You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover

But let's be honest, you do it anyway.

This is my idea of a beautiful cover design

Book covers fascinate me. I love how simple some can be, how colourful others may be and how beautiful they can look when placed side by side. It's not the first time that I have bought a book purely because I liked the cover (sometimes I don't even read the blurb on the back!).

It was only natural, then, that when it came to choosing a dissertation topic that I would plump for something to do with book covers. You have to enjoy researching and writing something that is between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length, and I thought my fetish for all things cover design would fit the bill perfectly.


So, what is it about covers that draw readers in? There seems to be a general feeling that artistic covers are nicer than photographic covers. I used to refute this. My favourite books all have photogenic covers and it was these covers that influenced my initial purchase of them. However, I have found since I've been studying the publishing course that I am increasingly more drawn to artistic covers. For instance, I am reading The Night Circus right now, and the cover art is so beautiful, everything else just pales in comparison.

One of my pet hates is movie and TV tie-in covers. I will forever hold a minor grudge to Gollanz for changing the True Blood covers when HBO started airing the TV show. Now my covers do not match, and there is nothing that irks me quite as much as having a set of books that do not complement one another. I understand the marketing behind it. Of course the publishing house wants to publicise the connection between the film/TV show and the book, but for a collector it can be somewhat frustrating (or maybe I'm just weird).

I love covers with embellishments, like embossed leaf patterns (I am ALL about the leaf patterns right now). I am also drawn to fancy typography, especially if it is calligraphic-style. Chick lit gets a bit of a bad rep at times, but you have to admit the cover art is always eye catching. I can stand for ages staring at the bright, beautiful colours. JoJo Moyes' covers are a particular favourite, as are Freya North's.

My cover design for The Camomile

What makes a good book cover? It's a question we've had to ponder at length for our book project. We designed The Camomile cover in-house, and I'm pleased to say my design was generally well-liked, coming third in a Facebook poll. It's something hugely subjective, and I doubt there will ever be a cover that will appeal to everyone. That is one of the reasons I find the subject so interesting and hopefully it will provide me with enough material to write my 15,000-20,000 word dissertation.

So, what do you think makes a good book cover? And what is your favourite cover design? Let me know. Maybe we can start a fanclub; how does 'Cover Design Nerds' sound?