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Proximity is all about using visual space to show relationships in your content. Objects that are near each other in space are seen as belonging together. Make sure related items are visually grouped together. Groups that are NOT related to each other should be separated to visually emphasize their lack of a relationship.

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100 must-read classics, as chosen by our readers

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They broke boundaries and challenged conceptions. We asked you for your must-read classics; from iconic bestsellers to lesser-known gems, these are your essential recommends.

Books ranked in no particular order. Some answers have been edited for clarity and style. Image at top: Flynn Shore / Penguin
So we asked our readers to tell us about their favourite classic books. The resulting list of must-reads is a perfect way to find inspiration to start your classics adventure. There's something for everyone, from family sagas and dystopian fiction to romances and historical fiction.

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100 must-read classics, as chosen by our readers

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They broke boundaries and challenged conceptions. We asked you for your must-read classics; from iconic bestsellers to lesser-known gems, these are your essential recommends.

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Contrast is produced when two or more visual elements in a composition are different. It can be used to create specific effects, emphasise the significance of certain elements, and add visual appeal to your designs.

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There is not enough color Contrast in this design, alter it so there is enough Contrast to make it readable. When you are happy with the changes, take a screen shot of your fixed design post it under your name in the TURN IN tab.

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These 3 designs are for the same book. Each one has a very different look.

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The design principle of Alignment is the arrangement of elements of a design in relation to borders or edges of shapes or text in a design. You can see this in the example in the left section has the boxes aligned, and you can see the boxes that are out of alignment in the right section. Elements in a design can also be aligned across the top, bottom or right side as well.

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Using the Principle of Design -Contrast-, Download the attachment and redesign a book cover for a book that has been written. You will be designing the front & back using contrasting colors, shapes and scale.

Required on front:

Title

Author

Designs using contrasting colors, shapes and scale

Required on spine:

Title

Required on back:

Review or summary that is at least 1 long paragraph

Bar Code

Design that continues from the front or that complements the front design

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This design principle is repetition, or when colors, shapes, or other design elements are repeated in a design. This creates a cohesive feeling to your design.

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This design is too blank on the edges, improve it by using repetition of the bottom leaf design to make the design look interesting. When you are happy with the changes, take a screen shot of your fixed design post it under your name in the TURN IN tab.

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How to create alignment in graphic design

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Do you design original layouts in Canva? Apply graphic elements such as images, text, shapes and icons effectively by mastering the art of alignment.

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Using the Principle of Design -Repetition-, Download the attachment and redesign a book cover for a book that has been written. You will be designing the front & back using repeating elements.

Required on front:

Title

Author

Designs using repeating elements

Required on spine:

Title

Required on back:

Review or summary that is at least 1 long paragraph

Bar Code

Design that continues from the front or that complements the front design

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The Best Book Covers of 2021 (Published 2021)

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The Book Review’s art director picks his favorite covers from a year that reminded him of the joys of picking up a book and holding it in his hands.

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It may actually be mandatory at this point to begin any kind of 2020 roundup with an acknowledgement of how shit the year was, and how impossible it was to focus on the good parts, and how anything roundup-able seems a little beside the point, all things considered. So consider it acknowledged, and I'll follow that with the customary: and yet. There were some stunning book covers created by some fantastic artists, and while they didn't exactly solve the pandemic, they did make staying in my apartment all day long a little better. Or, as Janet Hansen wrote in the note accompanying her choices, "I must admit-book cover design was not much on my mind this year (!), but this was a great exercise to reflect on what we do and whose work we admire. As designers we have this little power to propose what visual goes with these great stories, and in our current climate that is both exciting and no easy feat. I'm so excited to see how cover design changes from the ripple effect that this monumental year has created." Me too.

So for the fifth year in a row, I surveyed a group of professional book cover designers (this year it was 29 of them) about their favorite covers of the year. They came back with an astounding 89 different book covers that impressed, delighted, and inspired them, representing work by 54 designers for 44 different publishers. I have tallied their choices, including what they had to say about each cover, below, listing the covers in no particular order.

I also tallied the stats for you, and a few notes about that process: Only one "set" of books was mentioned, by two different designers: David Pearson's Albert Camus reissues. To avoid weighting the results, I counted the three as a single book whenever it mattered. When counting publishers and imprints, I did my best to stick to how they defined themselves on the books at hand (so for instance, FSG, FSG Originals, MCD, and MCD x FSG were all counted separately, though they have obvious ties).

If you like stats, read on. If you only want to look at pretty book covers, just scroll down a bit. There's something for everyone here.

The best of the best book covers:
First Place (Three-way tie : 5 mentions each)
Yu Miri, tr. Morgan Giles, Tokyo Ueno Station; cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead, June)

Joyce Carol Oates, Night, Sleep, Death, the Stars; cover design by Jamie Keenan (4th Estate, June)

Lidia Yuknavitch, ; cover design by Rachel Willey (Riverhead, February)

*
Second Place (Five-way tie : 4 mentions each)
Lee Conell, The Party Upstairs; cover design by Stephanie Ross (Penguin Press, July)

Carlos Fonesca, tr. Megan McDowell, Natural History; cover design by Pablo Delcan (FSG, July)

Sarah Gerard, ; cover design by Joanne O'Neill (Harper, July)

Jane Hirshfield, ; cover design by John Gall (Knopf, March)

Hiroko Oyamada, tr. David Boyd, ; cover design by Janet Hansen (New Directions, October)

*
Third Place (Seven-way tie: 3 mentions each)
Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half; cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead, June)

Jean Kyoung Frazier, ; cover design by Emily Mahon (Doubleday, June)

Melissa Rivero, ; cover design by Adalis Martinez (Vintage Espanol, April)

Adania Shibli, tr. Elisabeth Jaquette, Minor Detail; cover design by Oliver Munday (New Directions, May)

Dubravka Ugresic, tr. Ellen Elias-Bursac, The Age of Skin; cover design by Jack Smyth (Open Letter, November)

Wolf Wondratschek, Self Portrait with Russian Piano; cover design by Na Kim (FSG, September)

C Pam Zhang, How Much of these Hills is Gold; cover design by Grace Han (Riverhead, April)

*

The presses with the most covers on the list:

First Place: Knopf (10 covers)

Second Place: FSG (9 covers)

Third Place: W. W. Norton (7 covers)

*

The designers with the most mentions on the list:

First Place: Jamie Keenan (10 mentions)

Second Place: Na Kim (9 mentions)

Third Place: John Gall and Lauren Peters-Collaer (8 mentions each)

*

The designers with the most different covers on the list:

First Place: Na Kim (6 covers)

Second Place: Jamie Keenan and Jaya Miceli (4 covers each)

Third Place: Alex Merto, Thomas Colligan, John Gall, Tyler Comrie, and David Pearson (3 covers each)

*

The best month for book covers:

First Place: September (12 covers)

Second Place: February and July (11 covers each)

Third Place: January, May, and October (8 covers each)

*

I think this is incredibly beautiful. Lovely layers of depth and texture, and the monochrome palette fits beautifully with the monospaced font. It's only when you see it quite small that you really notice the face, and I love a cover which makes you work.

The fuzzy, fractured torn imagery beautifully expresses a sense of loss.

Such a stunning cover that lets the artwork speak for itself. I love the minimalist type treatment, sparse imagery, and the monochromatic colors. The sense of depth and blurred graininess is evocative and beautiful.

I love everything about this cover. The scale of the hand lettering preserves the dignity of the strange illustration (from the author's private collection), and, on a pink background, the entire thing feels both fresh and comforting.

Such a striking jacket by Janet Hansen. I love that the title is huge and also nearly lost as a clever framing device for the gorgeous art.

I thought the hardcover of this was amazing and I'm even more enamored of the paperback. The image is so evocative and I love how it works with the stacked type containers.
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
Evoking Paul Bunyan in a mythological and humorous way, this is a fresh take on a classic style.

I love the American ephemera and the clever manipulation of the artwork.

I was immediately drawn to this cover due to the sharp contrast of the foreground of objects against this dark background. I've always been an admirer of Paul Wonner's paintings and on this cover, seeing all these precious items dramatically lit, accompanied by the beautiful red-orange type makes this cover feel like a precious item itself.

I love the complexity of the composition paired with the simplicity in execution and color choice. I also read that the inspiration was musical annotation which makes sense with how lyrical this cover is.

Anna Morrison is such a talented book designer who can create stellar designs for every genre. This cover balances a bold feel with a subtle fragility through its deft use of type and illustration. The subdued palette is a nice touch as well.

I've really be enjoying this trend of box within a box covers. This one just pulls me in each time. The type so gets out of the way of this incredible photograph. The photo just feels like the sensation of gasping for air but is still so oddly calming.

