Moon Man
Designing a cover that effectively communicates the gravity and intensity of a true story is always a delicate balance. When Bart Sibrel approached me with the manuscript for "Moon Man", which documents his experience as a filmmaker alleging a major cover-up and his subsequent placement on a CIA watch list, I knew the design needed to be viscerally real and undeniably serious.
The Brief: Truth, Tension, and the Lunar Surface
The core challenge was translating a complex, high-stakes personal narrative into a single, cohesive image. Bart emphasised the documentary nature of his work—the title itself, "Moon Man," is instantly iconic, but the story is about a man facing real-world consequences for his beliefs.
The design had to accomplish three things:
Immediate recognition of the subject (the Moon).
Establish a tone of high-stakes, non-fiction thriller.
Ensure Bart's branding remained consistent with our previous work.
Execution: Stripping Away Colour, Amplifying Contrast
My design strategy was to embrace stark realism and maximum impact, which meant abandoning the illustrative approach of our previous project.
The Photographic Anchor: We chose a powerful, high-resolution image of the Moon's surface. This decision grounds the entire cover in reality. The texture of the craters, the dramatic play of light and shadow, and the infinite blackness of space surrounding it immediately set a tone of vastness, isolation, and unvarnished truth. The monochromatic, black-and-white look inherently suggests a classic investigative film or a dramatic documentary.
Typographic Continuity and Force: While the image style is different from "Aliens from Planet X," we maintained the bold, clear, sans-serif typographic language. This consistency in type style is key to building Bart Sibrel's visual brand.
Maximising Readability: To ensure the title—"MOON MAN"—would cut through the busy texture of the lunar photo, I selected a deep, authoritative black. Layering this large, blocky text directly over the brightest area of the Moon creates maximum contrast and makes the title instantly legible, even from a distance. The titles and author name serve as sharp, clean graphic elements superimposed on a chaotic, natural background.
Conveying the Stakes: The subtitle, "The True Story of a Filmmaker on the CIA Hit List," is a narrative bomb. It needed to be clearly stated but not dominate the central image. Its placement and size below the title act as the bridge between the celestial setting and the human drama within.
Conclusion: A Documentary Aesthetic
The resulting cover is intentionally unflinching and direct. It uses the inherent drama of a realistic lunar photograph to convey authenticity, while the typography delivers the title and the author's credentials with uncompromising clarity.
This design functions less as a piece of speculative art and more as a documentary poster, perfectly setting the stage for the intense, non-fiction account that lies within. It’s a design that respects the severity of Bart's personal story while keeping his signature bold style front and centre.
