The Metamorphosis Book Jacket and Interior Book Design
2026
Franz Kafka’s book The Metamorphosis is a story of a person who transforms into a beetle-like vermin. The narrative explores transformation and the family’s adaptability to the character’s transformation that led to resentment and isolation. The themes of the story are alienation, isolation, and identity.
My book cover and interior design approach centers on the main element: the eyes. The first chapter of the book started with the main character realizing his transformation. I use different movements of the eyes: upward, sideways, and facing the front. I used a serif typeface for the book title and have spaces between the letters in the title to represent the theme of the book, which is alienation, so each letter is slowly separating. The use of warm colors such as red and orange in strong contrast with black to show the intensity and the feeling of alienation and identity.
My book cover and interior design approach centers on the main element: the eyes. The first chapter of the book started with the main character realizing his transformation. I use different movements of the eyes: upward, sideways, and facing the front. I used a serif typeface for the book title and have spaces between the letters in the title to represent the theme of the book, which is alienation, so each letter is slowly separating. The use of warm colors such as red and orange in strong contrast with black to show the intensity and the feeling of alienation and identity.
Design Process
Image Reference/Inspirations:
The book's themes are alienation and identity. Visually, I based the layout on reference sketches of a figure sitting on the edge of the composition to reinforce that sense of isolation
Image Assets:
The central element of this book cover is the eye, inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The story opens with the protagonist's sudden transformation, a change that alters his relationship with both his family and himself, ultimately alienating him from his own identity