Jamie Keenan tears his classic white type over black paper design apart with a lightning bolt paper split. It hurts me with how clean and beautiful this is.

Such a bizarre image and paired uncomfortably but appropriately well with the words "true love."

Absolutely stunning use of art and color.

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The light peeking through the tree branches and the shadow cast by the diving board give this simple scene an unsettling quality. The differing type colors put an emphasis on the title.

An evocative cover, creating a moment captured in time. The perspective of the illustration paired with these beautiful blues draw in any bookstore wander to lean in closer, wanting to know more about this scene, this author, and this novel.

This cover hits me like a strange hallucination: the vintage ingredients are so familiar, but the effects are wonderfully unsettling, as though we've weathered something profound.

What a striking collage. Love the color palette and the marriage of the images.

John has a way with combining images and textures that is so satisfying and somehow always fresh.

I am susceptible to book-on-book covers, and this one is a particularly elegant beauty. I love how the ledger lines become a sinuous topographical chart, whose motion is then echoed in the swell of the open pages.

John is a master of designing still-life oriented book covers (and all other book covers obviously!), and this cover seamlessly conveys the title and mood of this book of poems.

Captured by the subtle shift in the ledger. Just one, key, disruptive element.

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Simple. Stunning. Refined. Tyler is so good at what he does.

Ethereal and precise at the same time.

I'm in love with the illustration, how it marries with the type so perfectly; I'd like to buy the book-and the poster!

The limited palette is executed so brilliantly on this beautiful, illustrative cover. The overall look is that of a screen print with the transparent type overlaying the lovely imagery.

Beautifully done type showcasing a fantastic title that displays simply and beautifully all that this book is: fierce, vulnerable, humorous, provocative and more. A designer might use this design to show our teams that typography can be quite as emotive as images of faces, hands etc.

Jaya Miceli's brilliant use of negative space.

I've admired David's work for a very long time. His covers have taught me so much about type, image, and how to pair the two in a sophisticated way.

Stephen chose this incredibly dynamic and provocative painting by Kai McCall, and combined it with this hand lettering which is so beautifully executed.

She's done it again folks!

A beauty! This cover is both bright and nuanced. I love the juxtaposition between the warm gradient tones and stylistic font combined with the quiet photograph of Hendrix and the use of small type. It speaks to Hendrix's artistry perfectly.

I am an easy mark for a built book cover. Who didn't love making dioramas in elementary school? Why haven't any of us thought to do this for a cover before now?

Amazing cover by Stephanie Ross. It's incredibly charming and I love that it was created by hand. The many wonderful details would have been lost if created digitally.

Really love the process that went into making this cover happen. I want to explore those rooms and know what's behind that slightly opened second floor cardboard door.

Just love dioramas and this one is so simple, but so well made. I love that every part of it is in camera, or feels as though it is.

Elegant and ethereal, this enchanting cover arrived in March, just when we needed the escape.

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Love the gradient. Gives the image a whole different vibe. Most refreshing cover of the year.

Confident, demanding, and intriguing. I love the juxtaposition between the classical landscape and the futuristic gradients.

I had so many questions when I first saw this cover, which seems to be the perfect solution for a book that raises so many questions.

What a treat to get to use all those quirky, ornate letters, in such a fun grab-bag of colors; it'd be too much for anyone but Sedaris. The tiny trophy is a nice little wink.

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The image selection (and cropping) for this cover is so spot on. I absolutely love the woman's expression paired with the hand lettering.

This cover made me smile. The expression perfectly embodies the title and I love the juxtaposition of the historical painting and modern lettering.

LOVE the combination of a vintage-leaning illustration with a very striking, modern palette and inventive type treatment. Lots of movement. The wolf's shadow and the way it intersects with the background are really clever, and they give the cover great depth.

Just another one of Rachel's many covers I wish I had designed.

I love when vintage imagery is made contemporary with color. The shadow is a particularly nice touch.

Includes every color under the sun, and somehow doesn't scream "rainbow." Not cliche in the least. Has a sense of humor. A feat!

This design strikes a perfect balance: wacko-groovy, but rigorously constructed. Pure joy to behold!

This layout is incredible. I can read it perfectly and yet it's turning our left-right-top-bottom reading expectation on its head, several times over.
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
I love the modern sensibility of this cover. It's direct but refined, and the photograph, color and type all work so well together.

It was honestly difficult to pick a favorite from Na, who is consistently killing it in the book cover world. Though finally narrowed down to this grid of abstracted erotica. Such a lovely solution full of hidden surprises.

Such a lovely design that speaks so cleverly to the title. I love the grid, the warm abstract watercolors, and elegant hand lettering. It reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler and Etel Adnan.

Who can resist an impossible puzzle? The more I look at it, the more I'm confounded by the positive and negative space (which is which?!) and delighted by the surreal oddness of it all.

Every year, the requisite question is: which Na Kim cover is my favorite? This homage to graphic design legends Rodchenko and Sutnar (I think!) is my answer. The simple brilliance of repeating lines and planar tension-all contained within a diagonal strip-signals a level of control that reliably makes Na one of the best.

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Wow. This cover is so powerful. Simple black and white palette, the angles and perspective, use of both illustration and photography, and that period type!

Everyone is familiar with Stephen Hawking of course, but what draws me in is the beautiful abstract shapes with a stimulating color palette of contrasting blues and oranges, all set within a uniquely satisfying composition.

A very serious photograph is clearly the best canvas for a playful (yet sophisticated) graphic intervention. Peter is a master at this.

More brilliance from Peter Mendelsund.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
The woven fields holding the type (which fit the title perfectly!), create a bold display of light and shadows-a succinct visual for the complexities of family dramas.

This cover manages to be completely maximalist and simple at the same time.

OK, this is pretty stellar. When the words in the title and author each coincidentally comprise five letters (with "The" artfully integrated, of course), this typographic solution feels inevitable. And yes, this author can surely get away with an all-type jacket.

I just want to reach out and touch it! So refreshing to see a cover that looks like it was meticulously created by hand. Love seeing the imperfections and this just leaps out at you from a sea of book covers.

It's serendipity to receive a title/author cover copy that word breaks into lines of five letters each. Jamie Keenan created an alternating blue/red checkerboard grid to hold each stacking letter AND decided to take it to the next level by weaving strips of buckling construction paper for form and shadows. Even squeezing in the punctuations and vertically stacking "The" creates textured typographic interest to that individual square. So simple, so gorgeous, so bloody brilliant!

Love that Emily worked with Tallboy who made a pickle-covered pizza look weirdly appetizing.

Love Emily Mahon's completely fresh choice of illustrator on this one.

Makes me happy just to look at, a truly joyful cover.

I love this bold illustration, the bright and striking colors, and that huge title type which is so playful and fun! I want to blow this up into a poster.

I love how bi-polar this design is-it juxtaposes really strong, clean geometric shapes and type with the organic shapes of nature and wobbly handwriting. That push and pull is what fuels this design's irresistible energy.

Love Pablo Delcan's overlapping combination dice graphics, bird image, manila folder edges, condensed fonts and handwriting in a clean confident composition.

So beautiful. Makes me feel like there is something important I need to uncover.

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So abstract, and yet, you know this is a portrait of a woman (the author!). This is a clever and beautiful way to convey what forgetting looks like... a general picture that has been reduced to pixels of color.

I love the out of focus digital portrait.

This cover has the difficult task of being evocative while not giving away any hint of the twists and turns of this novel. The barcode is also "floating" in the waves on the back cover which is one of my favorite details.

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One of my all-time favorite color palettes . . . and the added touch of gold foil is so nice. I admire how stylized and simple the shapes and lettering are. This one jumps off the bookshelves!

A unique and elegant design for a book that also reads and looks very different than most political books. I love how Adalis was able to communicate that here. I feel the strength of Nancy Pelosi and the sense that she was likely often the only woman in the room. The warm color palette also perfectly aligns with the story if her upbringing and familial details.

Adalis Martinez perfectly captured that bad ass moment of Nancy Pelosi in her red coat leaving the White House. Heartbroken that Adalis passed away this year at such a young age. She was a bright star, an incredible talent, and will be greatly missed.

I felt like crying when I saw this design-the imperfect lettering, the way it slopes down and interacts with the sad, spindly, embroidered flowers. This is such a simple design-there's barely anything there-but it manages to convey more emotion than a photo ever could.

Matt Dorfman does it again! The minimalist style of his work is so inspiring!

Such precious typography interrupted by startling shards of light-I don't fully understand it, but that's why it's so compelling. Plus: The foil-stamped cloth over board is entirely gorgeous!

