Project Title & Synopsis:
The Testaments: 1995–2025
An eight-volume poetry series plus an omnibus edition by Rashid Darden. The collection is a thirty year retrospective/archive of work, 85% of which has never been seen before. It is a releasing from the vault and a reestablishment of poetic eminence.
Budget
Not to exceed $2,000
Overall Goal
The book cover designer will create a visually unified eight-book series plus one omnibus that feels:
- archival
- literary
- Black
- queer
- sacred without being religious
- reflective
- textured
- mature
- emotionally layered
The books should resemble evidence of a life lived, not commercial poetry collections.
The reader will immediately recognize that each book belongs to the same canon.
Concept
The covers represent one witness (Rashid Darden) appearing across multiple stages, identities, and emotional landscapes over thirty years.
All eight books and the omnibus should contain the same silhouette/profile derived from an actual photograph supplied by the author.
The silhouette must remain recognizable but can be partially obscured by texture, writing, collage, and archival elements.
The silhouette should not feel corporate or flat.
Sample images, generated by ChatGPT:
The final products must not have used images generated by artificial intelligence.
Inspiration & Visual References
| Black family archives composition notebooks church bulletins old Metro maps handwritten letters funeral programs poetry journals marginalia | annotated manuscripts collaged memory worn paper photographs flyers DC cultural ephemera Black literary aesthetics |
| Avoid | |
| obvious AI look fantasy novel aesthetics stock-photo poetry covers overt religious iconography cliché Afrocentric imagery | |
Typography
Use one consistent typography system across all eight books and the omnibus. It should feel literary and enduring, not whimsical. Futurism welcome, but beauty is prioritized over risk.
Series Consistency & Variation
| Required Consistency | Required Variation |
| same silhouette same layout structure same typography same border/spatial logic same placement of title same author placement | colors collage elements textures symbolic fragments |
Moods of Individual Volumes
| # | Title | Themes | Palette |
| Testament I | The Life and Death of Savion Cortez | Origin, longing, first becoming | Burgundy, faded gold |
| Testament II | Let Me Sleep Beside You | Intimacy, tenderness | Soft blue, cream |
| Testament III | What the Deal? | College, confusion, desire | Marble composition notebook |
| Testament IV | Probate | Brotherhood, presentation, rupture | Black & gold |
| Testament V | Black Light Fandango | Queerness, nightlife, surreal joy | Purple, electric/neon tones |
| Testament VI | Ra’s Not Dead | Death, humor, resurrection | Bronze, muted gold |
| Testament VII | Such a Night as This | Memory, loneliness, reflection | Deep navy blue |
| Testament VIII | I Am Him | Integration fathers, grief, whimsy, survival | Cream, black |
| Omnibus | Integration of all elements; or something different representing ascension/transcendence | ||
Author will provide
- Marketing copy for backs of covers
- High resolution photo of the author
- High resolution photos of artifacts and ephemera (if not readily available through designer’s channels)
- ISBN numbers (if needed)
- Ongoing guidance (if needed)
Deliverables
- Nine (9) paperback full wraps, designed according to specifications of both Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and IngramSpark
- Nine (9) ebook covers (matching the front covers of the paperbacks)
- Nine (9) social media squares
- Five (5) branded reveal graphics (blanks), that author will add text to for social media promotion
- One (1) launch graphic, with eight (8) covers (no omnibus)
- One (1) launch graphic with omnibus cover
- One (1) branded newsletter header
Send your proposal to rashid@rashiddarden.com ASAP, and no later than June 15, 2026, 5:00pm.