THE MEMORY POLICE: JACKET DESIGN

“A SURREAL, PROVOCATIVE FABLE ABOUT THE POWER OF MEMORY AND THE TRAUMA OF LOSS…”

The Memory Police made a timely introduction in my life. With Orwellian themes of state surveillance, a shady police force disappearing people, and authoritarians eliminating joy piece by piece from people’s hearts…it’s all too familiar in 2026. By the end of it, I was haunted. A wonderful, surreal work by Yoko Ogawa.

This jacket design recalls distant memories, with a sepia-toned photographs and handwritten script from a postcard. This jacket design had me thinking fondly of my grandmothers, and how much I miss them.

I glimpsed the book in my local bookstore (shoutout Black & Read) and subsequently checked it out from my local library (shoutout Denver Public Library Central). I was struck by the cover design by Tyler Comrie (he also designed the cover of Carnality by Lina Wolff…another great design for another wonderfully trippy novel). The novel’s beautiful cover design reminded me instantly of my aesthetic style, and certainly needs no improvement. But I did want to play with some concepts.

I went the opposite direction with this jacket design. A big, bold brain scan rendered in hot pink halftones is the background for the title that is fading and disappearing at the edges-reminiscent of the loss of memory and meaning within the book’s pages. Psychedelic and retro, this jacket design jumps out at you from the shelf.

I’ve wanted to create a new series of jacket art designs+redesigns, and as I began reading The Memory Police, it seemed like the perfect time to begin this exploratory series that combines my love of books and design.

I hope you like them. Stay tuned for more.