The idea behind this cover was to use a purple hatpin that stuck into the title of the book. This was used to suggest death. Originally this pin used a bright red colour, however, criticism from Capote himself suggested that he didn't think the colour was suitable as it wasn't new death that 'just happened'. The use of this purple pin accompanied by a black border was used to suggest the idea of a funeral. A lot of his work was pre-computer and so his design was comprised of illustrations using a quill pen, Indian inks and dyes.
The use of a darker purple works well in creating a more accurate representation of the dried blood which would have been found at the crime scene. Like many existing book covers for In Cold Blood, this design is mainly typographic. I feel that the use of type works well in conveying the genre of the book, as the sharp serifs represent one of the murder weapons as well as reflecting the design of the hatpin in it's thin weight.
2. Eric White (art direction by Greg Mollica), 2013.
This cover was designed specifically for the Modern Library's 2013 edition of In Cold Blood. Again, the design is quite minimalistic, making use of pure type and colour. The typeface Didoni was used for this specific cover, which is very similar to the first edition typefaces, Pistilli Roman and Bodoni. It's bold and contrasting line weights give it the characteristics of a newspaper headline, which has been used in conjunction with a ripped piece of newsprint. This works well to possibly reflect the torn lives of the Clutter family and the new publicity of Holcomb, Kansas in newspapers after the crime took place. The background colour works well to contrast with the newsprint image, however Capote may not agree with its use on the cover of this book, as it could be seen as too bright to convey an accurate reflection of the story and crime. Despite this, the colour is representational of the traditional orange colour used for Penguin Classics books and can almost be considered a homage to the books.
3. Andy Bridge, 2000 edition cover.
This cover was published for the year 2000 edition of In Cold Blood, designed by artist and illustrator, Andy Bridge. The cover shows a close-up image of a pistol gun, used to shoot the Clutter family by Hickock and Smith. Although used to convey the murder weapon, this can be seen to be slightly inaccurate of the story, as the murder weapon was found to be a knife and a shotgun, rather than a pistol. The small detailing on this gun may also have small hints to the story, as Perry Smith, who was prone to delusions of grandeur, was said to have a recurring vision or dream that a big bird would come down and carry him away. In addition, it could also be used to symbolise freedom of both the Clutter family, and Hickock and Smith.
The use of a dark red colour for the murder weapon can be considered to accurately represent the 'old' blood of the Clutter family found at the crime scene. However, it's use with a contrasting blue background does not appear to have much relevance to the story. By some it might be considered 'too bright' to describe the events and perhaps a darker colour would have suited the design better.
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