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Petit Piment / Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou

Contributed by Florian Hardwig on Sep 3rd, 2017. Artwork published in .
Petit Piment / Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou 1
Source: leportdetete.leslibraires.ca License: All Rights Reserved.

Alain Mabanckou’s novel Petit Piment was first published by Editions du Seuil in 2015. For the paperback edition by Points (January 2017), gray318 designed a cover combining striking illustration and caps from Thorowgood Sans Shaded, filled with alternating colors and patterns which are slightly offset, emulating misaligned registration. The particular font in use is Dieter Steffmann’s Sans Serif Shaded, a freebie digitization with blemished outlines (see e.g. top bowl of ‘B’) and without any accented characters. These imperfections can be a liability elswehere, but here they add to the desired non-industrial look. This cover design was adapted for the English edition by Serpent’s Tail (hardcover, March 2017). Translated by Helen Stevenson, Black Moses was longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize.

Petit Piment / Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou 2
Source: twitter.com Alain Mabanckou. License: All Rights Reserved.

Following the success of Petit Piment, Éditions Points (re)issued several other books by Alain Mabanckou, now with related cover designs featuring the same ingredients. The secondary typeface used for the author’s name is Mário Feliciano’s Flama Ultracondensed.

Verre Cassé (Broken Glass), June 2017
Source: www.lecerclepoints.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Verre Cassé (Broken Glass), June 2017

Le Monde est mon langage, Sept. 2017
Source: www.lecerclepoints.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Le Monde est mon langage, Sept. 2017

Mémoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine), August 2017
Source: www.lecerclepoints.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Mémoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine), August 2017

Le Sanglot de l’homme noir, June 2017
Source: www.lecerclepoints.com License: All Rights Reserved.

Le Sanglot de l’homme noir, June 2017

Petit Piment / Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou 3
Source: twitter.com Alain Mabanckou. License: All Rights Reserved.

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  • Thorowgood Sans Shaded
  • Flama Condensed

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1 Comment on “Petit Piment / Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou”

  1. See also Oliver Munday’s cover design for The Nix by Nathan Hill which likewise uses two lines of Thorowgood Sans Shaded with alternating letter colors, and yet is very different.

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