Joseph Jarrett

Now I am just about the farthest thing from a visual artist. I can write endlessly, day after day. But if you asked me to draw something, I’d probably have my five-year-old niece do it because she would do a heck of a lot better than I could. As a kid and a pre-teen, I wasn’t half bad. After sixth grade, though, nah. I used to draw designs of dresses and gowns for my aunt in New York. She would hang them on the inside of her kitchen cabinets, and there may be a slight chance she still has those 2011 original sketches.

When it came time to begin working on the cover art for Mishaps & Mistakes, I really struggled with deciding what I wanted to do. It felt like there were a million and one options, and none matched the image in my head. The only things I knew I wanted were a simple design and color. I also knew that I didn’t want a portrait of me on the cover. That was a major no-go for me. It’s a story of growing up gay after all, there’s gotta be color. Because of my indecisiveness, I decided to give AI a shot at being my cover artist. I prompted ChatGPT with any and every detail that came to mind. Keywords I remember using were “simple,” “vintage,” and “bold-frame glasses.” Here is the initial image that it created for me.

It wasn’t half bad. I actually really liked the image it created, but I wasn’t sold. It didn’t feel right in any sense. I felt like it lacked the human touch that any kind of art should have. It didn’t fully match the essence of my story. But I wanted to give ChatGPT one more try. I asked for some changes and this was what I got in return.

I was actually kind of freaked out by the slight resemblance these AI covers had to me. They wore outfits I had worn. The first image had a messenger bag very similar to one I had used on the Ireland trip in 2019 (hinting at Chapter 3 there). You’re probably saying, “Yeah, sure, they totally look like you and not like any other guy on the street.” But in the moment, I really saw it! Forgive me, please!

After my failed attempts to use AI, I decided I was going to have to take matters into my own hands. This was absolutely horrifying to do because I had zero graphic design skills. I was operating off pure intuition and prayers. Canva was about to become my new best friend as I started to practice.

It was during these practice sessions that an element of design came to me. It was one I knew I needed to be in the cover art, regardless of anything else. On the back of my book, you’ll find the summary. At the end of the summary, I talk about the tilted halo. The sign of a work in progress, one that is far from perfection. I needed to find a way to incorporate a tilted halo in there. That was my centerpiece. Of the practice designs I kept, here was the first one I somewhat liked. And brace yourself because it was not good at all.

I know it’s horrible, I’m sorry! Like I said, zero graphic design ability. But the generalized idea of what I wanted to show was starting to appear. One man, in the mix of a group, who isn’t perfect like the rest. I was on the right track, but was lacking in execution. I contemplated what I could do. The choice I made was to actually remove the human aspect of it, make it very simple, and very straightforward. I still wanted it to be obvious outside of the title that the book has an LGBTQ+ theme, but I didn’t want it to be overwhelming. So, I came up with this.

This was one design that I actually felt proud of. I was really happy with it. I didn’t go overboard with symbolism or details. My words were filled with that, so the cover really didn’t need that, too. I was about ninety-five percent happy with this cover, but I wanted to get to that hundred percent. It took a quick change to get me there.

My favorite color is pink, though I generally tell people it is blue. Pink has always done it for me. It was the color of the bedroom my sister and I shared as kids. The Pink Power Ranger was always my favorite. Barbie dolls in pink dresses were my favorite toys. So why not make my book cover my favorite color? And I also like whimsical fonts and placement, so let me add in some of that. Boom. I had it. My cover was done. The cover that the world now sees.

I decided to align the title and my name along the curves of the rainbows. All as an added spice, of course. I made the cover bright and bold, while still simple at the core. I smiled a silly smile as I texted a screenshot to some of my friends. They got the first official sneak peek of my book. “Choose Your Fighter” by Ava Max was playing as I danced around my room, feeling victorious. That song happens to be from the 2023 Barbie movie, so it was especially fitting that it played when I finished this valiant act.

So, tell me, which cover speaks to you the most? Did I choose the right cover for Mishaps & Mistakes, or should I have left one of the others?

And, as always, here is the link to listen to “Choose Your Fighter” while you dance around the room!