I think Thomas is having a banner year with his cover designs, and Pew is just so beautiful and exceptionally true to the book. I love everything about it.

I love the contrast between the big, expressive, hand-printed title and the small, elegantly set author name. I imagine this cover was a lot of fun to make.

Striking, stylish, simple and extremely effective.

I love Jack's expressive use of finger prints to create this bold type treatment.

This is so simple, but really striking. Really reminded me of my freshman year color theory class. It so effectively feels like there's a light shining on the cover. The type starts to feel as though it's being taken over by the dots and we're all just now getting the glimpse of that happening.

Perfection-beautiful abstraction and playful color.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
I'm always a sucker for custom made type with real objects. This cover does it so elegantly!

This cover says so much with so little. The image is beautiful but somehow unsettling with what look like faint footsteps flattening portions of the grass. Where do they lead? I have to purchase the book to find out (success!). Plus, I want this object and The Factory, which is dressed similarly and is also designed by Janet, in my home on my shelf for the sheer unique and minimalist beauty of the designs.

The seemingly unspectacular bit of grass feels both comforting and also eerie, and sets the right vibe for the book. It feels like a postcard from a subliminal world.

Usually, when a photo has no typical focal point, it serves as a background image with the type doing the heavy-lifting front and center. Here, a plain patch of grass is presented as the main course. There's nothing to see (how fitting, given the title); we are left with the unsettling, lonesome beauty of this grass.

Such a simple and provocative design. The photograph works so perfectly with the title, making you want to look more closely at the image. And the minimal type treatment adds another layer of mystery.

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I love how there are different elements in this cover, and they all work together seamlessly. The illustrated typography intertwines itself in and around the cover photograph creating the very road mentioned in the title. The fun and playful illustrations provide small windows into the text, highlighting key moments the reader will find along the way.

I'm obsessed with this cover. The sideways orientation of the image; the image itself; the light, neat, androdgynous typography-it all has a quiet, unmistakable power.

Such a hauntingly beautiful image that plays tricks on your eyes. Combined with the clean, simple type, this cover is so mesmerizing.

Continually impressed by Robin's mastery of color. Classical form meets an electric palette.

This cover is straightforward but incredibly effective with the overall sugary sweet pink punctuated with the rich black goop. The jostled "a novel" and the pink Penguin logo are perfect touches.

Of my five cover selections, this is the only one whose book I've actually read. So while I admire the cover's vibrant and unusual color scheme, balanced typography, and deft artistry, I can also say that it's a beautiful and sophisticated representation of the book's story.

The art in this is so effective in illustrating the title. I love how the shapes dissolve into each other in places and have a hard stop on other edges.

This cover is so iconic! The colors, the composition, and the blending of two silhouettes create a modern piece of art.

Strange and effective. The pastel type adds a sense of irony to the somewhat sinister image, but also draws out its melancholy somehow.

There are so many familiar tropes used to communicate "tech" or "cyber," but this jacket doesn't fall back on any of them. Who doesn't want to enter the dreamy, surrealist, slightly unsettling world this jacket promises? Having read the book recently, I can attest to how gorgeous this design is in person. It's printed on pearlized paper which gives it a subtle metallic shimmer. It practically glows.

This cover is dreamy, and has a beyond the unknown feel to it with the hologram effect.

This cover well and truly got my attention. Boom . . .
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
Despite the bold, bright color palette, this cover manages to convey a pensive, serious mood. I love how the type is treated, changing color as it overlaps the art underneath.

The colors, the illustration, the type...it all feels cohesive and I love the mood that it creates.

We lost an amazing friend and colleague this year. This cover exemplifies Adalis' beautiful mastery of design and illustration. She was not only incredibly gifted, but also just one of the kindest people I've ever met.

So many beautiful details that work so harmoniously together in this artful but commercial design by Christopher Lin; from the palette and the lettering by Jason Booher, to the cut paper casting shadows that give depth to the layout, the patterns and that sublime shading in in the illustration by Vikki Chu. I feel the hope, spirit and determination of this Nigerian teenage girl. It ticks every box and then some.

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This completely knocked my socks off. What's not to love about one large, hot pink mass taking up the entire space? The critical orange patch enveloping "a novel"-hovering just above where the boy's eye would be-activates and coheres the entire composition into a playful collage that I want to frame immediately.

This cover kind of blew my mind when I first saw it. It's so bold and feels like it's defying conventions in a totally effortless and nonchalant way.
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
You can tell Jack had fun creating this expressive typography with letterforms blending into each other and showing off contrast and size.

The retro typeface and light leaks give it a sensuous feeling which is heightened by printing on metallic. The effects allow the highlights and shadows on the photograph to shine.

I'm completely in awe of the artistry here. Every piece of this cover, each single line, feels extremely considered and hand placed.
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
I've never held a block of gold but imagine it would feel something like holding this. Everything about Grace's design is intentional and inspired.

Grace is a master at perfectly pairing beautiful typography with beautiful art. I love how the background pattern can be both a visual of the shape of hills, and also a representation of gold rays of light. And then these ideas are reinforced in how she plays with the typography of the actual words "hills" and "gold" in the title.

This design references everything it needs to without appearing overly beholden to any one thing. The intensely saturated palette is stunning-colors that should not work together are coexisting perfectly here. It's a poster masquerading as a book jacket.

This artwork is so unique; the controlled line coupled with the vibrant color choice...the synergy between type treatment and illustration style.

It's all about the poppy, unabashed use of color which is as inviting as a box of chocolates.

So playful! I love how everything comes together in this space.

Love the colors and compartmentalized elements.

Wil Staehle kept the design simple. The author's name large on top, the great shape of the black cat's round head, the hand-lettered title below over a subtle textured background with no overlapping elements. All arranged so that there are no distractions to discover that the cat's eyes and nose are created using a mouse's head. Wil E. Staehle. Genius.

It's always so refreshing to see type-driven designs. This cover evokes an ominous feeling with the forceful movement the letterforms create.

There are so many nuances to this cover! It tells a story while pulling the audience in to take a closer look. Are the "0's" airplane windows? Are they zeros in a timestamp? Or are they portals to different worlds? So many intriguing things are happening and it makes me want to know more!

Such a beautiful and clever design. It does a great job of having the "big book look" without being conventional.

Really stylish, inventive typography. Getting that beautiful type to work in harmony with the illustration takes real skill.

This design has such a clever use of collage and composition that feels both menacing and playful. I like how the type treatment works in relation to the imagery, and how the cold blue/green tones and contrasted photography capture a sense of place.

Loving this energy, once again I am enticed by hand drawn texture and vibrant color.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
In our hyper-designed, neatly packaged book world, there's something charming about impenetrable block of text. This is a really simple, well executed idea, and it really doesn't need much else.

David is the master of these sorts of covers. Incredibly beautiful. Love the primary palette and playful layout. Sets the standard for modern poetry covers.

I love that this cover proves that you can have an (oft-shunned) brown book cover and that it can be absolutely BEAUTIFUL. An elegant use of physical effects, too.

This is another one that stunned me when I first saw it. It's so striking to have this small, unassuming lighter placed here surrounded by so much space. I love its long shadow and am intrigued by the juxtaposition between the lighter and innocent looking strawberry.
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
A perfectly chosen illustrator for this book which is beautiful inside and out. Bright, emotive illustrations that connect to the young (and old) readers alike, by Cuban American artist Edel Rodriguez with dynamic energetic type treatments. This book leaped out of the shop and onto my shelf in an instant. Incredible art direction and design by Maria Elias.

The design of this poetry cover is truly one of my favorites. I love the way the typography sits between the shimmering moments of water capturing the moonlight on a vast dark ocean. It really does create a beautiful flow to how one's eye travels across this cover.

By stripping an iPhone down to its essential shapes and layering them over the colors and geometric signifiers of Bauhaus design, this jacket communicates the book's content in the simplest and clearest way possible. I haven't seen this in person, but I hope the silver is foil-stamped-it's crying out for it!

A contemporary take on an ancient text. The production of this small but mighty tome is spot on; overall foil adds a compelling glisten to the armour's surface.

This book looks like nothing else, notably missing the title and author which makes it feel more like an objet. Holding and playing with it often had me considering the consumerist relationship between the reader and packaging of ideas.

This cover takes one of my favorite trends, the illustrated romance cover, and elevates it. The pared down color palette help make this cover instantly recognizable.

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It may actually be mandatory at this point to begin any kind of 2020 roundup with an acknowledgement of how shit the year was, and how impossible it was to focus on the good parts, and how anything...

