The Black Reparations Project
Mockup for the die-cut effect on The Black Reparations Project book jacket
Working on a project like The Black Reparations Project is always a difficult task of marrying concept with content. The editors were keen to use Theodor Kaufmann’s 1867 painting On To Liberty, which depicts a group of recently enslaved black Americans navigating an uncertain path to freedom. The publisher wanted something typographic. I opted for a combination of the two in the extreme, with a minimal jacket design that features only an ellipse (indicating the notion of “we’re still waiting [for reparations]”), but instead of the first period is a die cut that reveals one boy’s face as he looks backwards rather than forwards—again, an illusion to what the book’s content is doing as well. The printed case underneath features On to Liberty in its entirety.
The jacket won an Association of University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show award in 2024.
Printed case for The Black Reparations Project
Cover design for The Black Reparations Project
Jacket mechanical for The Black Reparations Project
