About
The Eight Life (for Brilka) is an award-winning bestseller by German-based Georgian author Nino Kharatishvili. It is about several generations of one family who live through a revolution, war and the struggles for Georgian independency.
The Eight Life (for Brilka) is an award-winning bestseller by German-based Georgian author Nino Kharatishvili. It is about several generations of one family who live through a revolution, war and the struggles for Georgian independency.
Process
I wanted to do something epic on the cover of this book. Not only because the book is epic in its size, but also because it unfolds an entire century through the fates of members of one family. I really like the original cover, which used the metaphor of the circle of life, and wanted to do something equally general, but different. And I chose a carpet as a coded portrayal of events and characters.
A screenshot of different editions from Goodreads:
I wanted to do something epic on the cover of this book. Not only because the book is epic in its size, but also because it unfolds an entire century through the fates of members of one family. I really like the original cover, which used the metaphor of the circle of life, and wanted to do something equally general, but different. And I chose a carpet as a coded portrayal of events and characters.
A screenshot of different editions from Goodreads:
Since this is a Ukrainian edition, I wanted to add a local flavour to the visual solution, but in such a way that the spirit of Georgia, which the author describes, is definitely guessed. Thanks to Google and the open collections of some Georgian museums, I managed to research some common elements that were inherent in Georgian carpets
At first, I drew everything with smooth edges and it just worked as an image, and I wanted to somehow convey the feeling of a woven surface. By chance, I came across a book about carpets, which had a lot of close-ups and I realised that the desired effect can be achieved by making something similar to pixel art.
Making the lettering mirrored and on both sides is another important detail to make the cover more immersive and look like a real carpet.
Making the lettering mirrored and on both sides is another important detail to make the cover more immersive and look like a real carpet.
Final layout
Nino Haratischwili
The Eight Life (For Brilka)
• Ukrainian Edition •
Translation: Roksolana Sviato
Illustration & cover concept: Mari Kinovych
Executive editor: Alla Kostovska
Literary editor: Iryna Nikolaichuk
Proofreaders: Tetiana Kalytenko, Olena Didenko
Layout design: Andrii Repenko
The Eight Life (For Brilka)
• Ukrainian Edition •
Translation: Roksolana Sviato
Illustration & cover concept: Mari Kinovych
Executive editor: Alla Kostovska
Literary editor: Iryna Nikolaichuk
Proofreaders: Tetiana Kalytenko, Olena Didenko
Layout design: Andrii Repenko
