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Content (Issue 2)
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WHEN IN ROME...DO AS THE ROMANS Random House now own the rights to Lindsey Davis' entire backlist, thirteen books in all, so the Editorial and Sales teams felt it was the right time to develop a new look. As the designer, it's been my job to come up with a fresh cover solution for the Falco stories. At first I was a bit daunted as the existing illustrated covers have always been very successful. The new concept had to be distinct and different but should still appeal to her very loyal readership, as well as attract new readers. The Roman setting in the Falco series is vividly drawn, and so we decided to mirror this, using original art from the period, now housed in museums and libraries throughout the world. I have a picture researcher to help source images and get permission and copyright clearance. Lindsey is very helpful too, coming into the office with ideas and pictures she's either found in books or from her travels. It's really exciting to uncover the wealth of material and fantastic Roman art out there. You tend to find more interesting pieces when you give a broader brief to the libraries and museums as it gives them greater freedom to choose their finest examples. Even when you have a good idea of what you're looking for, a particular picture of a Roman married couple or a vase, there is a danger that though it's a great piece of art, it's too specific to be a good illustration for a book jacket. Being open to suggestion means you often end up with working material that's better than anything you imagined in the first instance. I usually come up with half a dozen possible cover images for any one book. I show these mock-ups to the editorial, marketing and sales departments at the weekly design meeting. This is the critical decision-making forum and between us we'll decide on the strongest design, after which I begin to put on the polish. On the computer, I use Photoshop to tweak the images and to blend and enhance the colour. You have to be careful not to distort the original too much, but it's a useful tool for repositioning figures or other items which might not naturally fit in the space. In remaining faithful to the Roman period I try to employ colours which would have been used back then. The Romans originated their painting and drawing materials from vegetable dyes and other natural sources, using soot and charcoal for black. Yet they still managed to produce incredibly vivid turquoises and pinks and the rich imperial purple. Overall I think we've been successful in reproducing the Roman style and have achieved a very attractive and authentic result. The paperback of One Virgin Too Many will he the first outing of the new look and shows Mars and Venus. The original can he found in the Museo Archeologico Nationale in Naples. Look out too for Ode to A Banker which shows a noblewoman playing a Cithera. It's a detail from a Roman wall painting dated c.50 B.C. and the original is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Silver Pigs and Shadows in Bronze will be the first new cover reissues, released in September. - BOB HOLLINGSWORTH, Designer
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