'Flowers for Algernon' by Daniel Keyes – Cover Concept

For this week's cover concept I wanted to create a piece that went away from the previous covers that have come before. Flowers for Algernon, a book famous for it's sci-fi story of a main gaining super intelligence only for it to slip away, is commonly known for one main visual device: Algernon, the mouse who was first tested on by the scientists.

While a mouse is an easy visual device to use I wanted the cover to feel like a contemporary science fiction novel. So my decision was to combine a mono weight font with a some sleek black and white visuals to end up with a very Chris Cunningham "All Is Full of Love" sort of vibe.

When I found the image of the black and white flipping pieces I knew immediately it was the visual metaphor I was looking for. I wanted it to represent the neurons in Charlie's brain firing, his mind opening and expanding like ways it hadn't before. And with the very real possibility that they could also turn back off.