ook Cover Design
Rethinking Book Cover Design
Book cover design tells the story of the story. It must convey the spirit and intentions of the author authentically, and it also has a few practical chores to perform. If a book cover design is to accomplish these things … Continue reading →
Writing is Design: The Grammar of Book Design
Are images analogous to words? Is what makes a sentence sound “right” the same thing that makes an image “pop” or a jazz solo “burn?” The similarities are noteworthy but the differences are important. Just as the best of writers … Continue reading →
Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by Its Cover – Part 1
Nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly crafted book cover. The standards for book design aspired to by trade publishers are not all that high, but self-publishers routinely fall short of them. If you want your book to be taken seriously, … Continue reading →
Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 2
Part 1 of Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover critiqued “professional” covers taken from Amazon’s Editor’s choice list. Read that article first as it provides background for this one. The article looked at design elements that worked … Continue reading →
Book Cover Design: Judging a Book by its Cover – Part 3
This third installment of Judging a Book by its Cover looks at great book cover designs that won the 2012 Design Observer 50 Books-50 Covers award. Part 1 explored how most book design rarely rises above “competent.” Part 2 looked … Continue reading →
Book Cover Typefaces and Cover Design Horror Stories
I recently responded to a question in a writers’ forum from an author who was in the process of designing a cover for her novel set in a swamp in New Orleans. “I chose a ‘swampy’ font that hangs down … Continue reading →
Sewing Your Own Parachute – Advice About Book Covers
I recently responded to an article on Publishing Perspectives by Andrew Pantoja that innocently advises self-publishers about sources for cheap book covers. It is technically easy to create your own cover; therein lies the problem. It’s also easy to sew … Continue reading →
Evolution of a Book Cover
When designing the cover for my own novel, Waves, I tried a number of approaches before settling on a design that worked for me. This article details my process. Before I even finished writing, I played around with an idea, … Continue reading →
Tips For Book Cover Design
Most book designers make the same errors. One sore spot for me and with many of my university design students, is typography.
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