Book Cover Designs

This project presents a series of three conceptual book cover redesigns for Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s novel Before We Say Goodbye. Each layout explores a distinct visual philosophy to capture the book's core narrative theme of time travel, emotional resolution, and final departures.

The first cover centers on the profound weight of longing and human vulnerability. It features an intentional, tight crop of Raffaello Eroico's artwork OP.474 MMXIX, focusing heavily on the physical tension of the embrace while cutting off the faces. This deliberate framing isolates the essence of a presence, channeling the pure, raw emotion handled right before an impending farewell.

The second design shifts to a culturally rooted narrative, using the Japanese Sakura (cherry blossom) as a traditional symbol for the fleeting nature of life and goodbye. To honor the Japanese context, the author's name is arranged vertically, paying homage to traditional Japanese typographic layouts.

The third layout is built on a surrealist concept exploring the melting boundaries of time. The design visualizes the desperate human attempt to hold onto moments as time inevitably slips away, represented on the left side by bleeding colors that form a fixated boundary in each row.