Concept – Melodic Ruins
Melodic Ruins blends music, war, and resilience to reflect Władysław Szpilman’s life during WWII. The design plays with contrasts: destruction vs. beauty, silence vs. music, and chaos vs. structure. The black, white, and deep red palette symbolizes Poland, blood, and sacrifice, inspired by wartime posters that also influence the bold sans-serif titles. Serif body text adds a historical, elegant tone.
Visual elements include musical notes turning into rubble, piano keys as streets, and buildings formed from text columns. The book is divided into three parts:
– Before the War: calm, structured layouts
– During the War: chaotic, distressed compositions
– The German Officer: dramatic lighting, showing fear, survival, and the emotional power of music
BOOK COVER
For the cover, I created a symbolic image of an open piano containing the ruins of a city. The piano represents classical music and Władysław Szpilman’s life, while the ruins reflect the war’s destruction. I used AI and Photoshop to build this scene, adding a retro paper texture to give it depth and a sense of history.
