The purpose of this project was to discover, through the analysis of each of Calvino’s qualities, a brand identity for the novel we were working with. Utilizing the design principles of McNab, we were supposed to create an emblem that embodied the work. Each aspect of the design was supposed to convey an idea or concept central to the text. Through this exploration of design and literary quality we were supposed to become more aware of the connotation of the connectedness of literature and design. By rendering a a single emblem to identify a entire novel, there i undoubtedly a good deal of simplification. However, as I explain the emblem that I designed for Kurt Vonnegut’s the Sirens of Titan I hope to give you insight into how each piece contributes to the whole.
In its most simple form, my emblem for the Sirens of Titan is a hexagon being held aloft by two birds. However each small piece of this design has meaning. The hexagon represents the nature of Vonnegut’s writing style. He once wrote a paper in which he gave advice to writers. He included seven rules.
- Find a subject you care about
- Do not ramble, though
- Keep it simple
- Have guts to cut
- Sound like yourself
- Say what you mean
- Pity the readers
Under the fourth point he wrote “If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out.” This in essence is Vonnegut’s style. Concise and too the point, each word furthers the plot. The birds, for me, are the light nature of the novel in the face of heavy subject matter. There are two because each represents one of the main characters, Malachi Constant/Unk and Winston Niles Rumford. Finally the concentric hexagons were a sort of spiral that shows the nonlinear timeline and plot of the book. And for a small quirk, I rotated the innermost hexagon a few degrees so it does not sit perfectly within the others. I fell that it elucidates and hints at the quirky tone of Vonnegut’s books.
