'Giovanni's Room' by James Baldwin – Cover Concept - v01

My partners book club read 'Giovanni's Room' last month, James Baldwin's classic novel, and it made me want to try out some cover concepts for this gem of a book.

For this concept, I was inspired by an iconic photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe from 1977. The main character, David, is described as being blond, and Baldwin's inspiration for the story itself came from meeting a blond guy in a bar in Paris who bought he and his friend's drinks. Later, the man was arrested and guillotined.

All this to say, I felt this photo was a powerful representation of his story and the central character. Then pairing the photo with a script typeface gives this an overall nostalgic feeling.