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This year, at Lit Hub, we spent a lot of time thinking about book cover design. Oliver Munday wrote about designing the cover for Fleur Jaeggy's newly reissued masterpiece Sweet Days of Discipline; Tree Abraham wrote about designing the (very glittery) cover for T Kira Madden's Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls; Sara T. Sauers wrote about designing her grandfather's book (her grandfather being James Thurber); Nicole Caputo wrote about using red, white, and blue on book covers; and Alison Forner laid out the process behind designing the cover for Sarah M. Broom's The Yellow House.

We also revisited Raymond Carver covers, Beloved covers, Slaughterhouse-Five covers, and Invisible Man covers from around the world-and we basked in the work of Todd Alcott, who reimagines classic songs as vintage book covers.

But it is December, the official month of Best-of Listicles, and therefore I am contractually obligated to ask: which book covers were the best? To answer the question, as I did last year and the year before that, and good lord, the year before that, I cut to the chase and consulted the experts: the book designers themselves.

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This year, I asked 26 of my favorite designers to share their own favorite book covers of the year, and they came back with a whopping 78 different selections. But of course, some of them had similar ideas about the best of the best. Here are the final stats, if you're into that kind of thing. Below that, you can feast your eyes on all the covers they picked, in order of publication date.
The very best book covers:
Yoko Ogawa, The Memory Police, design by Tyler Comrie : 9 votes

Myla Goldberg, Feast Your Eyes, design by Lauren Peters-Collaer : 6 votes

Tegan & Sara, High School, design by Na Kim : 5 votes

Regina Porter, The Travelers, design by Michael Morris : 4 votes

Dunya Mikhail, In Her Feminine Sign, design by Janet Hansen : 4 votes

Jac Jemc, False Binggo, design by June Park : 4 votes
The press with the most covers on the list:
FSG (including MCD x FSG originals) : 18 covers
The designer with the most covers on the list:
Na Kim : 7 covers

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Such a clever image, both delicate and sinister. Also love the modern feel this has with the use of neon inks on natural papers.

When so many designs have their main visuals in the center, it's very satisfying to see a layout that leaves the middle completely blank. The handwritten subtitle and author are an ingenious contrast to the weighty title-I find it so exciting when type is used in such a creative way that additional imagery isn't needed.

The description and blurbs for this book detail characters who are searching without knowing what they seek, quiet suspense and spare and exacting prose. Grace's art selection could not feel more perfect. Lino Lago's "fake abstract" painting and the clean minimal typography give a modern sensibility, a historic nod and the sense of something being uncovered.

I was immediately drawn to this cover when I first saw it in the bookstores. The cutoff at the bottom half of painting is at the right placement exposing a sliver of the right eye where the slight tension is enough to bring intrigue to the viewer. The light pink is a lovely contrast to the oil painting and brings the image into focus.

A lovely pastiche of the classic Hogarth Press Editions for Virginia Woolf designed by Vanessa Bell. The wonderful culmination of tiny details and care.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
My eyes feel like they're playing tricks on me with this cover. The pattern on pattern design, and white type on off-white background is totally mesmerizing.

Mesmerizing harmony of image and type. Can all but hear the waves on the shore.

I've seen stretched type, but I don't think I've seen a cover with stretched imagery executed to such visceral effect. The drooping, face-down profile conveys a feeling of malaise in such a refreshing way. I've never been as excited about misery.

My eyes do not seem to want to focus on one element. Everything is rushing at me. The energy of this cover is so good. I can't help but be curious about the energy of the writing inside.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
I love how there are three distinct elements here, but they are all integrated seamlessly. The drops look like they could also be feathers of the bird. And the type is layered into the drops. And on top of it all . . . it's green!

This cover, holy smokes. It's impossibly lush. The shimmering dimensionality that it achieves is incredibly striking. I want to be in there!
-Lauren Peters-Collaer
This is a jacket design that's just as effective as Big Bang, but its polar opposite. The lack of volume and energy gets the point across here. Is there anything sadder than this title paired with a bee in the fetal position? (I can't bring myself to say it's dead.)

Chilling, arresting design that expertly delivers the message of a bleak but urgent book.

This cover encapsulates all the information the reader needs with so few elements. The green and orange lines nod to the Irish Flag and represent the Catholic and Protestants. The real focus of the cover, however, is Dolorous Price who stares at you over the edge of her turtle neck, the classic uniform of the IRA.

I enjoy the wit and playfulness of this design. It's a clever way of combining two unlikely things together, and in this instance, it just makes sense.

The fly is such a simple, yet impactful and witty move. It immediately reads as a smart, humorous, and satirical book.

Would not be a best of list without at least one or five of Rachel's covers!

Alex's casket-shaped bureaucratic envelope immediately telegraphs the book's subject matter. So I love this cover for how succinct it is . . . but also that he's managed to imbue a sad topic with humor.

I love this book cover because it's such an unexpected-but exquisite-pairing of art and lettering. At first glance you think you're looking at a staid and elegant old botanical print, but then you realize that Na has snuck in meats and fruits where they have no business being. And the tragically drooping tulip makes me laugh.

Not only do I feel hungry when I see this cover, but I'm intrigued by the ever-so-graceful balance of shapes and form and the type which complements them.

This is one of those delightful covers so easily likable by the general population I hesitate to confess how much I like it, too-but I can't deny how excellent it is, nor can I peel my eyes from it. Between the illustrations and the hand lettering, there's so much to feast on. It's tender but not saccharine. Pretty sure Na did the illustrations as well, which makes it all the more satisfying.

Queenie herself is that star of this cover, which is fitting since she is also the star of this book. The title tucked into her hair like a crown and the "A Novel" tucked in above her ear are just perfect.

It's playful and idiosyncratic. Translating screen objects to physical things can look awkward, but this feels well handled and good humored.

Tyler's jacket captures the repetition of the Kaddish prayer via the internet with clever humor that matches Englander's writing.

Leanne's watercolor illustrations never fail to have emotional resonance. The color palette is tasteful. Very beautiful collection.

Beautiful in hand with uncoated stock, debossing and gloss and just as powerful on screen. They are art objects for your shelf but also entice me to read them back to back in succession to learn the inspiration behind the image selection. I swear I would wash my hands well or read these with gloves on so as not to wreck their beauty!

The art on Tyler's cover is beautiful, but also deceptively simple-it's actually quite rich with subtle detail. And overall, the colors and lettering strike a perfect balance.

I love that clean and bold illustration. There are some multidimensional messages happening in that emblem and it's got me so curious about the book....That blue background is lovely and the delicate gold foil fragments on uncoated stock makes the cover that much more special.

I adore this cover! It feels so familiar and fresh at the same time-channeling the likes of Paul Rand, Alexander Calder, Henri Matisse, but with a something all it's own. It is whimsical in its use of color, as well as its abstract and anthropomorphic forms. The nuance of texture and shaded elements draw me in, telling me that there is something more, something dark and strange inside these pages that I need to know. Quirky and surreal, I find it terribly charming.

Such a clever use of a collage! The pieced-together camera works as a compelling device to hold the inset photo and type. The limited palette and organic illustration are perfection.

The confidence of this cover crushes me. It demands just the right amount of work from the viewer, a tough line to walk when playing with unique copy/type treatments. The unusual cropping of a young girl gazing directly at you, eerily out of focus, carries the darkness set by the surrounding black and vast negative space. The irregular edges and distressed paper in the collage, as well as the type, are rendered perfectly. This cover really stood out on tables and shelves in store, a total knock out for me.

The collage is simple yet clever. I never get tired of looking at it and finding new details.

I may be partial to this cover because I love Myla Goldberg's writing, but I find Lauren's collage incredibly clever and I love its tactility.

I love the artistry of the collaged camera from newspaper pieces and the peering view from the lens.

All the elements feel considered. I love how the red frame brings focus to a photo with depth. It makes me feel like I'm actually looking through a camera lens.

Sally Rooney's first book had such a distinctive look that it would be a challenge to create the cover for her second that doesn't feel like it's in the shadow of Conversation with Friends, but this cover succeeds. The characters in the white line drawings are not even looking at each other and yet you can feel the tension between them. The thick, black type contrasts with the delicate illustrations while the color blocking signals that the characters are trapped in very different worlds.

The giant type makes this cover look so big, yet elegant and substantial . . . and important! Without any other type on the cover, this design is minimalist and maximalist at the same time.

The simplicity of the type and bold focal image work together so perfectly. The image is presented in a way that reinforces the subject of the book all while creating a sense of intrigue. And despite the fact that the subtitle is obscured, we are given enough information to read it.

Love that the size of the type helps emphasize the overall mood and atmosphere of this cover.

