SEEDS PLANTED UP NORTH
Seeds Planted Up North is a poetry collection by Mexican American author Ruddy Lopez, to be published TBD. For the cover the author wanted to incorporate images of roses, planes, and roots.
I met with Ruddy before I started, to hear more about what the book meant to her. The book deals with her upbringing as a first generation Mexican American in Los Angeles and how that shaped her experience as a Latina woman.
BY RUDDY LOPEZ
One concept I explored was using a Cortez shoe that is synonymous with Mexican American culture in Los Angeles and Old English as a font treatment. I used these in juxtaposition with an old rancher boot, which would represent her grandmother’s roots. Also having two different kinds of plants representing two different countries, two sides of her heritage.
Ruddy came back with feedback that she wanted to focus more on the rose and thorns. She wanted to see a treatment with just that and Old English. Rose’s are her grandmother’s favorite flower and the thorns represented the struggle while the bloom represented the successful rooting.
I chose a style of rose that felt traditional and vintage. I pushed everything up in size to give it more impact and to translate the struggle from the thorns.
Below is the Final Book Cover.