Designing a book cover can be challenging when you are stuck between too many design options and can hardly figure out how to begin. The process can be a bit tougher, especially when you are going for it for the first time, without having any background knowledge and expertise, and especially getting it done without any expertise in the field. In this blog, we will be discussing and listing some of the suggestions that you can follow to create an ideal book cover for your next book, regardless of your level of expertise.
Tips to Create an Ideal Book Cover
Find the Inspirational Sources
The first step that you can initiate is to find the sources that can inspire you in the creation. You can look for the sample designs on a variety of platforms like Pinterest, Behance, Dribbble, and even social media platforms like Instagram, where the book cover artists demonstrate their skills by posting the samples. Looking at those samples can be a good start to having some idea of the designs. Some of the most common types are ones with collage, typography, abstract designs, and vintage book covers that include imagery, font styles, and even colors from the 1970s or the time before this. Looking at these book samples can help you, especially if you are creating the cover for the first time, to get at least introduced to various kinds and styles.
Reckon the Genre
Another factor to consider when design a book cover is the genre. The design of the book cover greatly depends on the kind of genre it belongs to. The genre of the books mostly tells about the design that one should look for. The details like typography, imagery, visual representations, colour and the overall layout of the book. For example, if the book falls in the genre of self-help, then the typography can go from bold to simpler font styles; the bold fonts can be used to exhibit a more motivational undertone, whereas the simpler and classic ones can exhibit mindfulness. The choice of the font color also speaks a lot about the genre of the book. Moreover, images, etc., can cleverly depict the tone and the category of the book.
Go for Choosing an Appropriate Website
Choosing an appropriate website for your book cover is an important step to consider. The reason for this is the variation in the kind of templates, along with cover creation features available on each website. Some websites, like Canva, Microsoft Designer, and Book Brush, are more suitable because of their easy-to-use and simple features, especially for beginners. On the other hand, some can go for websites like Adobe Photoshop if they already have a good grip on graphic design and are looking for more advanced features to create the cover of their book.
Select the Typography Mindfully
Typography is the visual representation and the appearance of the text that includes font size, length and line spacing, which are some of the most important steps to undertake when creating a book cover. Going for the right kind of typography can help in conveying the right tone and message of your book. Furthermore, typography is also used to create visual hierarchy. Visual hierarchy refers to highlighting the most important text on the cover, which can either include the title or the name of the author.
Choose Imagery that Speaks about the Book
Similar to selecting a kind of typography that can define your book genre, it is also important to go for the visuals that can speak about the genre of your book. Sometimes, all you might need to do is go for selecting the images that can convey the meaning of our book; however, you can often attain this by going only with the right textures and/or incorporating any geometric patterns to convey the theme of your book.
Choose the Cover Colour Wisely
Alongside choosing the right typography with the right imagery, another thing to look for is the right color of the cover of your book. When choosing the cover color, it is important to keep in mind that it should be either bold or muted enough to accentuate the color of your book’s title and author’s name or any other textual details. It is also important to remember that details like the color of your book cover symbolize the meaning and the theme of your book.
Choose your back Cover Design Mindfully.
Your back cover is not something to neglect. After choosing the appropriate color palette for both the text and the cover, choosing the appropriate typography, and going with the suitable imagery, it is now time to design your back cover. For the spine and the back cover, choosing an appropriate font style and design is important. It is essential to look for the perfect alignment of the text on the back cover and the spine of the book. The font size of the text could be different from the one used on the front cover; however, for the font color, you can go for the same one as used in the front cover.
Experiment Contrast in Colours
An aspect that you can go to accentuate your cover overall is going with the color contrast in the text, images, and the color of the cover. Adopting contrast in color. You can go for the contrast in tones, for example, going for warmer or cooler tones in color. For example, you can try going for the more neutral or muted colors in the text, and to accentuate them, you can go for the brighter and darker ones for the background.
Avoid Jumbling the Visuals
An important thing to be mindful of while creating a book cover is to avoid jumbling and cluttering the visuals in there, including both images and text. Most of the time, especially during online purchasing of books, the cover can appear as a small thumbnail, making the visuals and the text almost impossible to notice. For this reason, it is advised to keep the images limited and only use the ones that convey the theme well, rather than going for too many. Moreover, it is advised to be mindful of the size and the position of your text when creating a book cover.
Why are Book Covers Important?
The first thing that sets the impression about the book is its cover. A reader can learn a lot more about a book just by looking at its cover. The elements, like the color, typography, font style, size, and spacing between the lines of the text, work together to draw the attention of the reader. The covers are meant to invoke curiosity among the readers regarding what the book is about and set expectations for the readers about what to expect from the content and story of the book. Furthermore, it provides a glimpse into the genre of the book. Often, people who want to get a book cover that aligns well with their preference and sits well with their budget go with hiring a book cover maker. It relieves them from the burden of creating a stunning cover while saving the hassle and time.
FAQs
What does a book cover contain?
An ideal cover of a book contains features like a suitable typeface or font style, spacing, color of the used fonts, size, use of imagery that perfectly translates the message of the book, its placement, and the design of the spine and back cover that fits well with the concept of the book.
What does an ideal book cover look like?
A book cover, rather than appearing as cluttered and crowded, should rather give heed to a straightforward design that can successfully convey the theme of the book. Moreover, the visuals of the cover should work as a source of drawing the reader instead of confusing them regarding what the book is actually about.
Which software should I look for to create a book cover?
You can choose book cover software as per the level of your expertise and need. Options like Canva is more appropriate for beginners, whereas options like Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop are more useful for the experienced ones.
Final Thoughts
Creating a book cover can be a bit of a rigorous and time-consuming task, especially if you are not familiar with the intricacies involved in the process. While creating a cover book, one should be mindful of things like the color of the fonts, images, and overall color of the cover; the appearance of the back page and the spine; and the alignment of the text, as well as visuals in the cover. You can even experiment with things like going for the contrasting colors to highlight each aspect in a balanced way. You also need to be mindful of aspects like how well the visuals and the employed textures in the cover align with the concept of the book. Looking at and considering all these facets can help you come up with a kind of cover that goes well with your book.