I love this bizarre assemblage: impossibly and perfectly precarious, such a deft metaphor for motherhood.

Beautiful abstract illustration by June Park. Always catches my eye in a bookstore.

There is so much sophistication in the way the sea is rendered, incorporating as much negative space as positive. Set in Alaska, the water is appropriately icy and harsh, yet full of movement-redolent of a Rorschach test. Simply bleak and beautiful.

Every time I look at this cover it evokes a calm zen feel. The watercolor painting fills most of the cover and although it's quiet, the small flecks of gold over the art give it that extra distinctiveness.

Exuberant! I love the painterly style and bright colors.

It's always a pain when editors give us extraneous copy to put on a cover. However, the way the tagline (or rather tag-paragraph!) is incorporated into the design, here, looks effortless! Also, I love the quirkiness of that "Q"!

I love Matt Dorfman's work. This book cover in particular is delightfully disorienting. The quirky juxtaposition of word and image, varied textures, type orientation, all come together to create a timeless art work. I particularly love the exaggerated elevation of title elements creating depth and space, deepening the dissonance between language and image. It is concise, clear, and I think quite brilliant... and it makes me smile.

How did this get approved!? I mean really. This could have been a cover with tree on it, but how freakin brave and awesome to do the diary.

So simple and elegant, burned in my mind when I saw it. A bold and memorable typographic approach with great use of effects, helping to create a coveted physical object.

Jim is so incredibly talented and I also want to commend art director Adam Auerback who I believe selected Jim for the project. We do not hear as much about ADs, but they start this process and choosing the right person is an important skill set. I could not think of a better illustrator and designer to put a modern face on Dune, with each illustration and typographic layout inviting you deeper into the undulating terrain . . . and they feel so great in the hand! You must take home every single one.

A perfect example of text not having to be giant to stand out. A lot of depth and texture to this cover that keeps me going back to take another look.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
These many colors are so pretty and unusual. This cover has a unique energy and curiosity, and my eye doesn't stop wandering the page for more subtle surprises.

I love this jacket so much I want to wear it! The colors and the typography are spot on.

This is a very fun and dynamic cover that has the right amount of design elements converging together. The dispersed bright colors, intersecting angles, spiked bursts, and differing type sizes overall creates this energetic dimension that doesn't have a still moment.

This cover epitomizes the word "pop." I was immediately reminded of the energetic quality of vintage Gee's Bend quilts. Modern and striking.

I love how understated this cover feels in the midst of some bold design choices. Those tiny, disembodied arms floating in space are mysterious, and even though the title and author sit quietly at the top and bottom, the spacing is unusual and intriguing.

Makes me feel like I'm in the thrall of a spellbinding magic trick.

So Joan Wong in the very best way possible.

This cover is so lovely, but when you look closer you wonder hmmm whats going on here. The crow is a signifier that this might be a bit macabre, but the palette is such a contrast that its makes you scratch you head. It's sorta delicate and small for a cover, but as a teeny online thumbnail the composition is stronger than most. A win-win!

One common criteria for a "good cover" is the ability to draw the reader into the book, and this red soaked man checks that box with a big "❓" Is he angry? Heartbroken? Pensively dripping with paint? I want the answers to the questions this cover asks!

I have only seen this cover on screen but the spareness, the color and the incredible photograph of the typographic cubes melting immediately piqued my curiosity and sent me to the book description page. A perfect summer read cover! I should hunt this down in a shop just to touch it.

I love how the letters are concrete which makes the cover more alive and expressive. The treatment of the title alone does the job of setting a sense of place and mood. It's pleasing to the eye and therapeutic just looking at an image of melting letters.

Another deceptively simple design-so effective because it's so well-executed, from the letterforms to that rich shade of teal. Title says it all.

I love the full use of space. The narrow type is freaky and captivating.

This cover reminds me of an old Black Sparrow Press book (à la the inimitable Barbara Martin) in the best way possible.

This cover is wonderfully energetic and unexpected. I especially love the old fashioned lithographs tearing through the surface.

The organic and spirited treatment of this cover works so well with the hand-drawn type and illustrated snake and plants that are bleeding off the edges. It reminds me of a protest poster which is fitting to the title.

Love the combination of intrigue and curiosity, which makes for a memorable cover.

I love a fully hand-drawn cover, especially one that looks like it was made by a grade-schooler. The rudimentary quality feels so right for a book of poetry.

Bold, graphic and instantly iconic.

No doubt Oliver Munday has had some top notch covers this year, but this one stopped me in my tracks. The square pool of red, itself reminiscent of a stop sign, creates a feeling of unrest and foreboding. This cover held me in feeling for a time, delaying my typical hyperactive jump into ogling and critiquing. The restraint in composition, the rigidity of shape, form, and color, the blood red, and the oh so subtle nod to time period via type and clothing style, this cover is nothing short of iconic to me.

Great use of negative space.

I'm a sucker for an Armando Veve illustration-and his style is employed perfectly here. I love that the type treatment from past Klosterman books holds, allowing the humor in Veve's skeleton man to really activate/carry the cover.

This cover is so inviting to me. It's mysterious and bold. It seems really minimal but there's actually so much character and information its sharing.

Kelly Blair has had a spectacular year! She just might be my favorite book cover designer of 2019. I chose this particular cover for it's bold simplicity. A quick trick married with a classic type treatment that accomplishes one of my favorite things-the appearance of effortlessness. The ever so slight torque of the horizon line pushes it just that one step further. Perfection!

So simple and tonally appropriate for the subject. LOVE.

Janet has been on a black-and-white kick lately, and this exquisite cover is my favorite. The expectedly blurring of the top part of the moon and the negative space below the title almost suggest an oblong planet. The refined script is beautifully typeset. The result is ethereal and haunting.

An eerie and beautiful cover. I love that the moon is slightly oblong, as thought it's sliding off the page.

The contrast between the delicate type and the weight of the moon creates such a mood.

I love a strong type-driven cover with lettering tailored to the image. The black hole of concentric circles instantly draws you in. The tight spacing and consistent graphic quality is truly satisfying. This may look simple but it's not easy to pull off.

This cover is every designer's greatest dream and every publisher's worst nightmare. It sort of dares you to enter its world and make sense of it. Admittedly, the copy is a little challenging to decipher, but I felt rewarded by putting in the work. Not every cover should be easy! And this makes me wonder if most cover design is too easy in general. When a visual challenges you, it also makes you linger. What a beautiful, chaotic, messy monster-this really renews ones faith in our profession.

I love that every inch of this design surprises me.

What would have been a quiet, almost-academic design gets turned on its head by the introduction of these crazy brightly colored lines, signaling this book is not what you're expecting it to be.

This is just beautiful.

A cover like no other! This cheeky little package was so unexpected and arresting in the bookstore. I love how the designer committed to the concept wholeheartedly; every detail is just right.

A collage of contrasting textures and shimmering foil, this cover is even more rewarding in person.

Really love the way the drawn elements are collaged over the photo.

This cover has such an unexpected juxtaposition of photography and graphics. As much as the elements contrast, they ultimately form a perfectly harmonious design. The type inside the seal is an inventive solution.

I'm very partial to collages of human faces. Really lovely marriage of type and image as well.

The juxtaposition of the half-tone photo and the hand drawn face conveys an abundance about the nature of the book. It's both cerebral and rich with feeling, qualities that doesn't always coexist. I also love that the type is in a small, foil-stamped lockup, adding to the tactility of the design.

I love how the combination of pieces work together to form a singular image. Each texture adds a layer to the story being told by this design.

This imagery perfectly articulates memory and loss, and the title and author have been integrated in such a unique way.

I love how sections of the photo are fleshed out with drawn elements. . . There's a visual metaphor here that adds an entirely new dimension and elevates it to high art. I realize this is an ancient reference, but I also couldn't help thinking of A-Ha's "Take On Me" video when I first saw this! But really, every element here is perfect-the treatment of the title and author, its placement in a seal over one eye. Everything comes together to let you know this will be a surreal, haunting read.

I love how the collaged elements complete the portrait while also creating a sense of disconnect. It makes me really curious about the read.

I bought this book for the jacket alone; how many covers read both vertically and horizontally? The seemingly paper-cut landscape wraps from flap to flap, and the more I study it, the more I'm convinced it belongs in the MoMA.

Every time I see this cover, I am impressed. Not too many covers can pull off vertical type like this (or get approved!), but this one is a success. Equally amazing is how the designer pulled off the vertical type with such a long title . . . a challenge for every designer. I love the color palette and the way the visuals evoke darkness.

A simple and witty concept. It's a little awkward which gives it character.

