Book Cover Design

[ponytrot]

I believe that book covers are like the doors which face us when peering into the corridor of new and undiscovered worlds. A beautiful cover draws us in, a well designed cover reflects something of the sentiments of the book- the care taken by the publishers, the mood and ambience of the contents itself.

Beautiful book covers i have found, contribute greatly to my love of already well loved books, and many are simply wonderful examples of brilliant graphic design seeking to enhance the pleasurable experience of reading!

Without further ado...

I adore Penguin in all it's incarnations, from it's wonderfully utilitarian paperbacks, it's modern classics, it's vintage collections. (more complete and organised post when i find the pics properly)

I have no words for how amazing McSweeneys is. It's the perfect marriage of tactile pleasure as well as wonderful reading. So much to discover with each edition. It's a celebration of creativity, stimulating the mind and rapturing the eyes. An artwork in and of itself.

Miscellany of gorgeous books with strong graphic design..

and beautiful vintage book design...

Creativereview.co.uk, Vulcanologist at Flickr, bookcoverarchive.com, Theselby.com, thepenguinblog.typepad

 

[ChrissyM]

we're taught to never judge a book by it's cover but if the cover makes you take the book off the shelf and start reading then it's done its job...

there are so many great book covers out there, so it's nice to have a thread for them...

thanks ponytrot

 

[gius]

^it's interesting, i took a class once on intro to graphic design/visual graphics and the instructor said on the first day, design is all about fast clear communication, capture your viewer's eyes that first instance they see your design for example a lot of posters at the train or city streets are in intense colours or sharp black+white
i find even subtly designed books, sombre palettes, etc also carry their own powers, in capturing a particular type of reader

lab-curio.com |

i love monochrome or short-palette covers. that virginia woolf one there, orange and grey.. with flora in white lines.. something mysterious about that whole combination-- it would definitely make me want to open it. same with this blue night time scene http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp336/thisworldtonight/3168441536_1bc6726b92.jpg
many thanks for starting the thread, ponytrot! wonder why we didn't have it already

 

[auxt]

Pelican books: simple yet striking design

see these and more at http://seenbooks.blogspot.com/

 

[auxt]

same source

 

[auxt]

scans from Penguin by Design by Phil Baines

penguin.co.uk

 

[gius]

I like them so much Thanks auxt! I was just about to post "The Pill on Trial" hehe
I think it's great when the design has to do with something the book is about or its general impression, and portrayed the simplest way..

 

[gius]

like these

Joe Kral@flickr |seenbooks.blogspot

 

[ponytrot]

wow! thanks for your all contributions!

beautiful choices everyone!

i'm so glad you all like the thread, (good) book design can be such an inspirational process encompassing artistic creativity to complement literary worth.

the major publishers- Penquin, Vintage, Routledge (+more) are doing an amazing job..

and smaller publishers like McSweeney's are also doing real justice to many great books.

i will try to make a collage of Penguin's main lines (Paperback, Vintage, Red, Modern Classics) each is so distinctive and just lovely to have on one's shelf.

I'd love to have a thread to also talk about the design of books, typography, colored pages and inks, embossing, even design of the paper and pages itself....but i think that strays away a little...i could go on about book design forever!

 

[ponytrot]

I adore the paperbacks- on the shelf, as part of a lovely long collection/set (and books ARE to be collected!) all the colours and bands look simply divine!

wikipedia.org

 

[ponytrot]

Penquin's sets are a visual delight!
Here are some of the recently released ones

Classic Boy's Collection (what an adorable line/concept! i wish i was a swashbuckling boy!)

Part of the Red Classics Gothic series- The Ten Tales of the Supernatural set.

Arabian Nights set.

penquin.co.uk

 

[gius]

Children's book illustrator, Quentin Blake, was a guest speaker a past RSA lecture event about Book Design.

wemadethis.typepad.com|

 

[gius]

I'd love to have a thread to also talk about the design of books, typography, colored pages and inks, embossing, even design of the paper and pages itself....but i think that strays away a little...i could go on about book design forever!

We do have threads on Typography
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f81/typography-50072.html
And also a general "Paper" thread
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f81/made-paper-62015.html

Would definitely be interested in what you have to say about book & page design, ponytrot.. and also coloured pages/inks/embossing I think member BerlinRocks might know about embossing. He posted photos of embossed paper designs made by his father in the Frame It thread
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4605693&postcount=40
I went to a craft shop few months ago, asking about embossing powders. My memory's disappearing now, but I think they told me to buy a liquid, perhaps a glue to go along with the powder. You make your design with the liquid, sprinkle the powder and you use heat to make it rise --I was actually inquiring on how to use the product on fabric, but it is only for paper they says.

 

[auxt]

Some from Egypt, mostly old pulp novels

photos by Milan

 

[merry anne]

Really great thread

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/essays/eyes/cugat_1.jpeg

 

[seanutbutter]

we're taught to never judge a book by it's cover but if the cover makes you take the book off the shelf and start reading then it's done its job...

Isn't this the truth! I can't count the number of times I've decided to pick up a book only after seeing its intriguing cover. One of my favorite covers is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which doubles as my favorite book to read as well!


wikipedia.org

 

[gius]

why does it say victoria lucas ? ^

 

[crosidan]

The 1st hardcover edition (1988) of The Twenty-Seventh City

The first time I saw the covers below, I fell in love with them. They have a fashion editorial quality to them. They're gorgeous.

Sources: wikipedia.org, ebooknetworking.com, breadnjamforfrances.blogspot.com

 

[prehuman]

This thread is such a great idea!

skwishmi.com

 

[audreyhorne]

i've found a lot of awesome covers/old books at the thrift stores, here's an obvious one..but it's still great

amazon