Book Cover Design: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners

Designing the cover of a book involves a lot of creative energy. It is necessary to make the book covers outstanding so that the publication stands out from the crowd. Every author wants the cover of the book to be unique, that tempts the readers to buy the publication. The readers often scan through the books at the store and pick the one that appeals to them. Evidently, the cover of a book needs to carry a powerful impact. The best book covers communicate the message of the author to the readers, enticing them to read the book. Presently, authors are collaborating with reputed book cover designing companies to get their eBook covers crafted with precision.

Book Cover Design Tips

Here, you will come across certain ideas about book cover design, that will tell your story to the readers at a glance. Before you start designing the cover of the book, it is necessary for you to consider certain aspects.

The intention of the author

You need to examine the objective of the author behind writing the book. The design process of the cover must begin with the author. Most of the reputed cover designers consult the authors closely while crafting the cover. A detailed interaction will give you the needed spark to initiate the process. It ensures that the intentions of the authors are integrated into the cover of the book itself which can be a great boon for him/her. The designers need to consider the profile of the authors while developing the design. Generally, they have a different approach for new authors, as compared to the published ones.

The genre of the book

While developing a book cover, it is necessary to consider the genre of the publication. Each of the genres come with certain established styles. For instance, comic book covers will contain different design elements, as compared to thrillers, fantasy books or romantic novels. Certain styles for each of these genres have been established decades ago, and you need to focus on the specific genre while designing the covers. The cover aims to sell the books, so the design must evoke the desired emotion among the readers.

At times, you may find it difficult to choose a specific genre for literary books. Certain stories may contain more than one genre. Try to create a strategic blend in such cases. The accessibility of the genre of the book is important, as its readability depends on this to a large extent. While developing the book cover designs, the experts focus on the specific genre, which helps them to come up with powerful themes. These designs often spur conversations and the books become popular choices for book clubs and reading programs. Evidently, these covers are efficient in drawing the interest of the audience.

Some examples of the various type of book covers 

 The format of the book

It is necessary for the book cover designer to have a complete idea about the format of the book. You may want the book in printed format, eBook format or both of these. Accordingly, they design the cover of the book and integrate the right format in it. The color spaces used in printed and web formats of the books are also different. In case you want the book in printed form, it is necessary to choose the right format and size of the letters on the cover.

Besides, the book cover formats include case bound, hardback and paperback styles. Dust jackets are used in hardbacks, or the cover images are integrated on the boards directly. The designer also needs to consider the size of the book. Books with smaller trim size contain less words on each page, which eventually increases the number of pages. Before you create a book cover, you should have a consultation with the established book cover designers regarding its size.

The number of sides to be designed

While designing the cover of the book, it is necessary to consider the number of sides, that need to be designed. This may include the back-cover copy, front copy, author bio and photo, endorsements and blurbs; it depends on a lot of factors.

Front and Back Copy

The type of graphics to be used

You need to integrate the right kind of graphics into the book cover. Reach out to a reputed platform that offers book cover design services and check how the professionals incorporate the right mix of graphic elements in the cover.

Your budget

While getting your book cover designed, you should be aware of the costs involved in the process. The designers collaborate with the authors to get a clear idea about their budget allocated for the cover. Accordingly, they craft the designs. The cost should cover expenses on stock images, font licenses, barcode, ndard_Book_Number identifier and other elements.

Dimensions of the cover

The dimensions of book cover depend on the type of books. In certain conditions, the authors need to design the cover according to the standard sizes. The book cover dimensions depend on the page count, paper density, genre and other factors. The thickness of the spine needs to be determined, on the basis of these factors. Besides, the cover designers consider the typesetting of the book while designing the cover.

The market of the book

It is necessary to examine where the book will be sold while designing the cover. In recent years, the use of eReaders has increased manifold. Authors are coming up with their books in the eBook format, considering these audience bases. Besides, certain books are sold on online platforms in the printed format, as well as in the soft copy format. You need to consider the market of the book, before deciding whether to go with ebook cover design or printed type of design.

Book cover design process: Evaluated in five steps

Well, based on the aspects presented above, you need to develop the cover of your book. Here, the design process has been evaluated in five steps:

Understanding the elements of the cover

A cover consists of three key elements: the front face, the back face and the spine. In a paperback book, a paper cover is used to glue the pages together, and then they are cut to the desired size. In a hardback book, the pages are glued or sewn to a cardboard case. This is then covered with paper or cloth. The book remains wrapped by the paper cover and this includes flaps on both the sides. The established book cover designers provide more options to the authors while designing the cover. These include hardbacks wrapped with linen, thicker paperweights, varnishing, foil stamping and embossing. However, integrating these elements increase the overall cost of the book. You should keep the budget and pricing of the book while choosing the elements to be used on the cover.

Finding the elements that need to be emphasized

Certain design elements turn out to be powerful marketing tools when used intelligently. You may include the dust jacket of the book in the marketing plan. It is necessary to identify the most important element in the book and focus on the same. Highlight the element that makes it unique. This lures the readers to examine the book, turn the pages and eventually purchase it. The uniqueness of a book may lie in the style of writing, characters in the book, the background on which the story is based and so on. When you seek book illustration services from the experts, they will develop the accurate design for you.

The author may be coming up with a sequel to the story or write a series later on. The designer needs to link the title to the design of the book, building the brand of the author. For well-known authors, their names turn out to be powerful marketing tools. Remember, your book has to compete with several others in the bookshelf. Therefore, the cover needs to be captivating, so that they lure the readers.

Choosing the right software 

It is important to choose the right cover design software based on your exact requirements.  Typically, the reputed designers are well-versed with advanced software used to design book covers. Any graphical software can be used in the process. Certain programs have been developed for the non-professionals as well. Tools like Canva are easy to use and designers can use them in developing the covers. However, the number of templates is limited in these tools. You can use other professional tools like Photoshop and InDesign in designing the covers. The book cover template must be appropriate for a particular genre. It is wise to seek professional cover designing services from the experts.

Using free images and manipulating the photos

One of the most cost-effective ways to design a book cover is to use free images that are royalty-free. The designers need not develop these images themselves. This is one of the most common techniques used in designing eBook covers these days. The professional designers can pick the right image from thousands of photos available. Online photo libraries have made the process extremely simplified. The designers enhance these images and edit them through photo manipulation techniques. They may combine two or more images to develop a unique design. After finalizing the design, the experts lay the title, name of the author and other text on the covers.

Integrating the illustrations

While developing the cover page design, the designers often use illustrations obtained from image libraries. You may approach an established designer for creating an illustration-based cover. You may opt for using the stock images on the cover, or use these illustrations. However, if you want to develop the illustration right from the scratch, the cost of designing the cover will increase. Convey your ideas to the reputed designers and they will come up with a suitable illustration. You must note, that illustrations form an important part of the marketing policy of your book. The psychology of your target readers needs to be assessed when you get these covers developed. Accordingly, the image of books is to be selected by the designers.

Illustrated Book Covers

Outsource your book cover design services to PGBS

At PGBS, you will come across experienced designers, capable of designing any type of covers for authors and publishers, including traditional books and eBooks. You may hire an illustrator from our platform to get the cover image developed. Our specialized cover designers will help you out in crafting the layout and integrate the text in the cover. If you still have any doubts about how to make a book cover, have a consultation with our experts. Over the years, we have been developing highly effective book designs for various publications and authors. Our experts will help you out with creative themes and concepts. Whether you are planning to publish your book in the traditional format or in the form of an eBook, the cover page needs to be compelling. Develop outstanding covers for your books and ebooks to increase their marketability.