青猫島コスモス紀  The Cosmos Chronicle of Blue Cat Island

This is the cover of picture book The Cosmos Chronicle of Blue Cat Island by ますむらひろし （Hiroshi Masumura）. The cover was designed by Japanese graphic designer 羽良多平吉（Heikichi Harata）, the typography is harmonizes with the illustration style. The English lettering part appears disordered; for example, “Blue Cat (青猫)” employs a hand-drawn style, while “Island” mixes uppercase and lowercase letters, this echoing the fantastical style of Masumura’s story. While, the Japanese title part used clear and orderly Mincho type, creating a sense of tension and contradiction.

Many Masumura’s works are around cats and fantastical worlds, and the アタゴルシリズ（Atagoru series） is no exception. Drawing inspiration from his hometown of Yonezawa, he constructed the fictional continent of 米沢(Yonezaado) as the stage for his story. Blending fantasy with the everyday elements, his stories give readers distinctive style of imaginative and surreal storytelling.