Designing this book cover was all about the story. Jens Albrecht’s “Jugendherbergszivi” pays homage to the Civilian Service. The main character Stu works at a youth hostel where he meets a lot of young girls and falls in love.
Since the book is inspired by a real life experience, I collected old pictures from the location where the story took place to capture the atmosphere as best as possible. Then I started sketching for composition and style. Once the rough sketch of what the cover might look like was chosen I refined all of the details and polished the final design. I pointed out some interesting details like the very old-school room booking system at the reception. The cards in the boxes stated if the rooms are available or not. Stu has been very service oriented and helpful towards his guests. So I depicted him assisting a young man in planning his stay - always having an eye on pretty girls.
I drew the cover with pencil on paper and then used the computer to enhance the final design. I wanted to create something elegant and timeless, so I kept the whole design in black and white. This will help to make it look unique against other book covers. It’s not always about bright colors and big text that is screaming out to be noticed.