Front cover and spine

Reggie White, one of the most decorated football players in history, played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the NFL. White, an ordained minister himself, earned the nickname “Minister of Defense” because of his many Christian ministries as well as his position as a clergy.

He published an autobiography with Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson shortly before his untimely death.

The title of his autobiography “In the Trenches” was meant to allude not only his storied career as a tough competitor on the “battlefield” of the football gridiron but also alluded to his hard work championing his faith and the people he served in his ministries.

When approaching the design for this cover and deciding what to put on it, it was clear that two things would sell this book cover for those who judge their books by them: Reggie White and football.

The cover really need to focus on on image of him in his football uniform and his name. The typography for the type needed to support the title itself, as well as give reference to the gritty, dirty world of hard impacts launched and received in the tough sport of football.

I decided to make the typography have some of the messy, often mud-and-dirt-splattered condition of football players’ uniforms after their violent clashes. In short, to “grunge” it up.

This cover was done in the days when Photoshop and other desktop publishing tools weren’t very powerful or laden with the myriads of features they have today and grunge fonts were even more rare.

My solution was surprisingly simple. I bought some india ink and large sheet of white poster board. Standing on my office chair in my cubicle, I experimented with dropping and slinging ink onto the poster board on the floor. Then it was a matter of picking out the “choicest cuts” of splatter and using them to punch-out parts of the lettering.

The client was thrilled with the technique when I showed them the design and I was told Reggie, himself, was very pleased with it. It’s still one of my favorite pieces – not because it is the most “design-y” or cutting-edge but because I feel it’s a great example of efficient use of design. With minimal design elements, just the typography and a single photograph, the cover portrays, almost instantly for the person browsing at the bookstore, the status of White’s roles in life as football warrior and champion of faith.