I chose this cover for its boldness, and especially for Emily's custom-created lettering and graphics; perfect and unique.

This cover really knocked my socks off when I saw it. I love the Saul Bass energy and the teary eye peering through a jagged black heart. It's like big brother meets Vertigo. Everything is off-kilter here in the best way possible.

I love the expressiveness in these simple, beautifully stylized elements.

This cover is so visually compelling and satisfying. The type is handled really masterfully, and it feels bold and maximalist. It's clever in that the title wraps over the spine of the book too, making the book package feel whole.

A fantastic and clever use of simple material to create both a tense backdrop and evocative type.

I have never seen a book that has a note on the cover included, but I am so glad that this one does. Chanel Miller's powerful memoir deserves a compelling cover and the jagged gold lines referencing the Japanese art of "kintsugi" make her message clear.

A colorful explosion of joy. Made me happy and made me buy the book. Job done.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith
This design is so striking but also incredibly thoughtful and aligned with Tegan and Sarah's audience. Na wrote about the process for EW and the foiled panel is meant to provide interaction with their fan base providing a mirror to see themselves and their own experiences within the book and to symbolize Tegan and Sarah's duality and the self discovery of high school. It is a beautiful, compassionate and brilliant package!

Pair the words "high school" with a mirror, and you're going to conjure up an endless well of memories and feelings; this cover is absolutely brilliant!

This cover is so sick. The mirror is sooooo high school omg. From any generation or place on the planet. Literally a mirror, or the idea of the self as the central focus. Amazing.

It's so refreshing to see special effects used in a way that's more than just adding glitz to a cover.

Any time a cover can elevate itself outside its own form-in this case from book to mirror-it is a triumph. Less covers more objects!

This new edition for a book with an already fantastic cover is less direct than its predecessor; the title is suggested through the form of the design but never crosses over into literal territory. A fine line towed well.

There's technically nothing special about this cover, but that's kind of what makes it special-it's like the platonic ideal of type over image. What makes it memorable, though, is how it lands in this sweet spot of Uncanny Valley space, seemingly effortlessly. (A subtle emboss pushes the physical object over the edge.)

This cover feels retro, yet contemporary. While all of Jon's covers for Zadie Smith have been great, this one really feels iconic.

I love the bold, mostly black & white palette of this design with bright hits of color used sparingly-along with the random unrelated imagery it makes me so curious to delve into this book.

I have no idea what "false bingo" means, but this cover gives me some inkling and certainly makes me want to know more. A bingo card, knives, and a disintegrating frog will probably never share the same space again, but I'm thankful June brought them all together for one shining moment. Also thankful for the acid green windows!

This doesn't look like anything else. It's weird and I like it.

What is going on here! This cover is so original and arresting, and I find it slightly disorienting in the absolute best way. It makes me want to pick up the book and get an answer.

An example of a pitch-perfect script and illustration working in concert. It's difficult to do a feminine, calligraphic cover that doesn't feel trite or saccharine, but this is just that. For me, the red in the title evokes just enough of the gory and the illustration just enough of the ghostly that I'm sold.

Mysterious!

With such a loaded title this cover could have fallen victim to any number of metaphorical cliches. Yet the sinister simplicity of the Venus flytrap gives this book a strength outside the directness of its language.

I love the balance of the typography and the drawing of the piano, both are stamped in lush gold foil on the final jacket.

When I first saw this cover, I think I may have gasped a little. The design is perfectly evocative of the feeling of humiliation. The execution is perfect from design to production.

A book is a tactile object and it's wonderful when a cover can remind you of that. The peeling type on Humiliation makes you want to run your hand over the cover again and again. The peachy color fading to red hints at a blush of embarrassment or the sting of a slap which ties in perfectly with the title.

Such a beautiful, blushing cover and great typography. It can be hard to fit in such a long title, but Nicole made its awkward length part of her design solution.

Awright, probably everyone chose this one. Gorgeous.

So smart! And lovely.

Loud + odd = perfect.

I'm not here to speculate what's going on in the textured low-res image or with the abstracted liquid overlay but any palpable imagery suggested by the title and its sub exists solely in the mind of the reader.

Mind melting-yes!!!! I cannot help but be attracted to this cover. Crazy title, crazy fusion of image and type.
-Coralie Bickford-Smith

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This year, at Lit Hub, we spent a lot of time thinking about book cover design. Oliver Munday wrote about designing the cover for Fleur Jaeggy's newly reissued masterpiece Sweet Days of Disci...

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2018 has been many things, but it certainly has not been lacking in great book cover design. Here at Lit Hub, we unpacked the biggest book cover trend of the year, compared US covers to their UK counterparts, and remembered the best and worst covers of Lolita as well as Edward Gorey's own cover designs. We gave you a brief visual history of Virginia Woolf's book covers and treated you to 100 covers for One Hundred Years of Solitude.

We also featured great essays from designers themselves, reflecting on their work: Janet Hansen on Nico Walker's Cherry, Charlotte Strick on Rachel Cusk's Outline series, Sarah Wood on Joseph Cassara's The House of Impossible Beauties, Kimberly Glyder on Gone With the Wind, Roman Muradov on Norah Lange's People in the Room, and many more.

But it is December, and therefore I am inclined to ask: which book covers were the best? As I did last year and the year before that, I asked the experts: book designers. This year, I asked 27 designers to share their favorite book covers of the year, with a bit about why-and they came back with a whopping 75 different covers of note. But of course, some of them had similar ideas about the best of the best. Here are the stats:
The very best book covers, with 12 votes each:
Nico Walker's Cherry, designed by Janet Hansen
Melissa Broder's The Pisces, designed by Rachel Willey
The second-best book cover, with 6 votes:
José Revueltas, The Hole, designed by John Gall
The third-best book covers, with 5 votes each:
David Sedaris, Calypso, design by Peter Mendelsund
Lucia Berlin, Evening in Paradise, design by Na Kim
The press with the most covers on the list:
New Directions (11 books)
The press with the second most covers on the list:

FSG (10 books)
The designer with the most covers on the list:
Na Kim (8 books)

The anti-design aspect of this jacket really appeals to me. It signifies "office" without being a slave to the concept. The carefully placed elements tell you this novel is subtly humorous, smart, and slightly off-kilter. It also takes full advantage of millennial pink but manages to rise above its use as a publishing marketing ploy.

- Alison Forner

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The color and illustration and typography come together so seamlessly on this cover. It looks that much more spectacular in person, with the gold background and subtle debossed type. Stylistically this is such an original and inviting package.

- Emily Mahon

Throughout the reconnaissance conducted for this post, Na Kim emerged a clear winner. It's impossible to choose among her covers (. . .so good, so enviable!), but Sexographies rises to the top for its brilliant simplicity, pop palette, and double entendre.

- Ann Kirchner

I am a sucker for a cover that makes me laugh out loud. The triumphant/defiant(?) rubber glove holding a smoke is so perfect.

- Patti Ratchford

It's a John Gall original on a cover!

I read this on maternity leave and this cover represented how I felt. Chopped into pieces and floating away.

- Robin Bilardello

I've seen this book pop up on social media, in stores, and on "best of" lists. Each time, I'm struck by how smart it is. I love the combination of the clever pencil, holding the figure in the "mountain top," paired with the simplicity and strength of the type. Perfect visual tone and perfect execution.

- Kimberly Glyder

This is not your typical memoir cover at all, at first glance it could even be a sci-fi novel. And yet, all the elements of the story are present. The western landscape where the author grew up and her pursuit of higher learning are incorporated into the simple graphic making this the sort of cover you grow to love even more after you've read the book.

- Colleen Reinhart

I enjoy looking at and designing covers that give the viewer some credit, where the symbolism or message is not always glaringly obvious. But regardless of whether you notice the tiny figure within the shaven part of the pencil tip or not, this cover is bold and stands out on screen and shelves. But when that figure is seen, I am not sure how you could resist wanting to know more about the author's story. Such a clever and thoughtful design to represent the content of this outstanding memoir.

- Nicole Caputo

Love the layout of the bold X as a nod to the title. Simple at first glance, but a closer look shows that its filled with nuanced details.

It's always a challenge working with so much typography, but here it is leveraged to create great tactile detail, all contained within a striking X.

- Tyler Comrie

I remember being involuntarily propelled toward this cover upon seeing it. The fractured painting and vivid yellow living together in those impossible geometries is wonderful and intriguing.

- Lauren Peters-Collaer

A green cover is always a big win! And this type is just the tops.

- Sarahmay Wilkinson

Bold design, bold colors, bold book cover. The layout also extends into the interior making this a unified object, something that you don't see often enough with books.

