I participated in four-hours workshop during the editorial event "Testo" organized in February 2022 in Florence, it was called "Prima" and was led by Valerio di Lucente.
The goal was to create a book cover for a classic of literature, just by using the title's typographic elements. I chose "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger, which in Italian is "Il Giovane Holden". Although Salinger didn't actually want a real cover for his book, I tried to render the concept of the story in an essential way.
Regarding Holden's desire not to grow up and his uncomfortableness and existential rejection of the adult world, I wanted to focus on the article "il", dividing the symbol of a younger person (i) from the adult one (l). I was then undecided about the position and the elaboration of the rest of the title and author, but as Di Lucente suggested I had the resolution in front of my eyes: I just had to put "giovane holden" inside the "i", obviously, and the author's name in the adult side, the "l".
I kept the text in the letter "i" lowercase as a reinforced metaphor about not growing up, unlike Salinger's name.
At the end of the workshop Giovanna Silva (founder of Houmboldt Books) came to visit us and took a look at the various covers, she chose three covers that could work from an editorial perspective. I was very grateful that she chose mine as well, because of her position as an actual editor, so I am very satisfied with this little but enriching experience!
