Hello one and all!
The importance of the book cover is still underestimated sometimes. There are arguments that the content contained within is king and will find a way to connect with readers. People are still visual creatures though, and a stimulating cover could make one book stand out from the crowd. So maybe one should judge a book by its cover after all?
Creating an unique cover
First things first. The cover of a book should make sense in terms of its genre. It would be really confusing to a reader if they saw a cover of a romantic novel and then open it up to find a horror story within. You can try to subvert genre conventions with a cover but it should never purposefully mislead someone. In the same way, the cover should also link with a theme/tone/time from your story.
Less is More
In the past it was commonplace for book covers to feature a scene from the book, recreated by an artist. Nowadays the trend is for book covers to be more minimalist, only structured around one image and a couple of lines of stylized text. This is to give just enough information to make a prospective curious to pick it up and give the book a chance.
The minimalist style requires less illustrations, which means less effort right? Actually it's a pretty double edged sword because it means the few objects there are on the cover should work holistically together, as there is nowhere to divert the reader's attention. If there is something that doesn't totally work then it will be glaring error. The synthesis of the type font, picture/art and their hierarchy within this cover is as a result very important to set the mood and convey the themes.
Conclusion
If you are designing a book cover, then it's a great idea to check out other new books in your genre. This may give you some inspiration and you'll get to know the conventions. And maybe learn what to avoid as well. Thanks for reading and hope everyone has a wonderful week!
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