Requirements

Trucksong is a science fiction novel by Melbourne-based writer and musician Andrew Macrae. Andrew plays guitar in the band The Television Sky, and he created a music soundtrack for Trucksong. The brief was to create a graphic identity that would encompass the book, a CD cover, a website and other promotional material.

Solutions

Part of Andrew's inspiration for the book is dekotora – custom decorated Japanese trucks. I created a TRUCKSONG typeface as the centrepiece of the branding. The branding elements include the book cover, CD package, website landing page and projection visuals for the launch party. I also created a social media flyer to advertise the launch party. Internal page design was created by the book's publisher, Twelfth Planet Press.

I worked with the author to illustrate important elements from the story, such as the figure of Jon Ra and the crow image. The website interface also features the look and feel of an old microcomputer display. Although the story is set in the distant future, the concept came from 70s trucking movies, so my idea was to mix the styles of two different periods. I wanted it to feel modern and old school at the same time.

Another important element to capture was the Australian landscape, with a rusted and dusty texture. I created the visual elements for the texture and temperature of this landscape. My goal was to capture the book's concept visually, and to provide an aesthetic that will encourage the audience to buy the book.