This is a passion project I started working on after becoming enthralled by this particular book. It follows the story of two college students whose strongly held convictions about the pliancy of ethical norms and their deep discontent with social convention pushes them towards an act of irrevocable violence.

My design is conceived of the various plot points of the novel and the era it is set in. Considered by some readers part of the Dark Academia pseudo-genre, the design uses the scholastic motif of the enciclopedic illustration, as the main characters are preoccupied by themes of ecology and resilience prelevant in the militant discourse of the 1970s America; butterflies referred to as being covered by industrial soot as result of the violent industrialisation plaguing the area the book is set in.

The neon-green colour featured on the title constructs a modern emphasis on a story set more than five decades ago, and along with a type choice that is gestural and rough, the juxtaposition of the elements create an arresting design that accentuates the complexity of the themes explored by the author. And as the main character conceives of the crime, I added a left hand bloody fingerprint (because he is left-handed) to create even more intrigue.