They say never judge a book by its cover but to buy the book or catch readers’ eye, book cover plays a role. When your reader doesn’t know what’s inside, what will compel them to read? Why will they choose you? Unless you’re the best-selling author, you need a book cover on point to intrigue readers. It can be complex and complicated with so many ideas around. However, if you follow these steps, you will narrow down your vague thoughts and design the best cover for your book.
- Source of inspiration
First things first, find your source of visual inspiration. Narrow down your options, collect what catches your attention. It might be book covers, book package design, mood boards, or inspiration boards; collect all you think looks good. Gathering Various book cover ideas will help you understand what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Start by browsing Pinterest; you will find hundreds of book cover designs and mood boards. Narrow down the list with your genre. As a thumb rule, collect at least 15-20 designs in your genre and 5-10 whatever catches your eye.
Browse Designhill, for various book covers; check what you like.
But why do you need inspiration? Because it will help you recognize the patterns, small details that need to be addressed, how they are forming or depicting your genre books, etc. Once you collect them, keep them in mind throughout your design process.
- Outline book theme
Book covers need to depict what your book is based on; readers need to get the vibe of your book. What is a book all about? Is it a spooky theme or an adventure memoir or biography? A serious book theme and a fun theme have entirely different book aesthetics.
Outline the book’s theme or central idea, based on that idea, and keep inspiration in mind to create your design.
Once you wrap your head around a theme, convey your brief to the Designhill book cover maker. It offers pre-designed book covers from all genres and allows you to hire an artist for the entirely new design.
- Choose your software
The next crucial step is hiring your designer or software for your book cover. Determine Whether you want to tackle the design yourself on a book cover maker or hire a designer? If you’re planning to hire, keep these few factors in check before you assign them a task:
Will they be able to understand what you need?
Do they have everything to cover your needs?
Have they ever designed book covers similar to your genre? If yes, check out their collection.
Designhill gives you the flexibility to have both choices; whether you want to work yourself or you want to hire, they have both. Follow their design steps to design your book cover. They cover all your needs for a book launch, starting from book design to brochure design to packaging design.
- Check your book dimensions
Understand every hook and corner of the book in general, where and why they are necessary. Why? Imagine your design is not aligned with book dimensions; how will it look? Yes! Disaster. Therefore Design your book cover as per the market requirements. Choose book width and dimensions. Check some books around you, look at their crucial points, etc. Do some research on the internet regarding general book width and length, check whether it’s appropriate for your genre. Every book genre has unique requirements per market standards; check most popular publishing sites for book dimensions, how they look, what their readers see, etc.
- Find appropriate images for the book
Simple is better; as they say, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Similarly, simple yet impactful images hold more value than the clutter of images. They need to connect with the image; For instance, suspense, Lust, adventure, etc. Now that you know your book requirements, inspiration, etc., you need to collect a few images that might help you in designing a book cover. Finding the right book for your theme can be tricky as they need to trigger your reader’s emotional sentiment or reaction. You can either opt for sites providing free images or declare copyright in your copyright section if you want to use someone’s picture after taking permission. Authors or publishers use two types of book cover designs; illustrations or images. Where illustrations include graphic elements and images include real photographs on the cover. Designhill, the book cover maker, offers pre-designed covers in both categories.
- Follow visual Hierarchy
When a reader goes through a bookshelf, virtually or physically, what is the first thing they are attracted to? That’s the book cover, and it’s a visual hierarchy that compels them to read. For some books, the title does the job, while for some color aesthetics of the book while for others book design. Your book design must follow a visual hierarchy that appeals to the eye. Generally, book titles followed by cover graphics and author name respectively. There might be awards or prizes or contests for books; they are less prominent.
- Choose color and font
Choosing color and font can be tricky; they decide what message your book will send across readers or customers. Colors have psychological impacts on people; for instance, bright colors will generate positive and happy vibes; if you have a dark theme or serious plot, you cannot use bright colors. Color patterns can be a book’s game-changer or reason to attract readers; however, they can become a disaster if chosen wrongly. Decide whether you want to have a monochromatic theme, i.e., tints and shades of one color, analogous or complementary colors. Create 2-3 prototypes in different color schemes, check how they look. Similarly, different fonts can convey different messages; research about the font in your genre. Try to mismatch with color by following the visual hierarchy.
- Create a mockup and test your book
Creating mockups is the best way to check how your book cover design is implemented. Use popular software for creating a prototype. Designhill designers cover your mockup requirements. Test your book on an actual platform, create a mini sample upload on an online platform, see how it works and try to ask viewers about feedback, what they think or what they perceive, etc.; sometimes, we are oblivious about things that a third person often notices. Therefore, it’s better to check with someone.
Bottom line
Book cover design has completely changed the popularity of books online. A good book cover design catches the reader’s eye and plays a crucial role in the book’s success. Various Online authors and publishers now use the principle of designs to form perfect book design that impacts readers psychologically. These steps will help you design the best book cover on a book cover maker or through designers. It’s an overwhelming feeling for writers when their book finally takes its form. Designhill will do justice with your story by their designs.
