Author of
Three Blind Mice | The Cradle Will Fall | and Hush
Welcome
The Ian Black Project
The Ian Black Project
In the summer of 2003, I self-published my first novel, Three Blind Mice under the pseudonym, Ian Black. I have since written two parts of this trilogy of novels and created a visual marketing campaign to attract potential readers capture the look and feel of The Tangled Web Trilogy.
- Client: Ian Black
- Date: 23 June2003
- Website Ianblackauthor.com
Project Details
Ian Black Logos
The ConceptAs a graphic designer and a writer, I thought it was essential to create a visual brand for an otherwise unknown author like myself. These logos create an association to my work as Ian Black.
Three Blind Mice Cover
The ConceptThe cover features a simple chessboard theme with three pawns, reflecting on the theme of manipulation throughout the story. This theme echoed throughout the rest of the visual marketing campaign I designed, and served well to gain interest in the book and generate sales.
The Cradle Will Fall
The ConceptAs part of a trilogy of novels, I thought the cover artwork for the subsequent novels should be similar to the first novel with a slightly different touch to the theme. With the cover for The Cradle Will Fall, the chessboard was repeated and an image of a cradle was created. That image was placed dangerously at the edge of the board to reflect the title.
Hush
The ConceptKeeping in step with the changes made to the theme with The Cradle Will Fall, I wanted the cover to maintain the chessboard theme with the added spider web in the background. I entirely created the image of the snow globe (A plot point in the novel) to be in the center of the chessboard.
three Blind Mice Mice Poster 1
The ConceptThe lead images in this poster campaign were used to illustrate the fact that there are two narratives in the story which are darkly similar to one another. This is a rendition of the female protagonist in the story.
Three blind Mice Poster 2
The ConceptOnce again, the lead images in this poster campaign were used to illustrate the fact that there are two narratives in the story which are darkly similar to one another. This is a rendition of the male protagonist in the story.
Three biind Mice poster3
the ConceptFor the final piece of this marketing campaign, I decided to bring the two prior posters together. The photos were stripped of their once striking color and placed on opposite sides of the page, illustrating how diametrically opposed the two characters are.
Three Blind Mice Poster& Billboard
The ConceptThe idea was to create a roadside billboard to promote the release of my first novel, Three Blind Mice, incorporating the themes of the story and book cover. I wanted to continue the theme of the book, placing the main character in the story, Sloan, in the front, holding a pawn with the chessboard and the protagonist, Judy in the backdrop.
The Cradle Will Fall Billboard
The ConceptFor this image, I wanted something dark and intriguing with a hint of danger. The gray color palette along with the eye watching the cradle fall from the shadowy tree, make for a disturbingly intriguing image.
Both projects required Original Photoraphy, image rendering and Photoshop and Illustrator and layouts in Indesign.
Hush Billboard
The ConceptFor this image, the billboard/poster for the final installment of the Tangled web Trilogy, Hush, I wanted something striking image. Using and rendering an image m 0f a broken baby doll head (a theme in the story ), accompanied by the spider web in the background and the haunting tagline. The goal was to use a striking image and a small amount of text to make a point of the direction of this story. Aside from being a billboard, this was also used as a display poster and the image for the invitations sent out for the launch party.
Hush poster
the ConceptFor this poster, I used a photograph a model (the same man used in the Three Blind Mice Poster) and after rendering the eye color to green. I attached a clipart image of the figure standing in the shadows. I changed the background color to blue to match the color of the book’s cover, accenting the eerie, mysterious theme presented in the story.
Hush Poster 2
The ConceptFor this piece, I went for a dramatic noir-style. I using the clipart image of the frightened woman to project the concept of fear and the shadowy image of the Kewpie doll behind her to project the idea of something to be afraid of, I tied it all together with a haunting quote from the book Throughout the entirety of all three campaigns the effort was capturing the multiple themes throughout each story and capturing them with a simple striking image.
The Tangled Web Trilogy
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is a twisted tale of scandal, deception and bloody, bloody revenge. The Tangled Web is a short poem I wrote about a spider getting hung in his own web, symbolizing a person facing the consequences of their own lies. I made this idea the theme for this trilogy of novels. The story revolves around a psychiatrist who gets tangled up in her patient's intriguing tale of revenge, manipulation and deception and soon becomes tempted to take the same measures against her chusband of thirty years, who she learns is having an affair.The Cradle Will Fall
The Cradle Will Fall is the sequel to my first novel Three Blind Mice. The central characters from that novel, Sloan and Judy, are back to fight their war of mind games, manipulation and revenge. Taking place two years after the first, the novel brings more intense high-stakes drama, intrigue and a shocking twist that leaves readers tangled in the web.
