Lesson 5

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Sendlbeck — Animal Farm Book Cover,” Sascha Sendlbeck, Sascha Sendlbeck, 2018

Optional

• • “Troy — Animal Farm Book Cover,” Katie Troy, Drexel University, 2016

Materials

Tools

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist

• Animal Farm: Cover Art

• Animal Farm: Cover Design Brief

• Animal Farm: Cover Design Proposal

• Animal Farm: Reading Schedule

• Section 3 Diagnostic Cover Design Feedback Form

Question Sets

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist

• Animal Farm: Section 3 Question Set

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will preview the expectations of the section 3 diagnostic and specifically the central task of designing an original book cover that uses images of our character and reflects our interpretation of the story’s allegorical meaning.

Step 1

As directed by your teacher, access the Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist and review its questions and expectations.

Note that you will be compiling a third portfolio to represent your learning, which should include the following:

1. Your claim comparing your interpretation of Orwell’s allegory to Natalie Bragaru’s

2. Your claim about an interesting visual interpretation of the story

3. Your cover design proposal

4. A cover design mockup of your proposed book cover

Note also that in Lesson 7 for the Section 3 Diagnostic, you will review your cover design proposal with other students and will then complete and submit the following:

5. Your self-assessment using the Section 3 Diagnostic Cover Design Feedback Form with a list of constructive ideas for improving your design

As you review and discuss these expectations, note that you have already written and explained evidence-based claims to meet the first two expectations in Lessons 3 and 4.

Step 2

Consider and discuss what you will need to do in this lesson and the next to meet expectations 3, 4, and 5:

• create a graphic design proposal

• create a mockup for an original book cover that uses images of your character and reflects your interpretation of Orwell’s allegory

• complete a self-assessment using the Section 3 Diagnostic Cover Design Feedback Form

Step 3

Finally, consult the Section Diagnostic 3 Guiding Questions in the Section 3 Question Set to help you understand, evaluate and prepare your portfolio of evidence.

Activity 2: View – Discuss

We will review and discuss various cover and poster designs we studied, talking about the graphic elements of the design and the messages they convey.

Step 1

Review and discuss the book covers you examined, all of which have featured images of Napoleon. As you discuss the covers, consider these questions:

1. What are the key details of the images used on the cover?

2. What do the images suggest about the designer’s interpretation of the character and the book’s meaning?

3. Which of the covers do you find most interesting? Why? Which are most consistent with your understanding of Orwell’s allegory? Why?

Step 2

As you examine the cover images, consider also the other design elements, specifically the titling and any other images or elements used with the central image of Napoleon. Discuss these questions:

1. What other images (if any) are used in the graphic design along with the central image of Napoleon? How do those other elements enhance the cover design and its message?

2. How does the titling (font, placement, size, etc.) work with the images to create or enhance an interesting graphic design?

Activity 3: View – Discuss

We will examine a cover design that was submitted for a contest and discuss how it presents and uses images of Napoleon that connect to the historical context in which the book was written. We will also discuss how informational copy has been used with the images and titling to develop a complete and interesting design.

Step 1

As you develop your own original design for a book cover, you will be proposing a design idea in response to the expectations of a design brief, then developing and presenting that design as part of the Section 3 Diagnostic and the Culminating Task for the unit.

Your cover design will include:

• One or more images of your character as you (or other artists) have envisioned them

• A graphic representation of the book’s title, a character-specific subtitle, and the author’s name presented in an interesting font and layout that enhances your design

• Informational copy to accompany the graphic elements of your design

Step 2

As directed by your teacher, access and examine designs that have been developed for previous competitions that focus on cover designs for Animal Farm.

The first example is from Sascha Sendlbeck, a graphic artist from England’s University of Derby who submitted a design for the 2018 Penguin contest, a design you examined as one of the Napoleon-based book covers.

Step 3

Scroll through the four-panel webpage and scan the images. Note that the presentation includes:

• An animated gif of the cover depicting Napoleon as a sinister puppeteer

• A static version of the same cover design

• A full mockup of the cover that includes the design for the front cover, the design for the spine, and the design and copy for the back cover

• A commemorative announcement from Penguin Random House UK that the design was “shortlisted” (selected as a finalist) in the 2018 cover design contest

Step 4

As you study the images in Sendlbeck’s design presentation, discuss the following questions:

1. How would you describe the characterization of Napoleon and what it suggests about the designer’s interpretation of the story and his role in it? What key details do you notice?

2. How does the depiction of Napoleon connect to and communicate the historical context in which Orwell wrote his allegory?

3. How do the other images used in the design (the silhouetted animal figures and windmill) enhance its graphic impact and message?

