One of the cool design features that really makes Scott Sigler‘s Galactic Football League (GFL) series unique is the limited edition hardcovers. Each of these bad-boys are made up of several really cool features that combine to create the great machine that is a GFL Hardcover:
- The dust jackets give the reader a portal to glimpse into the wide universe that houses the GFL, setting the tone and style.
- The Interior Layout (by the indomitable Donna Mugavero aka Ms. Information, the Diva of DØØM) creates the environment that Sigler’s story can unobtrusively take place.
- Scott’ Sigler’s pulse-pounding story paints a picture of bigotry, heroism, success, violence, and tragedy that draws the readers inexorably in.
- The 16-page color insert is the icing on the cake, giving the readers another glimpse into the GFL universe, combining text and images to showcase the setting in a tangible reality that ties the entire publication together.
I’ve had the honor to design the insert for books 3 (THE ALL-PRO) and the current book 4 (THE MVP). One of the key things I try to do is to give the reader enough elements in the graphics that are real and familiar that they can more easily establish a willing suspension of disbelief, giving them the visual experience that draws them into the story instead of being just an outside observer.
- In THE ALL-PRO insert (which featured the Krakens Playbook), I used actual football props (jersey, gloves, tape, football) and photos of actual stadiums modified to be far-future playing fields to establish this sense of reality.
- In THE MVP insert (featured below) we used the familiar layout and feel of a travel guide, a heavily modified photograph of a cyborg (the lovely Abby Sorensen), and the familiar bar-scene on the last page (with a holo-reader, can of beer, bar-coaster, and a bowl of yummy spider-bites) to establish this same feel of reality.
For the interior pages of THE MVP insert, I had the honor of working with W. Seth Hanisek, who designed the majority of the flags for us (this guy simply is a rocking design fiend!).
Below, you can see the progression of the insert from initial concepts, prop-building, and photo-manipulation and on through to the finished product.
Enjoy!
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