Reading Challenge 2023: It’s Up to You, New York by Tess Daly

This post is about a book I read called “It’s Up to You, New York” by Tess Daly. In a previous post, I discussed the novel from a graphic design perspective. I discussed my initial thoughts on the novel based on the book’s cover design. In this post, I will discuss my thoughts on the book itself.

A few years ago, I visited New York and had a good time. I live in London, England and New York is similar in many ways. It’s a big city with people from all over the world. But it’s also very different. There’s a magical feeling about the place. It’s funny because when I was there, everything felt so familiar despite the fact that it was my first time visiting the city. This is because of all the movies and series I watched growing up, that took place in The Big Apple. One thing is for certain, there’s never a boring day in this unique city.

The reading challenge I chose to do was to read “a book set in another country”. I chose the US, specifically New York. I searched online for novels set in New York, created a short list and then went to my local library to borrow them. “It’s Up to You, New York” was one of them.

Above: Image of the book “It’s Up to You, New York”.

I didn’t have any expectations. I only wanted to feel the magic of the city and relive some of my own memories through the story, characters and places. Nothing too heavy. Just a casual read.

The story revolves around a young woman who works at a call centre. The young woman, Holly, has a lovely boyfriend named James and they both live in London. Life is pretty good…apart from the fact she doesn’t really like her job. Then one day, an opportunity arises to join a television show seeking the UK’s next supermodel. After much deliberation, Holly decides to join the show.

This is where the story really starts to take off. She enters into a completely different world from her own. This world involves luxury, celebrities, premieres, the spotlight and of course, New York! But above all, life changing experiences.

I think that the short chapters help create the sense of a fast paced world. Things happen so quickly in the life of Holly that, as the reader, you feel it too. It was really nice to read about locations that I visited, such as 5th Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, The Empire State Building and the Museum of Modern Art.

There were a few things that surprised me. Firstly, the book was set in London. I assumed that it would be set entirely in New York, however it was nice to start things off in London. I live there so I could relate to the things mentioned in the novel. Secondly, the fashion reality show is only part of the story. Many things happen outside the show that contribute to the story. For example, there is an incident that happens with her boyfriend which actually catapults her into New York, but then comes full circle towards the end of the story.

The characters were also interesting. There were many questions and thoughts going through my mind such as the motives of the characters including: Max (the billionaire host of the show, who is nothing but nice to her…but why?). Zane (who speaks so much slang, is he really saying anything?). Sasha (her friendly supervisor on the show, but then becomes frosty for some reason). Joe (a journalist, but can he be trusted?) and Moet (a foe on the show but then shows a sudden change of heart).

There are other more poignant moments such as her younger sister who is diagnosed with a condition that makes it difficult to walk and her child-like nature to trust people who eventually let her down. But also elements where she surprises herself with her bravery and courage, to overcome situations and figure things out.

I predicted a few things correctly during the course of the book, however, the big twist at the end had me shocked. I did not see it coming!

Conclusion

It took just under 2 weeks to read the novel. That is very quick for me. It can take me a while to read because I can be inconsistent, but I made a real effort to read on a daily basis.

The book is a love story to New York. There are romantic moments, but also very funny moments. It all made for a good read. I really enjoyed it.

This is part of a reading challenge I am doing inspired by popsugar. Click here to read other posts related to reading. I’m looking forward to reading other books as part of this challenge. So watch this space.

Book Cover Design Analysis: It’s Up to You New York by Tess Daly

I’ve been thinking a lot about New York recently. It all started with a podcast I listened to. It’s a French podcast I use to practice my listening skills. The title of the podcast is “Raconte-moi New York” which means “Tell me about New York” in French. The host tells the listener about his love, passion and adventures of New York. He is a French person who fell in love with the city by watching shows like Friends, movies by Stanley Kubrick, and following sports such as baseball. When I was listening to the podcast, it stirred up memories of my own. I went to New York several years ago and as the host was talking, it reminded me of my own experiences. I had also grown up watching shows and movies set in New York. After listening to an episode or two, it triggered my interest in the city once again.

So, I re-watched some of my favourite movies and series set in New York. I looked at some of the photos I took when I was there, and I even watched a few YouTube videos of people travelling to the city that never sleeps for the first time. It was all good fun. Then, I realised something. I’m doing a reading challenge (similar to popsugar‘s challenge of reading a variety of books for the year). I had never read a book set in New York before. Now was my chance.

I searched up books set in New York online, created a list and went to my local library to see if some of them were there. For the first read, I wanted something light-hearted and not so serious. A book that showed the magic of New York, a book that made me think of the city and perhaps want to visit again. Preferably in modern New York. Perhaps a romantic novel, or one with some humour I thought. So, I came across a few books and one of them was called “It’s Up to You New York” by Tess Daly. It fit the mood I was in. A good choice for a casual read. I just started it and I’m enjoying it so far.

The first thing I loved about the book was the book cover design. It really stood out from the crowd. It’s beautiful. This post is about the book cover from a graphic design perspective.

Above: Image of book (front and spine)

The first thing that stood out for me, was just how elegant and beautiful everything was. It really felt romantic and magical. I love the title. The decorative serif font used for the “It’s Up To You” part of the title, fits well with the theme of New York being a magical place. It’s as if the protagonist is saying this with a strong attachment to the city. In fact, there is an image of a woman staring at the skyline, perhaps romantically and in deep thought. It’s really clever because the viewer can also see what she sees, and assume her thoughts through the title. It’s mysterious. You want to know more.

