Birds & Words

Birds; ornamental motifs, symbols, metaphors, create a fascinating visual. Their lovely form, colour, texture and behavioural characteristics bring in a certain whimsy allowing for greater abstraction and interpretation. Surely it justifies its extensive use on book covers, making it a designer’s favourite.

Known to bring you a sense of joy, grace and lightness, I was however, conveniently negligent of the bleak suggestions. There is no scarcity of jackets with birds, but most if not all, my findings are books with underlying themes of death, disaster, tragedy while only few others with much softer suggestions. I was disappointed really, at the irony of something so gorgeous as something harsh. Yet this coexistence is precisely what makes it exciting. Is it also this ethology reflecting on the day-to-day lives of us humans, that make for a beautiful parallel comparison? It is not a surprise that Charley Harper was drawn to this subject of nature. 

Whatsoever, it is quite fascinating to see the various styles taken by the recurring avian figures. For instance, I love the way the crow looks at the cigarette. Or the ibis which almost seems like it is looking at you. Or even the poetic beauty of the bright green parrot.

Here are some of the (many many) covers that stood out to me. That being so, I asked a few designers to share their perception, interpretation and significance of birds.

“C. Subramania Bharati was a leading Tamil writer fondly called the ‘Mahakavi’ (or Supreme Poet). The cover for his collected writings ‘The Coming Age’ features parrots as they are a significant symbol in Tamil literature and allude to the prowess of storytelling” - ANTRA K

“I used a crow as a symbol of death. Not only is the word “death” in the title, but there’s an ever present risk of death at all times to all the characters in the book. And there are ghosts that appear often. The women in Babs’ crime syndicate all chain smoke, which looked humorous with the crow.” - TAL GORETSKY

“Most cover designers have a selection of covers they have done that feature birds, myself included. They can serve as potent visual metaphors, transcending mere decoration. The challenge is always how to use them in new and unexpected ways so that these delicate creatures aren’t doing all the heavy lifting on their own.” - DAVID DRUMMOND