Braiding Sweetgrass Book Cover
The Story
Braiding Sweetgrass is a combination of indigenous knowledge, scientific research, and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s personal life experience that breaks down the relationship between humans and the Earth. The book examines indigenous values including gratitude, reciprocity, and gift culture in contrast with western creations such as a strictly scientific worldview, political systems, and overconsumption.
The Opportunity
While the book was received well by a majority of readers and has been given awards, existing cover designs for it are pretty standard and don’t create the identity it deserves. This means that it lacks the ability to stand out on the shelf or capture the attention of people browsing online. A revised cover design has the potential to give Kimmerer’s words a wider reach and let them make a bigger impact on how people view their relationship with Earth.
The Solution
To embody the message of Braiding Sweetgrass, texture is a must. Close up photography of real-world materials can allow people to immediately understand the subject of the book from far away. The name of the book can be incorporated through the use of such materials. The result is a unique, striking book cover that reflects the meaning of the writing even at just a glance.
Photography, Depth, and Materials
A photographic approach was used for this design, allowing the final product to have lots of depth. Everything on the cover was crafted out of moss, cotton balls, and crushed pecans, creating an environment rather than a flat image. The materials were arranged to depict a bird’s-eye view of the earth seen through clouds. This hands-on process reflects the values from the book while giving it a unique appearance to people as they browse.
