“The Great Gatsby” Cover

Often people say not to judge a book by its cover, but realistically, the first thing one sees when looking at a book is the cover, as the cover is meant to entice prospective readers into investigating further into the contents of the book. 

This is why designing an encapsulating and thematically accurate cover is so essential, and why different book covers are reflective of different significant moments in the history of design- they represent the contents of the book, and literature often represents the state of the world, political opinions, social opinions, and the state of society from the period in which it was written. 

The cover of The Great Gatsby depicts a deep blue that washes over most of the cover evokes a sense of melancholy and unsettlement. Orange is the complement for blue, so the incorporation of orange in the cover helps tie together the appearance visually in order to make it more cohesive and visually appealing. The disembodied face in the center of the cover is demonstrative of the Eyes of TJ Eckleburg, a recurring notion in the book that implies judgement from a higher power such as God. The cityscape in the background symbolizes New York City, one of the main settings of the book, in order to highlight the theme of materialism and high wealth, and finally the green dot in the background represents the symbolic green light that Gatsby sees in the book, representing his love for Daisy and the American Dream.