“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is very hard when you’re a graphic designer.
As an avid reader, there have been many covers over the years that I’ve judged for better or worse.
Book covers have come a long way since their invention—they are no longer just meant to hold the pages neatly. The book cover is now an essential part of the book’s identity and a key piece of marketing. Other than conveying all important information such as title and author, a book cover’s most important goal is to grab attention and intrigue the viewer enough to pick up the book. See—book covers are literally asking to be judged!
As a fun exercise, I selected three of my favorite reads and redesigned their covers using multiple layers of stock photography and a limited color palette. Each cover was designed after considering the book’s genre, target audience, story, and key themes or takeaways.
