Lead-up to the Final Outcome

 As I kept on developing I eventually stopped and concentrated on a particular design. It originated from one of my designs within the templates I had been given:

 Here's how I responded:

 Obviously they are rough drafts, but I had this image in my head of a female form perched within the knight piece. Her arms reach out to the snout of the horse as though she is controlling its actions. Her innocent, yet sexual, posture as well adds to the coy, psychotic nature of the character I am basing her on.

 I have composed it that the figure is central within the entirety of the image, but this creates difficulty in placing the typography. I manipulated the type according to her position.

 I also applied the idea that a chess board was circulating the image of her and the knight piece. It creates a sort of hypnotic approach, which is emphasised more so by the monochrome.

 All three acquire pros and cons and I am unsure as where to go from here... I will redraw the female figure and will make a tracing of an original photo of a knight chess piece. The raw and bold effect together may prevail effective, as proven within the photocopies I did. Here are some quick sketches of my idea:

Front and Spine

Back

 As you can see, I have adjusted the image of the figure and the knight to appear along the left-hand side as opposed to the middle. This gives room for the typography which can circulate around the chess piece outline. I have placed the knight piece outline on the spine and back cover too to enrich the theme.