- Erik Carter

Publishers often dislike layouts that force the consumer to do too much work. But sometimes that's precisely what draws a reader to a jacket-placing a book's information in all the wrong places forces you to engage more than an "easier" jacket might. This jacket is successful because it breaks all the rules. It even conveys "thriller" without resorting to gigantic type and full-bleed shadowy figures. It also manages to make the tail of an airplane intriguing, and for that alone I give it an A+.

- Alison Forner

The dimensional art against the flat, gradient background, the stacked type...everything feels very cohesive and bold.

This cover further cements Peter Mendelsund's status as a master of contemporary book cover design. From the type selection to the graphic rendering of the collaged artwork, it tells you everything that you need to know in one fell swoop: this is a bold, wacky work of 20th century surrealism (dare I say that it gives me Monty Python vibes?) that has a rightful place in any 21st century library.

This is one of those Peter Mendelsund covers that I stare at and marvel at how perfectly all the elements add up. From the off beat typefaces, to the mix of textures, and finally to the peak of face, it looks like he had fun designing this and yet it screams sophistication.

- Rachel Ake

While books about poetry can afford to be more abstract, they still usually look like book covers. This looks like it could be a poster for a contemporary jazz concert made by someone in an MFA design program. The type, treated like an image, is audacious in the way it has been broken up. I love how each word has a circle in place of a letter (or part of). That unwavering formal logic, along with the sophisticated color palette, win me over.

- Linda Huang

This cover does a great job of invoking innocence, nature and a "simpler time and place," which is something I think is more difficult to accomplish than it seems when you must also suggest the presence of people. Theres a lovely balance in the way the type is handled that complements the artwork and doesn't try to overpower it, yet feels fresh and contemporary.

This is one of those covers where I'm sure there was a version that was just the illustration. Every designer tries for the no-type-on-a-cover unicorn. The illustration is so beautiful! The subtle texture to his fur and the color choices make me so happy. Again, I feel like I'm always aiming for a simple color scheme on covers and Chelsea nailed this one. The type is so wonderfully designed. It's such simple lettering, but you can tell each letter was considered to make it feel unique but get out of the way of the illustration. Also, cannot wait to read this! Based on the little I know of the story, I feel like the fox is curled in such a way that he really is sitting outside of a window listening to children's stories. Spoiler (not really), that's apparently what happens.

- Jennifer Heuer

Surreal and weirdly computer-glitchy. This illustration makes me want to go into this novel and get lost with the dogs.

- Coralie Bickford-Smith

While collage is frequently used as a device for illustrating book covers, the design of Branches by Mark Truscott is very fresh. The segmentation of the tree, and the re-organization of its parts, is a metaphor for a personal perspective; we often don't see the whole tree, but we catch glimpses of it from different angles. The understated typography and neutral palette allow the beautiful idea behind this cover to come to the fore.

- Strick & Williams

It's oftentimes challenging to create an all type cover that conveys movement, let alone with elegance and emotion. The cover feels so alive and fluid. Every time I see this, I'm just captivated by its subtle beauty.

- Donna Cheng

I love it when a designer isn't afraid to take a blank space and make it the most powerful element of the jacket. While most of this layout resides in the top quarter of the jacket, the tear/sweat/blood extends beyond the confines of this area into the empty space below. The tension between the rigid spaces housing the type/imagery and the loose drip escaping beyond them make my heart beat a little faster. The design manages to convey oppression, confinement, fear, and isolation with barely any visual information.

- Alison Forner

I love the juxtaposition of the hot pink san serif font with the traditional portrait of a woman. Her facial expression gets across everything you need to know about this darkly comic book.

- Colleen Reinhart

Seldom do we see ambivalent emotions depicted on book covers. The woman's affect captures the oppressive listlessness felt by the protagonist, screaming: "I'm over it." Well, I think we can all relate. The choice of a classical painting is a wry nod to the character's art history background, and the final, triumphant slap of some deadpan Helvetica-in hot pink, no less- make this cover. A bare nipple helps, too.

- Linda Huang

Absolutely perfect image choice that is eerie and yet so beautiful it's almost calming at the same time. I'm also a huge fan of the way she executed the type, bleeding into the image makes it different from what I've seen before and gives it the same eerie but beautiful quality. This exercise in restraint draws me in and makes me want to know more, the ultimate goal in cover design.

- Rachel Ake

I just love the way the type is treated on this. Lovely photograph too. Reminds me a little of one of last years hit covers, All We Can Say, designed by Janet Hansen.

- Gray318 (Jon Gray)

Love the texture of this pattern, the colour, the strong type subtly integrated into the graphic form of the pattern. This designer has created a few show-stoppers in 2018 so well worth checking out her work. It is vibrant and graphic with a strong typographic flair.

- Coralie Bickford-Smith

This cover is small in size, but has such a big personality. Adalis created such an elegant package with simple painted art and type, and it feels special. The colors on the printed cover are so nuanced and beautiful and this is an object you want to hold.

- Emily Mahon

This slim, pocket-sized volume stopped me dead in my bookstore-browsing tracks; it just lit up the table it was sitting on and begged me to pick it up. We both love the vibrant color pallet, as well as Martinez's thoughtfully integrated hand-traced typography paired with her modernist nude. It's rare for a package this pretty to also look so heroic.

- Strick & Williams

I love this drawing of a face staring back at me along with the strange strokes of colors.

- Jaya Miceli

With it's use of materials this cover could have easily turned messy, but a striking portrait and the restrained mark of the hand elevates this cover to a coveted work of art.

- Tyler Comrie

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2018 has been many things, but it certainly has not been lacking in great book cover design. Here at Lit Hub, we unpacked the biggest book cover trend of the year, compared US covers to their UK co...

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White space does not literally mean an empty space with a white background. It can be any color and any area within a design that is free from text, images, or embellishments. White space helps create grouping, adds emphasis and can improve legibility.

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In graphic design, there are principles of design that should be considered. These principles are what typically separate good design from bad design. All these principles have a relationship between each other and appear in every well designed piece of work you see.

A good grasp of design theory will mean there is always substance behind your work.

The key principles of design are: contrast, hierarchy, alignment, balance, proximity, repetition, simplicity and function.

Whatever work you produce be it for a magazine, poster, website or advertisement, the principles of design should be considered.

A good designer will keep these principles and guidelines in their toolkit and will consciously use them to develop their ideas.

Lets have a closer look at the alignment principle:

Alignment Principle

Alignment is the placement of visual elements so they line up in a composition. In design, we use alignment to organize elements, to group elements, to create balance, to create structure, to create connections between elements, to create a sharp and clear outcome.

In design there are two alignment principles: Edge alignment and Center alignment.
Edge Alignment
Edge alignment is either to the left, right, top or bottom.
Center Alignment
Center alignment as it states is aligned to a center line down the middle or across the horizontal.

Alignment is often an invisible line visual elements are aligned to but can also be hinted at physically. Alignment can be used to achieve a particular look and feel. One should always be conscious when working with alignment to achieve the intended result.
Good Alignment Bad Alignment
Where visual elements are aligned, a composition can appear clear, confident, elegant, formal and trustworthy. Good alignment is invisible i.e. this doesn't have to be a literal line in your design.

In design, one should try and avoid the appearance of having made arbitrary decisions. When visual elements are out of alignment, it is noticeable, and can devalue a piece of work if done unintentionally.

Mixed Alignment
If mixed alignment is intended as part of a design, it can appear more radical, dynamic, free and playful.
Grid Examples
Alignment can be simple or complex and is commonly achieved with the use of a grid. A grid can create an invisible structure on which visual elements can be placed on. These grids can ensure accurate alignment and consistency in a large piece of design work. Nowadays, grids are typically constructed in design software as a guide when layout is created on a computer.

The following examples demonstrate various approaches of alignment in design.

First we have a typical layout based on a grid of three columns. We can see how the line elements hint at the grid structure while the main title and image fits nicely into the two far right columns aligned with the article copy below. Everything in this composition appears well aligned, neat and organized. Alignment is typically used to organize and create a degree of structure as seen in the previous examples. However, alignment can also be used in more abstract ways as part of a visual message or to add dynamics to a layout.

The next example explores alignment both vertically and horizontally which creates a nice dynamic on the page. The main title is aligned to the top of the page and the cap height of the header type is defining the column widths below. The lists below then follow down the page aligned to the left of the columns defined by the header type above.

Next is a type composition exploring both left and right alignment of type. The contrast between alignment in each column creates an interesting dynamic on the page.

Here's another simple layout. On top we have a bold header and beneath this we have a column of type. The justified type itself is aligned to the left but the column flows down aligned along a diagonal spine. This adds an interesting dynamic to the composition suggesting movement and direction on the page.

