The Big Sleep

I have decided to do a book cover design for The Big Sleep as I thought the theme for it was darker and more interesting than The Wind in the Willows. I thought it might end up more of a challenge to come up with design ideas for an outdated crime novel which is aimed at a more mature audience than it would be to design a book cover for children.

Themes within the book that should be considered when designing.

Femme Fatale - Most of the female characters in this book seem pretty batty and get up to no good. They also all seem to try and seduce Marlowe in some way probably to take him off his game. While Marlowe does take a fancy to these female characters he tries not to get too involved and doesn't allow himself to get distracted. I think Carmen is the main problem of these female characters. She snoops around a lot and Marlowe always tends to find her in odd situations, she also often acts rashly or does something stupid (like shooting Joe Brody).

Orchids - Have been mentioned every now and then in the book and appears quite symbolic. I have looked up what orchids symbolise and it turns out that they indicated luxury, beauty and elegance. I think the orchids are very symbolic to the femme fatale character in the book, especially Vivian Regan as she is a rather wealthy, elegant and beautiful woman.

Cigarettes/ Cigars - There appears to be a common theme with the characters smoking cigarettes all the time or sometimes cigars as in that era smoking was very common. I think smoke could also be quite a cool effect for the design such as the title font.

Coffee - Marlowe tends to drink coffee a lot in the morning. I remember a scene where he said he had two cups of coffee while working at his desk. I think coffee could also work quite well within the design. by either using coffee colours or subtle effects such a coffee rings and stains.

Rain - It rains quite often in the book. Usually when Marlowe is in deep thought about the situation he's come across, or when something bad is about to happen, such as in the start of the book after he went to go see Mr Sternwood or when he was sitting in his car outside Geiger's shop.

Gambling/ Roulette/ Alcohol - Part of the corruption the city is under. There have been several scenes where Marlowe is drinking, such as when he first meets Mr Sternwood and Vivian Regan. He also seems to keep a bottle of Whisky or some other kind of alcoholic beverage in his car. Vivian has mentioned that she likes Roulette.

Legs - In the book Marlowe observes women's legs often and tends to describe them or talk about how he likes them. I thought using legs might be quite interesting to use as a design concept such as using them on the spine or maybe as part of the back cover.

Crime/ Murder/ Guns - This is a strong theme within in the book and many detective novels in fact. There are about 3-4 murders in the book so far (from where I've read up to) and many of the characters are usually in possession of firearms/ revolvers.