Book Cover Graphic Design
Book Cover Graphic Designers | Book Cover Illustrator

Here at Art Guy Creative, we are passionate about creative graphic design. We believe that design should be enticing, imaginative, and should move the viewer to feel an emotion or act upon an impulse.

Good quality book cover graphic design is an art. A book contains precious information that is beneficial to the reader. Enticing the reader to pick up the book in a bookstore, purchase the book on the internet, or create "buzz" about the book's content is the end result the author and publisher are seeking.

What should good book cover graphic design do?
It should convey the book's "message" using illustration and text on the front page of the book. Viewers should be able to get the general substance of what the book is about by viewing the book's cover. The feeling or emotion conveyed should move the viewer to do something: Buy the book, read the book, talk about the book.

What makes GREAT book cover graphic design?
Many elements go into the design of an excellent book cover. Experienced book cover designers have the skill to create exciting visual imagery by utilizing advanced design techniques. Although every book is different, the information provided here can be of use to all authors and publishers.

Here are the 5 most important components of excellent book cover graphic design:

1. Title - the book title and subtitle or tagline must be creative and appropriate to the content. If using a creative title, the tagline should do a better job of explaining the content.  For example if the title of the book is "Six Degrees" that doesn't tell us much. When we add "Our future on a hotter planet" it becomes clear that this book is about global warming.

2. Visual Imagery and illustration – good book cover design helps the viewer connect what the book is about with the title. See this Children's Book Cover Design that utilizes emotion in the illustration imagery. The difference between the happy block and the angry block brings home the point about what this book is about.

3. Texture – utilize texture in book cover illustration, not blank white space or a one dimensional layout.  The difference between a design that is pleasing to the eye and a design that falls flat is TEXTURE. Very often it takes an experienced designer to utilize this design element successfully.  

4. Size appropriate title – don't forget that many books these days will be represented as a thumbnail on a website such as Amazon or Borders or will be marketed using online visuals. When a book cover is reduced in size the title is also reduced. Remember to size the title so that it is readable on a smaller thumbnail.

5. Fonts and sizes – the font choice depends entirely upon the book cover genre. Next, consider the font readability. In my opinion, the more complex the visual imagery and illustration, the more simple and readable the font should be.  

These are the five most important elements of good book cover graphic design. If you want your book to be a commercial success, invest in the book cover design.  When I glance over at my bookshelf here in my office, I am at a loss for why more authors do not invest in their book cover design. So many books are devoid of any credible design which in turn detracts from the message.

Art Guy Creative is a book cover graphic designer and illustrator that can design all the following book cover types: book covers for children's books, illustrations for children's books, novels, fiction, non fiction, pdf books, downloadable books, online books, audio books, electronic books, text books, recipe books, ebooks.  Genres: vampire books, biography & memoirs, dark fantasy books, art & photography books, food & lifestyle books, home decorating & design books, medical, health & fitness books, psychology books, religion & spirituality books, travel books, business & finance books, and much more. 

See also Kindle Book Cover Design

About the Author: Dana W. Ball, The Art Guy, is the creator of The Branded Business™, a design process that helps clients sell more of their products or services by illustrating their benefits through branding across print and web. Visit www.ArtGuyCreative.com to learn more.