This is the third book in the genealogy book series written by Jean Perreault. When she commissioned me to design her third book cover, we talked about what her desires were for it.

• She wanted it to look similar to her last two book covers (which were designed by others). The first two books both had one color as the background, a gradient on top of that, and a black and white old picture that was faded around the edges. Mrs. Perreault wanted these elements in her third book cover along with the same text format.

• Using thumbnail designs I presented her with various options. We settled on a different font for the front cover to give the impression of a timeless age.

• The last book covers had different colors for the background. The first one had the color of pale yellow, while the second had the color of green. This book was all about connecting with your history, your past. A color that would represent this well would be a dark reddish-brown, which represents the concept of being down to earth and it helps convey a sense of connection to the things around us. I darkened the color to show the seriousness, steadfastness of the past. I then put a gradient on the cover that wrapped around from the front to the back like it was done with the other two covers.

• The author provided a picture of the store for the front cover which depicted the time that was represented within her book. I made this picture into a duotone image. A duotone refers to an image that is made up of two different colors. Many famous black and white photos are really duotone. This duotone helps create emotion and connection with the photograph to the viewer. The store would be much more dramatic if there was a duotone of a dark brown to it.

• Originally I had the title split up on to three lines instead of two. But once Mrs. Perreault informed me that she needed more emphasis on the words ‘Bloomfield 1930 Census’, I adjusted the title onto two lines to help the overall design. I kept her name in the same text format as the other two books. I did want to have people look at the book and make the connection that it was part of the same series with the other two books. The text was kept were it was positioned when compared to the other two covers, as well as the type of gradient, picture, and overall design.

Once the design was completed, I presented to Mrs. Perreault for her final approval, which she accepted with delight.