This layout is a lot more abstract and attempts to challenge the limits of alignment. Through the implementation of contrast in type size, weight and alignment, a more radical and freestyle composition is achieved here.

This last example is another abstract composition. The elements here seem to suggest no hierarchy, no formal order. The contrast between the contradictory alignments creates an interesting visually stimulating composition.

The above are just a few examples showing the variety in which alignment can be utilized in both practical and more abstract design.

When you look at a design, ask yourself how has alignment been considered, is there a clear structure that has been used? What grid structure might have been used to create it? And how well does it work as part of the design?

Source: Gareth David

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In graphic design, there are principles of design that should be considered. These principles are what typically separate good design from bad design. All these principles have a relationship between each other and appear in every well designed piece of work you see.

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The rectangles in this design are way out of alignment, improve it by making them a consistent size and align them to the center of the letters and the blue bar to the bottom of the page. When you are happy with the changes, take a screen shot of your fixed design post it under your name in the TURN IN tab.

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Using the Principle of Design -Alignment-, Download the attachment and redesign a book cover for a book that has been written. You will be designing the front & back using repeating elements.

Required on front:

Title

Author

Designs & text that are aligned to each other

Required on spine:

Title

Required on back:

Review or summary that is at least 1 long paragraph

Bar Code

Design that continues from the front or that complements the front design

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The photos and paragraphs are not visually organized well, improve it by arranging the text & photos so the photos match the headings. When you are happy with the changes, take a screen shot of your fixed design post it under your name in the TURN IN tab.

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Using the Principle of Design -Proximity-, Download the attachment and redesign a book cover for a book that has been written. You will be designing the front & back using repeating elements.

Required on front:

Title

Author

Elements and text of a design that have good proximity

Required on spine:

Title

Required on back:

Review or summary that is at least 1 long paragraph

Bar Code

Design that continues from the front or that complements the front design

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Remember, white space isn't necessarily white.

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Remember, white space isn't necessarily white.

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Text is hard to read!

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The placement of the background photo allows the white space to be larger so the lettering can be seen.

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This layout has no white space and is hard to read, improve it by taking out the graphics that clutter the layout. When you are happy with the changes, take a screen shot of your fixed design post it under your name in the TURN IN tab.

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Using the Principle of Design of -White Space-, Download the attachment and redesign a book cover for a book that has been written. You will be designing the front & back that has a good white space balance with the graphics and the text.

Required on front:

Title

Author

Elements and text of a design that have good balance with white space

Required on spine:

Title

Required on back:

Review or summary that is at least 1 long paragraph

Bar Code

Design that continues from the front or that complements the front design

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A redesign of a book cover is a NEW LOOK for an already in print book.

There are many reasons why a book might be redesigned. A few of them are: A book cover can be redesigned when an author wants a fresh look to attract more readers. It can also be redesigned if the cover is out of date, or been in print long enough that people are used to the book cover. A redesigned book cover can refresh interest in a story.

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I have to admit I can be really picky when it comes to my covers. I like to have a matching set for a series, so if get redesigned when I'm in the middle of the series and I end up with a mismatched set, it does irritate me!

Top 10 Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish, but has now moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. If you're interested in taking part click here.

Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo - I loved the original covers for this series, but actually think I prefer the new covers. They are more individual for each book, and I like how each amplifier is represented on the covers.

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling - There are so many versions of these covers. I'm going to compare the box set I got recently, to the original covers, which are the ones my mum read to me. Something about the original illustrations for the covers is just really charming, I like them a lot better to the new ones, which feel a bit too cartoonish.

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray - Although it's not usually the kind of design I like, the cover for this book really stood out to me for some reason. The new cover just didn't catch my eye as much when I saw it in a bookshop the other week. I think perhaps it is the font, I am not so keen on, and it is somehow not as bold.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I don't love the designs for these books. Although the focus on the mockingjay pin on the more recent editions is a good move, as they are very representative of Katniss's development over the course of the series.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh - The cover on the left is what I originally got with my Kindle edition. It's not very exciting, and I'm not sure I would have picked it up if I hadn't read it as part of a book club. The new cover is more dramatic and enticing.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner - This is one of those series for which I have mismatching covers! The current plain black covers just don't do anything for me. They look too similar to other books. The designs just don't stand out amongst the crowd.

Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip - I am very attached to my old copy of this book, but the new cover for the Fantasy Masterworks series it is just stunning!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - There have been a couple of redesigns of this series. I don't mind the version in the middle, but the pink one on the right hand side I just don't like at all.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini - There are four books in this series. Books one, two and four match, but I got the third book as a gift and it doesn't match the others. I have many times considered buying it so I can have a matching set... It's just not a great looking cover...

The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding - I don't especially have a favourite between these two covers. I own the version on the right. But the design on the left is the one I got out of the library and is the edition I first read, so I still have some attachment to that design.

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Top 10 Tuesday: Cover Redesigns I Loved/Hated

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I have to admit I can be really picky when it comes to my covers. I like to have a matching set for a series, so if get redesigned when I'm in the middle of the series and I end up with a mismatche...

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Beginning Graphic Design: Layout & Composition

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Go to this website and read the information about the 4 principles of design. We will be using this for bellwork for the next few days.

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A BUNCH OF CRAP - but the good kind!

When you own a business, you need to wear many hats. In addition to your management and leadership skills, you'll also need to handle finances and become an official spokesperson for your business.

But in today's marketplace, you'll also need to advertise your business in order to reach a wider target audience. Whenever you want to grab your audience's attention, you'll want to create a message that appeals to their senses.

Specifically, basic design skills can help you brand your business and present your message in a professional, creative way. If you haven't studied graphic design before, don't worry. Read the rest of our blog post for a simple explanation of the four basic principles that will guide your business's design.

1. Contrast

The first basic design principle is contrast, or the idea that different colors, shapes, and sizes will draw your readers' attention best.

To use contrast in your designs, make sure that you choose a color scheme that combines light and dark shades. You should also use a variety of fonts for your title and captions to create visual contrast in your text.

However, too much contrast can become a distraction for your readers. Instead of using 15 different fonts, colors, and images that crowd out your central message, stick to two or three different design elements to keep your layout unified.

2. Repetition

In contrast with the first basic principle of design, the second principle helps you create unity. The rule of repetition indicates that you should reuse some key themes in your design so that readers can easily recognize and identify your brand.

For example, if you use red, white, and blue as the signature colors for your logo, you should repeat these same colors in every print publication you order.

You can also utilize repetition with the shapes and fonts you select. If your logo uses an elongated cursive script, you can mimic the curves of this font with curved shapes and a similar font for all your headings.

You'll know that your designs effectively use repetition when the casual observer can identify advertisements that belong to your company at a glance. Repetition is especially useful when you employ a multichannel marketing campaign.

3. Alignment

Alignment refers to the placement of all the design elements on a page. If you put the text at the top left corner of the page and then place your logo in the center of the page with images scattered around the edges, your readers won't know where to look for specific information about your company.

But if you carefully arrange the elements on the page so that all the images and text align with the same invisible line, you'll create a logical flow that pleases the eye.

As a general rule, the edges of your images should line up with the margins of your text. This principle generates clean lines and plenty of white space that appeal to your readers visually.

4. Proximity

Like alignment, proximity teaches you to keep related images, paragraphs, and titles visually grouped together. This arrangement won't just allow for more white space-it will also communicate the information of your ads in the most concise way possible.

When you place the most relevant images and words close to each other on the page, you send a visual signal to the reader that these elements have something in common. That way, your readers can quickly interpret the most important details of your advertisement and internalize your persuasive message.

Notice that these four design elements don't require you to have any experience with software or art. The four basic principles of design simply allow you to showcase your brand's message in the most effective way.

Want to continue reading for a much deeper dive on the principles of design, complete with design do's and don't? Review this content from our friends at Qwilrs: 8 design shortcuts for visually impressive documents.

Still not sure where to start or need additional help? Contact Flottman Company for your printing needs and FUSIONWRX Inc. for your marketing needs. All the strategy, design and production assistance you need, one phone call away!

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4 Basic Design Principles Every Business Owner Should Know is CRAP! - Flottman Company.

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When you own a business, you need to wear many hats. In addition to your management and leadership skills, you'll also need to handle finances and become an official spokesperson for your business. But in today's marketplace, you'll also need to advertise your business in order to reach a wider target audience.

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Create a 2"x6" bookmark that compliments your book cover

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Create a 2"x6" bookmark that compliments your book cover

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Create a 2"x6" bookmark that compliments your book cover

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Create a 2"x6" bookmark that compliments your book cover