tracy kopsachilis art + design
The purpose of a book cover is to illustrate the theme of an author's story in a unique manner. The cover functions as a way to catch a reader’s eye – whether it is displayed in a retail store or through an online site, where the small-scaled thumbnail images need to stand out on the page. Attention to readability at that level is key when designing for independent authors, who rely heavily on online sites to market their work. Strong images, colors, and easily readable text are vital elements that should make the cover successful.
The covers depicted in this gallery represent books that have been published autonomously by their authors. I worked in conjunction with each author to develop, design, and execute the vision they had for their covers, based on their design briefs. Type treatment, stock photography, color schemes, and original artwork are all composed to fit within the specific genre the book is categorized in.
The condor illustration is an oil on canvas painting, created exclusively for this cover.
The second book in the series, original artwork was created to steer away from using stock photography; it needed to compliment the previous book, "An Exaltation of Larks" but to go a step further artistically; initial reaction to the cover has been overwhelmingly positive.
The artwork featured in this gallery is a series of creative exercises for potential book covers – authors established a contest-based forum for designers to create mock-ups for their soon-to-be-published books, based on their particular design briefs. Many of these designs made it through to the final round of the contest, where I competed against a handful of designers. This method showcases the range of cover possibilities that can be composed for just one title. Ultimately, it is the author's decision to choose the one that best suits the needs of their book.
Various book styles are represented – from the minimalistic, used often for the business and corporate worlds, to the whimsical, geared towards works of fiction and novels. The use of stock photography is incorporated methodically in these designs to capture the spirit and proper portrayal of the desired cover image.
A semi-autobiographical novel that spans every aspect of the protagonist’s life, and described as a beautiful and artistic story, the client requested that the cover reflect those traits on the outside to harmonize with what was on the inside. The client stated in his design brief the specific style of work he required to see in the design comps, so I adhered strictly to the criteria of a whimsical and eye-catching nature. The author’s Greek heritage was a direct influence on the mostly blue and green color schemes incorporated throughout these designs
Based on a learning center that provides education and training to help people maximize their profit potential in their professional and personal lives, this book needed a simple graphic that would quickly capture the attention of readers. Through the use of numerous stock images that more or less represented the same concept (a silhouette of a head with money or a brain or a lightbulb—or sometimes all three at once—as the reoccurring graphics), these cover designs were an exercise in various color schemes and font treatments for the book title.
Cover designs for a book on this subject matter is perfectly suited to an illustrative and graphic nature, but needs to be executed in a stylish and sophisticated manner in order to avoid becoming too cartoony. In this round of cover comps, the idea was to portray the beliefs and superstitions with various type treatments and a vibrant palette.
Using complementary yellow and blue as the primary color palette for a business book seems to maximize the potential for grabbing the reader’s attention, especially in conjunction with the buzz word of “Energize” in the book title. Playing upon that, these cover concepts sought to effectively put all these elements to good use. Once again, the use of a silhouetted head with a lightbulb seems to be the widely recognized symbol of the business world.
The author requested various themes and ideas for the cover, but in the end, was partial to the concept of the lightbulb, which is a commonly used symbol in the world of business books in order to sell a solution to an issue.
The author finalized the concept of the book cover then requested to see various color combinations.
Sometimes it helps an author to see how their upcoming book will look as a physical product—that’s where the three-dimensional rendering comes in handy. These covers were shown as 3D examples to the authors to enhance their decision on which design would look best for their title.
Paul Rand, one of the world’s greatest designers stated that “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.”
Designing a successful logo is crucial because it sets the visual tone for what a company wants to market to its potential customer base—it is the key element to one's identity. The goal of the design process is to make the logo instantly identifiable and memorable, and to convey trust, loyalty and a recognizable service.
This branding logo was designed exclusively for Coffee in Italia, a website specializing in the art and commerce of Italian-sourced coffee and its accessories, in addition to creating a community of customers who are passionate about Italian culture in general. coffeeinitalia.com
This map, showcasing the 20 regions of Italy, was created exclusively for Coffee in Italia’s website to illustrate where a specific coffee was produced.
Coffee in Italia requested to have separate illustrations created for each region of Italy to showcase on its website, as a companion piece to the main map. The idea was to visualize the specific area of Italy where the coffee was produced.
Designed a branding logo for a foreign language school located in the Northeastern United States. Whimsical and retro in nature, the colors, fonts, and graphics work together to create a happy and relaxed environment for learning a new language.
This logo, for a children’s yoga company, represents a colorful yet sophisticated design. The goal was to create a branding logo that would appeal to children but also eye-catching to adults.
C. Scott wanted to create a branding logo, to identify her porcelain and stoneware business that she was growing. Texture was a significant part of her designs, so we incorporated a sample of an original etching of hers to use as the art in the logo. Black and white were the preferred color palette and a simplistic font was chosen, with a suggestion of Art Nouveau-inspired design.