The colours enchance the mystery. The colour purple can be associated with mysteriousness, and it is used to good effect in the design. The purple mixed with pink and then a darker purple from top to bottom of the cover, creates unity and communicates a sense of wonder and curiosity. It also creates elegance and romance. Purple can also be associated with luxury and royalty. The pink creates a slight contrast, but also creates unity because it is close to purple on the colour wheel; making it analagous. There is also unity with the image of the woman as she is dressed in a pink colour and her fashion also represents elegance.

The added effect of the fireworks in the sky surrounding the title fits well with the font-style. There is nice contrast between the words “New York” with the rest of the title. It is a sans-serif and is more modern. Perhaps communicating the time period of the novel or the well-structured modern city style. The title also stands out. It is light whilst the background is dark. The name of the author and what it is about (bottom) is synced with the background in pink, showing that the more important information is the title of the book and the image. It all works out for a great design. It makes me want to read it, and that is what I am doing.

Graphic Design: Peter Pan Book Design

This post is about a book design cover I created for the Peter Pan story.

It was an exercise from a book titled Graphic Design School. The tasks were as follows:

1. Select a classic novel that you have read and are fairly familiar with. Consider the story-line, the message and the overall tone of the writing. Make a list of the most influential elements in the novel such as characters, circumstances, defining events, time periods. Define the target audience for the novel. Select a key theme for an image that represents this novel, draw it, stage a photograph of it, research archival images, come up with as many creative means to visually represent this theme.
2. Sketch 3-5 ideas from your list that best illustrates your concept for the book’s cover. Choose a final design idea.
3. Develop and finalise the design by using traditional media or digital media

Why I chose the Peter Pan story

The Peter Pan story is about a boy who never grew up. He lives in a place called Neverland. He travels to London and takes Wendy and her brothers to Neverland. This is the start of an adventure that involves pirates, mermaids, flying and more! I chose the Peter Pan story because I loved it as a child. I have great memories watching the Disney Peter Pan film and being in awe of the characters, scenes and amazing animation. I also loved watching Hook, which is another version of the Peter Pan story. This time, Peter pan is an adult who forgets who he is, until he returns to Neverland. The 2003 Peter Pan film is the closest to the original book written by J.M.Barrie. I read the book as an adult. I love the book and film. It’s magical.

Research

The first thing I did, was to make a list of the characters and defining events of Peter Pan. I also wrote down the target audience which is children.

Above: Images of character list and defining events of Peter Pan

After much deliberation, the key themes selected were “flying” and “adventure”. I feel that these words represent Peter Pan really well. One of the first things I like to do during my research, is to come up with a list of words. This helps me generate ideas.

Above: Image of the first words that came into my head

After the research period, I like to start sketching. I created sketches based on the research gathered.

Above: Image of sketches

I really wanted the design to reflect the themes “flying” and “adventure”. The book cover is like the window to the book’s soul. It gives you an insight of the world you are about to enter. This is what I wanted to create through the design. A sense of flying, adventure…and freedom.

Final Design: Above is the design I chose

The next step was production. I decided to use the Photoshop software to make my design come to life.

The main element of the design is the image. So I browsed the internet to find the perfect image. The key words that were searched for were: “boy flying” and “boys jumping”. I managed to find a silhouette of a group of boys jumping from iStock. I really like this image.

Boys Jumping

Image of silhouettes

I used the magic wand tool to eliminate the white background. I wanted to created a focal point that grabbed the viewer’s attention immediately, so I placed one of the images in the centre, and increased the size so that it filled the majority of the design. I used the emphasis principle by creating an outer glow and an embossed effect. I also stylized the image by using a leafy texture. The contrast principle was used with a darker green colour and the bright outer glow. I chose the colour green because this is the colour that is most associated with the character. Calmer colours such as blue tend to be used for backgrounds because it appears to be further away from the viewer. I used a blue colour that is associated to the evening. It’s dark but not too dark. I remember watching the famous scene in the Disney animated Peter Pan film, where Peter Pan flies across London with Michael, John and Wendy, and the sky was a medium dark blue. That is what I was aiming for.

I chose four further images to surround the main image. I used the dominance principle to create volume and further enhance the main image. The four images are black with two of them being the same image. The colour black and the repetition creates unity. I also changed the scale of the images, so that they appear to be much smaller than the main image. I really like the images because they create a sense of flying and freedom.

I used a serif font because it symbolises an older and more classic period. Sans-serif fonts tend to feel modern but I wanted the typography to feel older or classic. I chose a very light blue colour which slightly matches the outer glow of the main image (which is white and yellow). I edited the angle of the fonts so that it matched the motion of the main image, steering it upwards. The letter “P” for “Peter” and “Pan” are closely linked but the rest of the letters slightly spread out. It’s as if the fonts are also flying.

Image of final design

To finish, feel free to listen to a wonderful soundtrack below from the 2003 Peter Pan film. It is one of my favourite film soundtracks. It really represents the feeling of wanting to fly. So what are you waiting for? Fly!

Conclusion

I had fun creating this design. It took me back to my childhood and made me think of all the wonderful memories I had with this story. I had the opportunity to work on design principles such as balance, unity, dominance and contrast. I used Photoshop to bring my designs to life. I used inspiration from the Peter Pan films and music. Overall, it was a great experience.

Lastly, wherever you are in the world. Remember that “to live would be an awfully big adventure“.

To see other designs, feel free to check out my portfolio.

Ciao for now!