Design

Publisher: Ateneo de Manila University Press
Author: Liwayway Arceo
Book dimensions: 5 x 7 in
Year: 2012

A major collection of short stories by one of the country's most prominent female fictionists in Tagalog. The female persona is prominent in Arceo's stories in this  collection. Her storytelling is uncomplicated, the dialogue in melodic vernacular prose, both perhaps owing to her background in writing for radio dramas and soap operas.

For the cover, I selected a stylized rendering of the everydaywoman―a homely figure in a loose bun and houseclothes. The shapes and letterforms are simple, with soft curvature. The type treatment is literally common, in all lowercase. I emphasize these qualities in keeping with Arceo's stories, which center on the daily drama in the lives of ordinary women. Playing with this “feminine” projection, I use soft reds, pinks, and whites, but I contrast it with a domineering black form, challenging the softness with a certain portent.

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