New Editions Cover Reveal

With just a month to go until the publication of our brand new editions of three classic Bond titles, we’re delighted to share the new covers, as well as an interview with the designer who took on the challenge of giving these texts a fresh new look!

Without further ado…

These bold and striking new covers were designed by David Eldridge of Two Associates. We sat down with him to talk about his design process and inspirations.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?

I am a book cover designer principally. I have designed other things but books are my speciality. I went to art school in Middlesex, then I dug graves for a while, before getting a job at Penguin Books on the Kings Road which was brilliant because I love reading. Now I work mainly for Hachette and Ebury.

You designed the 2015 Raymond Benson eBook covers. How did you approach these new covers differently?

The experience has been very different this time, I understand the books in a different way. And I’m different, so what I do is different. Now I also understand better how the continuation books work in a literary way. Take the John Pearson biography – it’s like part of a puzzle. The author might no longer be with us but he’s part of this literary world so it’s nice to do him justice and republish them with a new wrapper.

What is your creative process?

Serendipity is a good process. Just trying something out that you’re interested in. I’ve been playing around with this 3D software quite a bit – it’s a new skill and I think it’s underrated in publishing. It’s unusual. Buses are good too, although now that I’m based in Wiltshire, there aren’t many around. Thinking on buses is good because distraction is good, that’s when ideas come. And walking. A strong walk never hurt anybody! Also, the better you know the book, the better the cover. It’s very easy for a large company who want to republish their backlist – they just follow what’s on trend. But Fleming is of a time within literature so it’s important you get some feel of it.

What software did you use? How has this changed over the years?

For the new covers I used mainly Adobe Suites and a 3D program called Strata. We have to do so much more now. It used to just be like illustration. Now you have to know about typesetting and how things line up – it’s quite a skilled job. I feel for designers today when they leave art college because they’re not always prepared for that.

Did you look back to previous 007 covers for inspiration?

Tom Adams did a cover for Colonel Sun, the one with the eyeball that I riffed on for a while. It’s tempting to be quite ‘Bond’ in the way you depict these stories, but there’s much more to it than that when you analyse it. There is this rich literary legacy within the books that stretches out in different directions. When you’ve been designing covers as long as I have, you come across the same people again and again and they’re all linked – it’s the greatest thing. I tried to incorporate this by making the covers look modern. That early Kingsley Amis cover is mad, but very modish of its time. It’s funny that graphic design is so modish, yet bounces along.

Are you a James Bond fan? How do you feel about contributing to the 007 canon?

Yes, I like the legacy of it. The people that work on these things are very interesting people, they do it for a reason and it’s a labour of love and its good fun. It’s a lovely world to work in.

Our thanks to David for answering our questions, and a reminder that the new editions will be available in paperback and eBook on October 5th.