--- title: "Bookcover: «Gisch was hesch»" description: The process behind the creation of the book cover for Steff Stauffer's new picaresque novel. url: "https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/blog/bookcover-gisch-was-hesch" date_modified: "2026-05-06T17:55:11+02:00" --- Free Swiss shipping • Worldwide delivery - [Plakatshop](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/) - [Postervault](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/postervault) - [Blog](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/blog) - [Newsletter](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/newsletter) - [About Me](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/about-me) - [de](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/blog/buchcover-gisch-was-hesch) - [en](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/blog/bookcover-gisch-was-hesch) [Studio](https://atelier.kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/?utm_source=shop-website&utm_medium=Ribbon&utm_campaign=Split+Link) ## [Kaspar Allenbach](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/) ### [Poster & Artworks](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/) Mon 04. May 2026 [rss](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/feeds/news.rss) # Bookcover: «Gisch was hesch» ## The process behind the creation of the book cover for Steff Stauffer's new picaresque novel. There are three things that are important to me when it comes to a book cover: First, there must be absolutely no hint of how the story ends. Second, it has to be fun. Third, it has to raise more questions than it answers. The potential reader should buy the book out of curiosity and find their answers within the story. To show how a creative process for generating ideas can work, I’m writing this blog post so that people who don’t work in the creative industry might get an idea of how it actually works. [I did the same thing for the Pontresina poster](https://kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/blog/making-of-steinbock-paradies-pontresina). But every process is different, and every client is different. That’s why visual design is so exciting. Many people are also afraid of the blank sheet of paper, on which an idea is now supposed to emerge out of thin air. But that’s not how it works at all. There’s no need to be afraid. The blank sheet of paper will fill itself with my own experiences; my prior research will contribute to it; and the ideas and stories the client shares with me ensure that the blank sheet of paper is by no means a place of emptiness. On the contrary. It is a place of possibilities. As a designer, I just love that so much. [Cosmos Verlag](https://www.cosmosverlag.ch/belletristik/produkt/gisch-was-hesch/) ## The Request The folks at Cosmos Verlag reached out to me because Stef wanted me to design the cover for her book—she really loves my posters. What an honor. Of course, I said yes. Neither party gave me any specific guidelines regarding the design. The only constraint was the extremely tight deadline. ## The Story The story revolves around several parallel narratives of people who are dissatisfied or unhappy with where they are in life. The King, a world-famous tennis player, just wants to drink a Fyrabebier in peace at the dive bar. Chläbi wants to run his jeans shop, and Anger wants to make it big. I won’t go into any more detail about the story here. ## The Essence Every project and every story contains a deeper truth. What is it really all about? I try to figure this out through reflection. For me, the core issue here was the sense of being trapped within one’s own social class—whether in the upper class or the lower class. To put it bluntly: The rich are in a gilded cage and want to get back “among the people.” And the poor want to move up and get a piece of the pie, too. > So it’s about an “up” and a “down”… about breaking in and, at the same time, breaking out. The inability to move from one’s own place or state to another. > > Me I guess ## Roll up your sleeves and get to work If the concept holds up, then it’s time to start brainstorming visuals. Especially with a project that has such a tight deadline, we need to get moving. We agreed that I would record videos of my pencil sketches, and the publisher and author could simply say yes or no to move things along quickly and avoid wasting time on a final illustration if the visual concept turns out not to be that great after all. This way, we'll get closer to the final design with each round of decisions. With a deadline like this, the process has to be straightforward, and there can be no dead ends from which there is no way out. The same goes for the client. Quick, tough decisions have to be made without looking back. Otherwise, this way of working is virtually impossible to sustain within this timeframe. ## Round 1: Speaking from the heart Now it's all about just letting the ideas flow freely. No matter how silly or good they are. Kind of like a wall or something. With a hole in it. The tennis player can break out, and the crooks can break in. Or maybe a little treat for the donkeys who want a piece of the pie, too. It's like an M.C. Escher-style space where you can enter and exit in every direction. A caged turnip that runs away. But there's no point in running away if you're taking the cage with you. ## Round 2: This could be interesting After a phone call, we thought the idea of breaking in and out was exciting. We’ll look into this further. A wall with a few bricks missing. Even funnier: a wall where someone has chipped away at the bricks to break in, but right next to it is an open door that someone had already broken through earlier. ## Round 3: Zeroing in The idea with the wall is funny, sure. But there’s still room for improvement. We decided to take a broader approach. The author said she’d prefer something calm and scenic. So I revisited the concept with the idea of not zooming in quite so tightly. A secluded castle on a hill that keeps its distance from the common folk. The same idea, but with a recessed back. With the shabby little hut in the front. Even more surreal: The castle isn't even on the ground and is out of reach for the lower class. But the upper class can't break free anymore either. That's it! That feels right. The air pocket from which it rains down on the lower class, with a rope ladder serving as an escape route. To put it even more simply: just the castle in the sky with the rope ladder that you can use to escape—but also to break in. Unfortunately, though, the ladder doesn't quite reach all the way down. ## The final artwork The "castle in the air" idea was very well received and got the green light. So I started working on the final artwork. Of course, there's a tennis court on the castle roof for the King. Typographic variations to test color and composition. ## Finish There are actually quite a few possibilities. But at some point, you have to call it quits. And that’s how this cover came about. [The book is available from Cosmos Verlag](https://www.cosmosverlag.ch/belletristik/produkt/gisch-was-hesch/). [To the Portfolio Entry.](https://atelier.kaspar-allenbach.ch/en/works/gisch-was-hesch)