Casino Royale book cover

A bold new Bond edition, celebrating 70 years of 007

007: Updating a classic

Like many, I've been a big fan of the movie reboot of the Bond franchise, so when the Folio Society asked me to redesign a limited-edition cover for the 70th anniversary, I leapt at the opportunity.

We chose a strikingly simple graphic composition for the leather-bound cover, resembling a roulette wheel. I drew a new 007 motif for use on the cover, slipcase and endpapers and set Ian Fleming's name in a set of bespoke letters I designed to match. The main title is set in my typeface Span, as are all of the headings and titles throughout the book.

Casino Royale Book Cover | Jamie Clarke Type

Casino Royale Book Flysheet | Jamie Clarke Type

Casino Royale Book set | Jamie Clarke Type

In my initial sketches, I designed a more elaborate cover containing a dozen or more little pictorial clues and references to the first Bond story. These would all make sense after reading the novel. However, we decided a bolder, classic look would work best.

“Darker and more visceral than those new to Fleming’s novels might imagine, Casino Royale plunges Bond into a battle of luck, wits and physical endurance against Le Chiffre, a corrupt agent of the feared Soviet organisation, SMERSH. Le Chiffre’s unsavoury predilections have left him bankrupt and desperate for money, and his defeat lies in the hands of “the finest gambler available to the Service”. Bond becomes his opponent in a game of baccarat – a game set on a ”luminous and sparkling stage”, with violence lurking in the wings. The beautiful and inscrutable Vesper Lynd has been sent to assist him, but their love affair will imperil them both.’

Thumbnails exploring various lock-ups of image and lettering.