First Yawn: Pete Adlington On Designing The Iconic Cover For Klara And The Sun, LISA - New Woman Featuring Rosalía & The Literature Transforming Our Screens This September

Find out what caught my eye this weekend.

Sep 02, 2024

Welcome to First Yawn

Here’s some things that have caught my eye over the weekend from a behind the scenes look at Pete Adlington’s book cover design process for the iconic Klara & The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, LISA and Rosalía’s music video for their latest single New Woman and the upcoming novels coming to our screens this September.

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Pete Adlington For Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara And The Sun

Klara and the Sun is, in theory, a science-fiction novel, narrated as it is through the voice of Klara, an Artificial Friend who has been built as an AI companion for children. The Sun acts as a character in Klara’s world, looked to for guidance and to recharge her batteries - in the literal sense.

Ishiguro uses Klara to provide a unique observation on human character and, so, it reads far less like science fiction and more like an exploration of what it is to be human.

It was so interesting to read Pete’s thoughts on how he approached the design of this cover - taking into consideration ‘the big book look’ which was coined by artist Paul Bacon. The big book look is often defined as the following format ‘large, bold title, prominent authors name and a small conceptual image’. After learning this it’s now hard to unsee as I wander around my local Foyles. It’s funny how design has such a psychological impact on us.

Pete decided to use the sun as a central motif as ‘the sun is completely ubiquitous and speaks to all people.’ Klara’s relationship with the sun gives it an unusually playful character: it’s both a symbol and a protagonist.

Pete’s initial iterations presented the sun in fragmented compositions defining a purely abstract aesthetic and relating to the mechanical aspect of Klara’s vision.

Above you can see the initial designs for the book cover - upon showing these images to Ishiguro it was voiced that he was concerned about its relation to the Japanese flag -(which he was keen to avoid). Pete then produced some visuals in an alternative way - still referencing the sun but without such a central focus. Pete experimented with using redacted images of women and representing the sun via expanding rays, ‘signifying Klara being consumed by the sun and her dependance on it - she exists only where the light falls.’

Although this version was liked by the publishers Pete decided to also develop the ‘painterly style’ cover to give a more childish naive feeling. Emitting a softness and warmth to the cover to match Ishiguro’s writing style. Playing around with different colour ways and the craft-like execution removed the chilly digital feeling.

As we know, red was approved (with an amend to the typeface) but look at how many beautiful options there were. The red wasn’t Pete’s first choice - Waterstones and some independent bookshops had the turquoise colourway, with the Waterstones edition including beautiful printed book edges, which featured the floating sun. The endpapers also used the various alternative colour work Pete made in the design process and this inspired the large-scale poster designs and marketing in the lead up to publishing.

Having had the cover for Klara approved, it was decided for Pete to re-jacket Ishiguro’s entire backlist, starting with Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day and continuing to include The Buried Giant, A Pale View of Hills, When We Were Orphans, The Unconsoled, An Artist of the Floating World and Nocturnes.

This was a huge undertaking but thankfully the central window device on a flat coloured background allowed for the perfect adaption to roll it out to more titles.

Pete’s use of block shapes and limited colour give narrative the central focus, providing a simple - yet effective emotional impulse to the reader. Some books feature more detailed illustrative designs to invoke the essence of the story held within.

It’s such an honour to see Pete’s design process and how this developed into the final covers we see on the shelves of our local bookstores today. Pete aimed to give the reader a ‘brief snapshot into the book, conveying some emotion and narrative’ something I believe he does incredibly well.

It’s not often I want to drop a fair amount of money on buying a whole collection of novels - but the shelf appeal of this series is undeniable. It’s clear that Pete is a master of book cover art and has undeniably defined Kazuo Ishiguro’s work for a new generation of readers.

You can purchase the Klara And The Sun and all of Kazuo Ishiguro’s redesigned novels here.

LISA - New Woman Featuring Rosalía

I’m a huge Blackpink fan - hey fellow blinks! So I raced to youtube to view Lisa’s new single in collaboration with latin icon, Rosalía.

I’ve had this song on repeat for a good week now, New Woman is full of punchy beats and iconic sing a long anthems, which is no surprise seeing as it was co-written by Tove Lo.

David Meyers produced the video and gave it his superstar polish, which sees the video set to a jaw dropping series of visually imaginative, fashion-forward vignettes giving energy and drama to the video.

Listen to New Woman by LISA & Roalía here.

The Literary Film & TV You Need To Stream In September

Find out what literary legends are coming to your screen this September. You might have read the novels, but now you can can devour the on screen editions from the comfort of your sofa - popcorn in hand.

The Perfect Couple
Netflix | September 5th 2024

Based on The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand (2018)

In her latest prestige crime turn, Nicole Kidman plays a famous, wealthy novelist (the perfectly named Greer Garrison Winbury) hosting her son’s lavish wedding at her Nantucket estate—despite not exactly approving of his choice of bride.

But then, of course, someone gets murdered! Liev Shreiber, Eve Hewson, Dakota Fanning, and Billy Howle star in what looks like the perfect late-summer installment of Rich White People Behaving Badly.

Watch the trailer for The Perfect Couple here

My Brilliant Friend (Season 4)
Max | September 9th 2024

Based on The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (2014)

Season 4 of My Brilliant Friend, based on the final book in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels series, The Story of the Lost Child, continues to explore the deep and complex friendship between Lila and Elena. As they navigate the turbulent waters of adulthood, their lives diverge in unexpected ways.

Elena struggles with the demands of her career and personal life, while Lila battles her own challenges in the gritty world of Naples. The season delves into themes of identity, ambition, and the inescapable ties of their shared past, leading to a poignant and powerful conclusion to their lifelong bond.

Watch the trailer for My Brilliant Friend here

Three Women
Starz | September 13th 2024

Based on Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (2019)

The adaptation of Taddeo’s bestselling nonfiction book about women’s sexuality stars Shailene Woodley as “Gia” as she discovers and tells the stories of (you guessed it) three women, played by Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, and Gabrielle Creevy.

This poetic journey of self discovery - based on a true story tells the story of three women- who had the audasitity to believe that they deserved more. A narrative denoting women’s sexual liberation, pain and a truthful look at what it means to be a woman paving her own way in the world.

Watch the trailer for Three Women here

Uglies
Netflix | September 13th 2024

Based on Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (2005)

In a futuristic dystopia with enforced beauty standards, a teen awaiting mandatory cosmetic surgery embarks on a journey to find her missing friend. Featuring an all star cast including, Joey King, Keith Powers, Chase Stokes & Laverne Cox this dystopian epic is sure to capture the hearts of young adult audiences much like Hunger Games did and leave us asking the question is the answer is being pretty enough?

Watch the trailer for Uglies here