Designing the Cover of Katzengold by Julia Schiff

About the Project

The Total Idea team recently designed the cover for the novel Katzengold by a German author from Ulm, Julia Schiff. We are proud of the fact that Danube books publishing house trusted us with creating the cover design for an outstanding novel.

The plot of the historical novel Katzengold is located in the 19th century and is partially based on true events described in recovered letters by an author’s relative. Two mining engineers from Banat region, which at that time (the year 1852) belonged to Hungary, today’s Romania, were forced to leave the country with their families, due to political circumstances. After a thrilling and dangerous escape by ship to America, a series of life-changing events occur…

The Challenge

The novel was named Katzengold after a type of rock (pyrite) that resembles gold and often leaves people deceived.

The Total Idea agency received and fulfilled a difficult task to visually represent this novel’s complex plot.

Inspired by Julia Schiff’s exquisite writing style, but also by the main characters’ life stories and struggles, we made sure that Katzengold’s cover design is in accordance with what the readers are to expect.

We combined the shine and deceitfulness of pyrite, the journey that evokes life, and the inevitable change of light and darkness, thus suggesting the thrill that this novel brings and the strong impression that it leaves.