Watchmen logo and cover designs

Excerpt from Todd Klein's blog.

[See image above] "Here are some of Dave’s initial notes about the cover and logo. For the logo he specifies a compact typeface to be used either solid black or reversed out. He’s very aware of the impact it will have as negative space in the black rectangle. Dave’s initial sketch at the bottom has the concept pretty well set, though in the cover layout above that, the logo is more compact. That layout is really remarkably close to the final design, though DC made some small changes, such as putting the book title in smaller type at the very top of the logo column, as insurance, I suppose, for books that were displayed partly hidden. Dave’s two “roundels” were followed, with the top one being the DC logo, the bottom one a clock whose hands crept ever closer to midnight as the series continued.

[...]

So many ways in which these designs by Dave Gibbons were innovative and fresh, to match the equally groundbreaking story inside. Dave’s design talent has sometimes been overlooked because his art is so appealing, but as you can see, he’s got terrific design skills, too."

The complete article can be read here.