JOY BOOK COVER-BOOK&COVER#03


2023
Adobe InDesign
This project is a conceptual redesign of Zadie Smith’s essay “Joy,” using typographic deconstruction to explore the tension and complexity between joy and other emotional states.

The design is inspired by Smith’s core argument: joy is not the same as happiness—it’s deeper, more layered, and often intertwined with pain, fear, surprise, and pleasure. To reflect this, I deconstructed the word “JOY,” breaking and reconnecting its letterforms, while annotating each fragment with emotion-related terms. The result is a visual map of entangled feelings.

Each cover uses a different color scheme—juxtaposing high-saturation tones with neutrals—to evoke distinct emotional atmospheres while maintaining a cohesive identity. The typographic treatment mirrors the philosophical depth of the essay, turning the cover itself into a visual extension of the text’s introspective nature.

This is a design study in the relationship between language, feeling, and form.