5 cover variations

Below are the 5 cover variations i presented in a group crit. 

Prior to the crit, the second cover (top row) was the cover which i felt was most successful in appealing to a contemporary readership however after the group crit the majority all agreed that the 3rd design was the most successful. 

Cover 1 (top row) was quickly dismissed after i explained how i felt it looked too dated and not appropriate for the readership, people agreed. 

The colour scheme of the second cover was said to be to minimal, one person commented that the cover "appeals to females rather than males, who the book is for", the book is for both genders which is why i felt yellow and red would be appropriate, despite this the third cover was still preferred. 

The third cover was unanimously favoured due to the collage approach i took to the brief, it was commented that the design relates to the actual book, which is what i was hoping for; i hoped to communicate the cover as if this was Adrian's diary, using hand drawn type, tape and other found items to make it look real, further to this i added the corn flakes box from the 1980's (when the book was written) to relate to the extract in the book where Adrian forgets to bring the cereal to a camping trip. 

The fourth design is a slight variation on the previous design, the tones of the third cover were preferred to this one due to the way they make the type stand out on the cover.  

The final design is one that i was unsure of, the blue tone of the type works in appealing to both genders i believe, however the illustration i feel, is too simple, the cover looks very flat and i struggled to see how i would carry on a similar design on the back cover, however with the collage approach, the back cover will flow nicely along side the front due to it's aesthetic.