The cover for The Reappearance of Rachel Price is to die for—and so are all the unique design details that went into the exclusive editions of the book! We asked Senior Designer Casey Moses to share some of the process that went into creating the exclusive editions and she did not disappoint! Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the various book designs.
Can you give us some insights into your design process for the exclusive editions of The Reappearance of Rachel Price that were created for Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Target?
Once we were given the greenlight that 3 special editions were confirmed (B&N, Target, and Walmart), I started brainstorming different things we could do with the packages. My first instinct was to avoid changing anything on the jacket itself because every detail is so intentional to fit the look for this author. I’ve been able to plan and execute photoshoots with photographer Christine Blackburne (who is incredible!) for all of Holly Jackson’s novels. I didn’t want to lose the integrity of the concept with a color wash or replacing the chalk type with foil.
The team agreed with matching the trade jacket (i.e., the book jacket on regular editions of the book), so I presented different ideas for case stamps and endpapers. Since The Reappearance of Rachel Price is a thriller, it was challenging to come up with ideas that relate to details of the book without spoiling the mystery. For the trade edition, I chose to do a matte white stamp of a director’s chair to relate back to the clapboard and chalk on the cover, keeping the documentary/film set theme.
The B&N edition was the first confirmed exclusive, so I had time to commission fun endpapers art and do a red foil stamp of a handheld camera the characters use on the go. For the Target edition, I replicated a missing person flyer one of the characters creates in the book. Since that element was so detailed, I decided to use a more abstract pattern on the endpaper. To try to balance out elements for each edition that feel more elevated, I went with a three-piece case on the Walmart edition. Editorial provided a quote said throughout the book, “Family First,” and I matched the lock stamp to the keys on the endpapers.
Does this book have any special or unusual design elements you want to highlight? (ex. special effects, hidden meaning in design elements, a new illustrator you discovered . . .)
Of all the editions, my favorite component is the 4 color custom endpapers on the B&N edition! I was able to hire an artist I’d been admiring on Instagram for a while – Halsey Berryman. I love her linework, and she does such a brilliant job of making a bunch of unrelated objects feel cohesive in a composition. Our main character Bel steals various items throughout the book and keeps them in a drawer in her room: nail polish, air pods, scrunchies, saltshakers, etc. I gave Halsey a list I pulled from the manuscript, and we also threw in a few nods to her family’s sinister secrets, maybe even the key to the mystery of her missing mother.
What or who is your biggest creative inspiration at the moment?
“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art.” —Taylor Swift
Ok I have two music-related inspirations! First, obviously, Taylor Swift. She’s brilliant at her craft and watching her reclaim her art while also making new art is inspiring. I grew up with her, and she feels like my older sister, so getting to experience her re-release all her old music has been so much fun. I also want to highlight a smaller artist who I LOVE and want everyone else to love – Jensen McRae. She’s such a great lyricist and shares a lot of snippets of her songwriting on social media, and I check in almost every day to see if she’s released this song yet. I find inspiration in people just constantly making art and putting it out into the world. 💖
