Chapter 9 Book Jackets and Magazine Covers

1. Chapter 9Book Jackets and Magazine Covers

2. Objectives (1 of 2) • Understand the purpose of book jacket and magazine cover design. • Realize cover design is both promotional and editorial design. • Be aware of how a cover is seen in context. • Appreciate the relationship a reader has with a cover. • Consider how the combination of type and visuals communicates to the viewer.

3. Objectives (2 of 2) • Realize a cover designer’s basic options of driving the design solution. • Consider front, back, and spine of a book cover. • Realize the need for consistency and unity in a cover series. • Understand the function of a template when designing a series. • Understand the use of a slipcase.

4. Purpose • At once, a cover must grab a reader’s attention and, in visual shorthand, communicate the book’s substance or “feel.” • Book jackets and covers are both promotion and editorial design. • A cover promotes a book or magazine as well as communicating the publication’s content.

5. Reader’s Experience • The cover is the reader’s first experience with a book; once the reader starts reading, a new relationship develops.

6. Design Options • When designing, the cover designer has a good number of options. • All type • Type + image • Image-driven • Text-driven

7. Design Options: All Type Book coverDesigner: John Gall

8. Design Options: Type + Image • Make the visual and type work synergistically to maximize communication and effect nuance. Book coverDesigner: Adam C. Rogers

9. Design Options: Image-Driven • When a publication’s cover is image-driven, that means that the image is the predominant visual element on the cover – the one doing the most work to attract the viewer. Book coverDesigners: Michael Ian Kaye and Amy Goldfarb

10. Design Options: Text-Driven • When the title of the book (title-driven) or the author’s name (name-driven) is the predominant visual element, the viewer is expected to be attracted to the title’s meaning or the author’s reputation. Book coverDesigner: John Gall

11. Consider All • The entire cover – including the spine which is a key player in a bookstore environment -- must be considered. Book coverDesigner: Steven Brower

12. Series • When designing for a series, establish a “look” for the series, so people recognize the books as belonging together. • For a series, many designers create a template where the author’s name, book title, and visuals are placed in the same position on each jacket or cover, or with slight variations in position. Book coverDesigner: Steven Brower

13. Summary (1 of 3) • A book jacket must grab a reader’s attention and, in visual shorthand, communicate the book’s substance or “feel.” • The design of a cover influences the viewer’s decision to purchase a book or magazine. • Book jackets and covers are both promotion and editorial design. • The cover is the reader’s first experience with a book. • Once the reader starts reading, a new relationship develops.

14. Summary (2 of 3) • The combination of type and visuals conveys a message and the spirit of the book or magazine. • When designing, the cover designer has a good number of options: all type, type + image, image-driven, and text-driven. • The entire cover – including the spine, which is a key player in a bookstore environment -- must be considered.

15. Summary (3 of 3) • When designing for a series, you must establish a “look” for the series, so people recognize the books as belonging together. • For a series, many designers create a template where the author’s name, book title, and visuals are usually placed in the same position on each jacket or cover, or with slight variations in position.