Archive for May 25th, 2008
Don’t Judge a Book by the Cover
May 25th, 2008 | 
Author: So we’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by the cover.” How often do we follow that? I sometimes tend to choose a book based on its cover photo and/or design as well as the copy on the back cover.
Mike at Novel Journey has an interesting post on “10 Standout Christian Fiction Book Covers.” I think I like about half of his choices and might pick up two or three to read based on the cover.
After looking at Mike’s top 10 choices, I recognized a pattern but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then I realized that the selector was a guy!
His choices tended to be male-oriented – dark, seafaring, mysterious, masculine, and lots of red. Not sure what I mean? Compare the covers to two mentioned in the “notable” category – Deeanne Gist’s and Tracey Bateman’s.
Personally my top 10 choices probably would’ve reflected the fact that I’m a female. Gist’s and Bateman’s would more than likely make my top 10 list. If they didn’t, I’m sure my choices would be reflective of those styles.
So all of this has made me wonder what it is about a cover that makes us like it.
You see, I design book covers as part of my “real life” job. (I actually design a lot of things – inside book pages, business cards, advertisements, newsletters, brochures and tons more.) Book covers are perhaps one of my favorite things to design simply because the words inside the book come to life on the cover.
Naturally, I’m curious about what is that makes us like or dislike a cover. Do you have a cover preference? What are things you like or dislike about covers? Do certain colors, art styles (illustration vs photograph), fonts and other elements draw you to a cover or turn you off?
As a bonus question, does anything about the Morrisey cover (In High Places) bother anyone? Hint: Think perspective.
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