Image Source: http://iwritealot.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/harry_potter_and_the_sorcerers_stone.jpg and http://www.bscreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows.jpg
In my very first blog post, I talked about the cover art for the first Harry Potter novel as one of my very first memories of realizing the power and impact of design. Today I will compare the cover designs of the first novel to that of the final novel, released ten years later. As someone who has read all seven of the Harry Potter novels (multiple times, I must admit) I can appreciate how the changes in the cover designs for each novel pertain to the changes happening throughout the overarching storyline of the novels. Seven years pass by, the characters mature, the plots become darker, and these changes are evident in the way that Mary GrandPré chooses to illustrate JK Rowling’s novels. The first book’s design is very whimsical, the characters are cartoonish, and the color scheme which employs a lot of reds, purples, and gold give the cover a very fanciful feel. It is a much more colorful and lively design that is clearly meant to appeal to a younger audience. As the novels progress GrandPré’s depictions of Harry changes too; with the passing of each novel the main character’s appearances morph’s from the juvenile, cartoonish figure to a more realistic and mature appearance. The cover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows shows an older Harry Potter with an intense expression and his hand stretched out as the main figure occupying the cover. The cover is simpler than many of the previous novels, showing Harry alone on the front cover and the villain, Lord Voldemort, as the main figure on the back of the cover. I always liked GrandPré’s approach to illustrating the Harry Potter novels, her cover designs were always fitting for each book, and I think that it was a very smart decision for her to subtly alter her depictions of Harry as the character matured throughout the novels.
