Watership Down was one of those books that I knew I was supposed to read, but never got around to reading. I knew it was a classic and knew the title, but I honestly had no idea what it was about. Quite embarrassingly, I assumed it was a sci-fi and the “ship” in question was a “spaceship.” Yikes. Much to my surprise, it is a book about the trials and triumphs of a group of rabbits in southern England. A few chapters in and I felt myself starting to itch with a barrage of thoughts about how this is a stupid kiddie romp about bunnies, and not at all what I typically read. And yet I read another chapter, then another, then another, and before long the book was over. It continuously compelled me to keep going and had me on the edge of my seat, needing to know if Hazel and company would safely and successfully build their new warren. This wasn’t my favorite book ever, but as far as an allegorical adventure novel, it was enjoyable.
For the cover design, I knew I wanted something very natural and raw. In my research for this project, I noticed how most all the published covers felt overly whimsical and dainty with their soft watercolor illustrations. These didn’t match the tone of the book in my opinion, which, at times is downright brutal and unapologetic in its depictions of violence at the hands of humans, and the paws, claws, and fangs of animals. So I wanted something that felt real and gritty, but not off putting. I also did not want an obvious depiction of a rabbit, as this is what every other cover features and feels too boring and safe. However, I did have the texture of rabbit fur pop into my head as I was playing around. It seemed like an interesting way to allude to what the story is about, while capturing the natural and raw tone of the book itself. When it came down to execution, I really loved how the macro photograph of the fur sort of turned into this illustrated looking graphic abstract pattern. I paired that with a bold and fanciful script to offset the earthiness and provide a balance between natural and man made. The rest of the dust jacket design followed suit and fell into place.
