Bookshelf

Bookshelf

Visualizing textual imagination

Visualizing textual imagination

Graphic Design

Type
Type
Book Cover Design
Book Cover Design
Timeline
Timeline
Jul 2020 - Sep 2020
Jul 2020 - Sep 2020
Jul 2020 - Sep 2020

The Bookshelf Project is a collection of redesigned covers for 20 books that I read during my time in the Navy.

The Bookshelf Project is a collection of redesigned covers for 20 books that I read during my time in the Navy.

"Can you see images beyond the text?"
"Can you see images beyond the text?"
Background
Background

One of the few joys in life during my time in the Navy was reading. I think Captain Ramsey's words from the movie Crimson Tide summarise my military life quite well: "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it." When freedom is restricted, creativity and imagination seem to grow.

This project is about visualizing the images that lingered only in my mind while I was sailing across the vast ocean.

One of the few joys in life during my time in the Navy was reading. I think Captain Ramsey's words from the movie Crimson Tide summarise my military life quite well: "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it." When freedom is restricted, creativity and imagination seem to grow.

This project is about visualizing the images that lingered only in my mind while I was sailing across the vast ocean.

When you read a book, what do you think about? As for me, I create my own stage, my own movie, combining all the images, sounds, textures, and scents I've experienced and seen in my subconscious.

When you read a book, what do you think about? As for me, I create my own stage, my own movie, combining all the images, sounds, textures, and scents I've experienced and seen in my subconscious.

  • Ten Years of Madness - Feng Jicai
  • Ten Years of Madness - Feng Jicai
  • Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-joo
  • The Dwarf - Cho Se-hui
  • Justice - Michael J. Sandel
  • Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 - Cho Nam-joo
  • The Dwarf - Cho Se-hui
  • Justice - Michael J. Sandel
  • Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
  • Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
  • Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
  • The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
  • Animal Farm - George Orwell
  • Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
  • The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
  • Animal Farm - George Orwell
  • The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
  • The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
  • The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
  • Thunderstorm - Cao Yu
  • No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai
  • The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
  • Thunderstorm - Cao Yu
  • No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai
  • Offending the Audience - Peter Handke
  • Offending the Audience - Peter Handke
  • Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • The Golden Hour - Lee Guk-jong
  • The House of Asterion - Jorge Luis Borges
  • Snowpiercer - Jacques Lob
  • Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • The Golden Hour - Lee Guk-jong
  • The House of Asterion - Jorge Luis Borges
  • Snowpiercer - Jacques Lob
  • If Our Language is Whisky - Haruki Murakami
  • If Our Language is Whisky - Haruki Murakami
  • Night Flight - Saint Exupéry
  • Night Flight - Saint Exupéry
Outro
Outro

I imagined the cover of Night Flight, a work by Saint-Exupéry, while gazing at the countless stars over the East Sea.

Beyond the basic human need for survival lies the desire for self-actualization. My time in the Navy felt like a constant struggle between these two needs.

The Bookshelf Project became a light exercise that helped me maintain my sense of form, and it reminded me once again of how precious it is to think and create.

I imagined the cover of Night Flight, a work by Saint-Exupéry, while gazing at the countless stars over the East Sea.

Beyond the basic human need for survival lies the desire for self-actualization. My time in the Navy felt like a constant struggle between these two needs.

The Bookshelf Project became a light exercise that helped me maintain my sense of form, and it reminded me once again of how precious it is to think and create.

References
References
  • Crimson Tide(1995) - Tony Scott

  • Novelist as a Vocation - Haruki Murakami

  • Judge This - Chip Kidd

  • GO - Chip Kidd

  • Why They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Phil Cleaver

  • Cover - Peter Mendelsund

  • What We See When We Read - Peter Mendelsund

  • Crimson Tide(1995) - Tony Scott

  • Novelist as a Vocation - Haruki Murakami

  • Judge This - Chip Kidd

  • GO - Chip Kidd

  • Why They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Phil Cleaver

  • Cover - Peter Mendelsund

  • What We See When We Read - Peter Mendelsund

Donny Kim 2025
Donny Kim 2025