The making of the cover design for It Can’t Be by Alexey Ivanov

Preparing sketches on the topic of counterintuitive solutions.

Showing the client the variant approved by the art director.

Client: There is no paradox here. The task is to illustrate what seemingly is impossible, but what actually exists. That’s when people exclaim, “It’s a paradox!”

Thinking some more. Suggesting a variety of options:
— a grandma knitting a parachute for her grandson
— a cockroach chasing a man with a shoe
— a huge fish fishing at a river bank
— a Mercedes with emergency lights stops at a pedestrian crossing to let a grandma cross
— a fly dragging home a spider in the web
— a Lada beating a Ferrari in a race
— a huge sumo wrestler eating greens
— a huge bodybuilder on top of a stool afraid of a mouse
— a mouse sleeping next to a cat
— a snowman sun tanning on a beach
— a Santa Claus taking a present from a child

We don’t like it. Some new ideas:
— a guy in a business suit riding his suitcase like a skateboard, his — two guys playing chess, on one side all figures are horses, on the other all — an artist sitting in front of a bull and paints a red flag
— a spaceman on the Moon taking his helmet off to sniff a Moon flower

Client: These are not paradoxes, they’re just jokes.

The client helps us find the right idea.

Just what we need. Drawing.

Changing the color to orange.

Typesetting the cover. Waiting for the missing text from the client. While we wait, we check out what the entire cover will look like.

Art director: I don’t like the color of the background.

Trying other options.

Settling on the light-brown one.

Making final adjustments to the layout and preparing the files for printing. Not forgetting about varnishing and embossing.