/fac310f3-7215-4946-87e3-669861983bd5_rw_1920.png?h=0f3ebd13158d0e2892f9e230a3fac229)
Left, very rough colour sketch - right, a neater version
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/cc1786eb-766a-4f95-b3a6-11c99b773866_rw_1920.png?h=722f6db568328da3be468f6e3505c93b)
Process for the final
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/16deb757-d55a-41b5-8df7-b292dff24a81_rw_1200.png?h=a819508c6e107ac9cda058064af355c2)
Custom type for the cover & spine, drawn up in Illustrator based on sketches
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/a17bb6b1-e8b0-4272-936d-bd8d058d2c12_rw_1200.png?h=d2b9d60e8c61872c08a8dbcad96b7439)
Four colour options - they went with the bottom left
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/a0e16306-91f0-4ee3-8b3d-c91332e563c4_rw_1200.png?h=e5e95a1d9295aaa7e70e11360840f950)
The final book cover
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/c7158298-6750-4af5-82af-29d651410e30/59017628-39f4-4830-acdd-3eb81b706e23_rw_1200.png?h=b5006412086ec8c3f925802510bdd31b)