“The Sign of the Four” Book Design

Originally published in 1890, The Sign of the Four is the second of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels. The text explores the mind of Holmes as seen through the eyes of his colleague, John Watson. From cover to cover, to chapter heads, all the way down to page color, font choice, and text layout, conceptual decisions were made to create this newly redesigned edition of the story. The book uses several visual and physical elements to further express Holmes’ unique personality and Watson’s emotions throughout their adventure, as well as invite the reader to engage and interact with the mystery themselves. Different uses of typography push attitudes and emphasize ideas while words and sentences move across the page to match scenery and add rhythmic motion to the text. Loose pieces of evidence and clues are tucked away within the pages of the book for the reader to find, and handwritten notes are placed throughout the story so that the reader can follow Holmes’ detective processes and help solve the mystery of the Agra Treasure.https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/ce_jsustudentsymp_2023/1044/thumbnail.jp