Fantasy Book Cover Design

Iban Journey

Golda Mowe
Monsoon (2015)
Fantasy Young Adult

A work of fantasy fiction based on the rainforest folklore and animist superstitions of the Iban people of Borneo, the story begins with Nuing, the youngest son of a respected warrior and headhunter in Sarawak, who runs away from home after his longhouse community rejects him following a failed war expedition. Nuing and his best friend Gunggu wander the land until they eventually meet and are accepted by a group of travelers made up of cursed individuals. Soon after, however, the worst possible scourge befalls Nuing when he kills a demon huntsman.

Iban Journey is a journey unto itself into a hidden world of Iban spirits and animal gods. The author is Iban herself and as such requested no illustrations of the animal gods for the book's cover, complying with Iban customary law. For the cover design, our cover cooks took inspiration from the traditional wood carvings and intricate motif paintings of the Dayak ethnic group of Borneo; using a vector-based illustration to reproduce the tribal art as a stylized depiction of the luxuriant foliage characteristic of the rainforest. The choice of a hand-drawn font matches the graphic elements on the cover too.

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