Tales from The Arabian Nights. A classic, reimagined.
This was a project for an experimental typography class, where we had to choose a well-known book to redesign a cover for. Growing up, the magic of The Arabian Nights always fascinated me, so I chose to recreate the cover of the classic English Edition, compiled and translated by Sir Richard Burton. A visual that immediately came to mind was the magic lamp from one of the most well-known tales of the Arabian Nights; Aladdin. A wish-fulfilling genie emerges from the magic lamp, and I wanted the title typeface perfectly embody the feeling of that genie—something bodiless, ethereal and weightless, and I thought incense would be the perfect medium. I took hundreds of photos of incense, experimenting with different lighting and flows until I got forms that mimicked the letters in the title of the book, which I then brought into photoshop to compile into one image. I then digitally created the rest of the cover art; a simple arabesque arch that mimics a door, from which the type appears to emerge. Through the doorway, hundreds of stars invite you to come explore the mystical tales of The Arabian Nights.
Sunlight was a huge help in creating the perfect translucent figures out of incense.
The Finished Spread
