Piercing Red by Lena Platonos

Piercing Red is a collection of poems and song lyrics by Greek musician Lena Platonos, published by Dark Entries Editions. It is the first translation of her work from Greek to English to reach a more international audience. Having worked closely with Lena on her album reissues and releases, I was honored to design the book with her deep and dreamy aesthetics in mind. The cover photo is framed by her mirror reflection and metaphor for the femme duality and introspection she explores in her work. The mirror center has a spot-gloss varnish to create some texture and contrast on the cover, while handlettering and illustrated emblems embody the analogue, journalistic and personal nature of her music and poetry. The poems and lyrics are organized by album and year, with distilled graphics from her album covers used for each chapter opener.