4. How would you describe the title fonts and placement? How do they contribute to the graphic design?

5. How has color been used in the design? What impact do the designer’s color choices make?

6. In the third panel, what do you notice about the “copy” the designer has included? What quotes and information has he used?

7. How has he used graphic elements to enhance his presentation of the copy and unify the front, spine, and back cover designs?

Activity 4: View – Discuss

We will examine the second of two cover designs that were submitted for a student design contest and discuss how they present and use images of Napoleon that connect to the historical context in which the book was written. We will also discuss how informational copy has been used with the images and titles to develop a complete and interesting design.

Step 1

The second example of an Animal Farm cover design is from Katie Troy, a graphic design student at Drexel University in Philadelphia who also developed a design in response to the brief for the Penguin contest.

Review and examine the two design images (of the front and back covers) that are presented on the Drexel web page. Think about how Troy’s design compares to the previous one you studied from Sendlbeck.

Step 2

Discuss this design considering the following questions:

1. What graphic choices has the designer made in developing this cover design? How do you think her choices compare to those made by the previous cover designer?

2. How would you describe the characterization of Napoleon and what it suggests about the designer’s interpretation of the story and his role in it? What key details do you notice?

3. How does the depiction of Napoleon connect to and communicate the historical context in which Orwell wrote his allegory?

4. How would you describe the title fonts and placement? How do they contribute to the graphic design?

5. How has color been used in the design? What impact do the designer’s color choices make?

6. In the second picture, what do you notice about the copy the designer has included? What quotes and information has she used?

7. How has she used graphic elements to enhance her presentation of the copy and unify the front, spine, and back cover designs?

Step 3

Determine which of the two cover designs you find most interesting and effective in presenting an interpretation of Animal Farm and Orwell’s allegory. Think about why you find your choice to be the more effective of the two designs.

In your Learning Log, write a short description and response to the cover design you have selected as more effective, using the discussion questions to organize your thoughts and observations about the design.

Activity 5: Read – Discuss – Write

We will study and discuss a design “Brief” for the cover we will create, noting the elements we will need to include.

Step 1

Access the Cover Design Brief.

Review and discuss the brief, noting that it includes:

• The Design Brief Overview,which explains what you will do

• A list of Cover Design Expectations that specify the elements you will include in your design

• Cover Design Criteria that you will use to plan and create your book covers and to review a partner’s and your work

• A summary of how you will use your Cover Design Submissions for the Section 3 Diagnostic and the Culminating Task

• Interpretive Quotations about Animal Farm, one of which you may use in your design

Step 2

As a class, discuss what you will be doing and producing as you design a book cover that reflects your interpretation and retelling of Animal Farm from your character’s point of view.

Note and discuss key parameters of the tasks listed:

• Your design will use images of your character and reflect how you have interpreted the story from that character’s point of view.

• The cover will accompany and complement the first-person narrative you have been drafting throughout the unit.

• You will first write a cover design proposal (in this lesson) which later will be revised as a final design synopsis for the Culminating Task.

• You will create a mockup for your design (in the next lesson), which later will be revised as a final graphic design.

• You will present your design, with your final interpretive claim about the allegory, and an excerpt from your first-person narrative, in a culminating class design review for the Culminating Task.

Ask questions about any of these expectations so that it is clear what you will need to do.

Activity 6: Write – Discuss

Using the Cover Design Brief as a guide, we will plan our possible cover design for our character of study.

Step 1

Using the list of five expectations in the Cover Design Brief as an organizing outline, make notes about how you envision a possible cover design for your character of study.

Review your image bank and identify one or more images that you intend to use as the centerpiece of your design.

Reread the claims you have written about your interpretation of the allegory and select one or more that you will use to guide your design and may include in it.

Reread the first-person narrative you drafted for the Section 2 Diagnostic and think about how your design will connect to and complement the story as your character has retold it.

Step 2

Join with another student (from your previous character study team) who has focused on the same character as you.

Review and discuss your preliminary planning for your design proposal, using the notes you made during the previous activity.

Provide constructive feedback about your partner’s design thinking, and reflect on the feedback you receive about your own proposal.

Activity 7: Write – Discuss

We will draft a Cover Design Proposal in which we describe the design ideas and choices we plan to make as we create a book cover or movie poster that reflects our interpretation of the allegory from our character’s point of view.

Now, access the Cover Design Proposal.

This document includes writing prompts that align to the expectations in the Cover Design Brief.

Begin by explaining the interpretation of the allegory and your character’s role that you will be communicating through your design.

Then, use the five design expectations from the Cover Design Brief to draft your proposal.

You will use this form for peer review and hand it in for the Section 3 Diagnostic.

Activity 8: Write

For homework, we will finish drafting our design proposal, responding to the expectations of the Cover Design Brief.

For homework, finish drafting your Cover Design Proposal so that you can share and use it in the next class session.