Travis Neighbor Ward requested a branding logo for her lifestyle website that includes such topics as recipes, house and home, travel, and her own collection of fiction and non-fiction books that she has authored. The finished logo reflects a whimsical and nature-based motif. The font suggests a hint of vintage appeal in an easy-to-read, cursive typeface.
The logo’s main visual was the creation of custom-made watercolor floral bouquets, which were generated from separate images of singular flower illustrations and arranged with seasonal color schemes. The color of the website name takes its inspiration directly from the bouquet illustration to create a cohesive look to the entire logo. www.travisneighborward.com
This circular version of the logo was created for marketing purposes, and it includes the URL of the website at the bottom of the image
Designed a branding logo for the Island Park PTA, utilizing the official school colors of blue and yellow. This logo is used for all social media, marketing materials, and merchandise.
Designed an alternative version for the Island Park PTA, rendered in black and white. This logo is used when there will be no reproduction of color, such as photocopied flyers, or when a strong image is needed against a complicated background.
Kimma Organics requested a branding logo and tagline for a new organic skincare company, based on quality ingredients that are natural, made in small batches, and safe for the entire family to use. The client wanted to use an image of a ginkgo leaf, a symbol of longevity, and one of the oldest surviving species of trees known to exist. It also represents duality, a concept that recognizes the male and female aspects of all living entities. To symbolically represent her three children, we found an image of three ginkgo leaves clustered together that was a perfect match for her concept. The font is a sans serif typeface with clean and simple lines to reflect the uncomplicated nature of the products. The logo is branded on all products, as well as various marketing materials and promotions for the company. kimmaorganics.com
This 3x5 card was designed to compliment the logo design and promote the owner’s occupation as a health and wellness coach.
Various media are used in this gallery of images, ranging from pen and ink to acrylics to oil paints, with an emphasis on fashion illustration.
This original art was created exclusively for Suanne Laqueur’s novel, “A Scarcity of Condors”, published in 2019. It continues the avian theme featured on her previous two books in the “Venery” series, “An Exaltation of Larks” and “A Charm of Finches”.
The art depicts the Andean condor, the national symbol of Chile, which is a featured location in the novel. The mosaic-like detail on the condor's wings and body is a reference to one of the characters, who was imprisoned and tortured under the Pinochet regime in Chile. To survive the sadistic torture sessions, he created a vast imaginary world in his head and would retreat to whenever he was tormented. He then later physically recreated the world as a mosaic masterpiece in a room of his house, cutting up thousands of tiny colored squares, taken from paint swatch cards from the local hardware store.
Original cover art for "A Charm of Finches"
Original cover art for "A Charm of Finches"
Original cover art for "A Charm of Finches"
Original cover art for "A Charm of Finches"
This black and white spot illustration—depicting the ideal home work space—was published in Real Simple magazine, October 2008 issue.
oil on charcoal paper
ink on bristol paper
Photography is another creative outlet for me; whereas a painting or a graphic design project can take days, weeks, or months to produce, photography captures the moment instantaneously. Favorite subject matters are nature and landscapes.
These reports, booklets, and brochures have been designed to effectively maximize the specific marketing needs based upon the clients' criteria. Each book was cultivated, referencing brand guidelines with regards to color schemes, typefaces, and overall aesthetic. These projects were built from scratch, with all the pertinent information provided via Word documents so the need to create an engaging design that can also convey all the necessary information is essential.
This 20-page annual report for Torrance Memorial Hospital was designed from the ground up, with nothing to work from except pages of text from a Word document. The hospital wanted a simple and modern design to their online Nursing Report, but still within their guidelines of their hospital branding. Consistency between typefaces and overall color scheme was essential in achieving a professional look.
Torrance Memorial’s Nursing Program has previously earned two coveted Magnet® recognition designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes nursing excellence; they are currently going for their third designation. A series of Magnet-related educational materials for their latest Magnet campaign was created. Among them, a pocket guide for the nursing staff to use as they prepare for their virtual site visit by the ANCC.
Taking inspiration from their current Magnet logo of a scuba diver, this 80-page pocket guide was influenced by scuba divers' logs, which allowed the nurses to partake in activities and also provided them with useful information about the hospital's Magnet Program. A nautical theme was incorporated throughout the Diver's Log to enhance the West Coast lifestyle.
This yearbook – a compilation of the students’ elementary school experiences – was designed from the ground up, using Adobe InDesign. Age-appropriate clip art and background elements were incorporated to create a playful look throughout the book. The main headlines were all customized and colored accordingly so that each shade would read well against the patterned backgrounds. Taking into consideration that most children might not be accustomed to reading a script font, a cursive handwritten typeface was used in limited amounts while the main body text is a modern but playful serif font.
The overall objective was to design a book appropriate for fourth-grade students, creating a sophisticatedly youthful aesthetic that corresponds to their grade level.
