21st Century Book Cover Design
21st Century Book Cover Design
68 pages • 6 x 9
187+ color & b&w illustrations / examples
ISBN: 9780973933383 Paperback $11.99
Library of Congress Control Number 0973933380
ISBN: 9780973933376 Ebook $4.49
Distributed by Ingram
The purpose of a book cover is to sell the book.
Too many book designers are still considering what a cover will look like when held in hand. But that is not how books are being sold today.
Most books now are sold online, whether in printed or e-book format. Amazon sells about 65% of all books, in all formats: Hardback, paperback and ebooks. Some segments of the book industry are as much as 90% ebook sales, which are almost all sold online.
The first cover online shoppers see is going to be between two inches high, if seen on a computer, to less than an inch high if viewed on a phone. Since books are not sold the same way they used to be, they can not be designed the same way they used to be.
• Learn the fundamental design principles most important for book cover design
• Learn the four conceptual approaches to book cover design
• Discover the Seven Deadly Sins of Book Cover Design
• See the unchanging and immutable principles for traditional and indie publishers alike
• Recognize how design approaches that might work on physical covers may be fatal in the online arena
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Evolution of Book Covers
Chapter 2:
Fundamental Design Principles
Chapter 3:
Fundamental Illustration Principles
Chapter 4:
Seven Deadly Sins of Book Cover Design
Chapter 5:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #1:
Poor Contrast
Chapter 6:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #2:
Busy Backgrounds
Chapter 7:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #3:
Wimpy Type
Chapter 8:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #4:
Inept Type
Chapter 9:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #5: Complexity
Chapter 10:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #6:
Poor Use of Space
Chapter 11:
Deadly Sin of Book Cover Design #7:
Poor Imagery
Chapter 12:
Word to Publishers:
Traditional and Indie
Appendix:
Covers of A. Michael Shumate
