M4 Book Cover Design Draft

With Mr. Hiuni's blessing to change genres, I chose to feature Mina Caputo for my book cover design.  I have been so inspired and amazed by Mina's story that when we received this assignment, I immediately knew I wanted to feature her.  I first discovered Mina, as Keith, her former male incarnation.  I fell in love with his solo song Selfish and his shy, boy-next-door looks.  His youthful looks changed over the years into a rugged, bearded handsome man who could belt out some seriously loud, aggressive and throaty vocals as can be seen in Within Temptation's video What Have You Done Now.  He was the lead singer of the popular NY heavy metal band Life of Agony for years before branching out on his own solo career.  He was at one time even considered to replace the flamboyant Scott Weiland as lead singer when Weiland was kicked out of The Stone Temple Pilots for repeated drug use.  Few could live up to the vocal range and ability established by Weiland but Keith Caputo was on the immediate short list of acceptable replacements.

However, in July of 2011, things changed dramatically.   After 20 years of performing as a man, Keith announced his transition into the female incarnation he called "Mina" and posted pictures of the transformation via Twitter and Facebook for fans to experience.  The resulting reviews were at first, mixed, but it was clear that Mina wasn't going away and was here to stay.  With a rebellious "in your face" attitude supported by a huge wave of fan support, Mina confronted critics head on by releasing new songs and a series of videos that showed the new feminine side that had been hidden for so many years.  Celebrating her new found confidence and creative freedom, Mina's videos are fresh, sensual and sassy - the most memorable of which show her new curvy, womanly body in lacy black lingerie.

While designing this book cover, I had a hard time trying to decide which version I wanted to capture - the handsome man I first discovered or the sexy new vixen I fully supported.  No matter what picture I tried to manipulate, nothing seemed to fit and on a whim, I reached out to Mina via her website and within 2 days, she reached out to me with help.  I asked her that if a book were to be written about her life, what picture(s) would she most like to represent her?  Would she acknowledge the past or just embrace the present?  She wrote me a lovely letter back to tell me that a book was, indeed, in the works but she, too, was having trouble deciding on how it would be presented.

I asked her to pick some of her favorite pictures and in my design, I layered two of them together, facing each other.  This is reminiscent of her video Identity, where she spends time confronting herself and her new image in the mirror.  I also included a butterfly as the publishers mark as a nod to Mina's own website as a symbol of her transformation.  The pink color on the spine and Mina's own name is taken from the lipstick she is wearing.  I also chose black as a nod to the picture of Keith and his black leather jacket he's wearing and for the association with his heavy metal music.  The microphone stand on the back cover is pretty self explanatory.  :)