We have always heard about never judging a book by its cover. But in reality, it is the opposite. The cover of the book provides valuable clues to desired readers about what they may read in a book.

Books with appealing covers are more likely to be picked by customers on a bookstore or library shelves. It is the first step that the user takes before they decide to buy a book. So, the question is how to design a book cover that brings massive sales.

If your book is ready to be published but you are confused about the front design, then we have mentioned a few tips that will assist you. Let's see what these tips and tricks are and how they will assist in designing an incredible front.

Tips For Designing A Book Cover

Design a book cover by following these simple tips. These techniques will surely help you to craft an amazing design for your book.

• Look For The Inspiration

Before you begin to design, you must always gather some visual inspiration first to assist you with the overall feel and look of your book. Gathering different ideas will assist you in learning what you are up to, what will not work best, and what will work well so you can nail down what you desire to achieve with your book cover design. Collect all the ideas and inspirations before beginning to design your cover. Keep these ideas in your mind for all the steps.

• Use Colors As Focus

Focused colors make a focal point in composition and also prominent specific elements of your choice. In the black and white cover, something prominent with red will draw the attention of readers. However, red is a strong color and shows passion for bright things. You only need to think about different hues and how they align with your story.

• Choose Bold Typography

Typography is an appealing design tool and can be as influential and artistic as strong imagery. You can play with shapes and curves of letters to communicate emotions and create negative space through a particular typeface. You can emphasize the specific point in the cover by changing the shape, size, type, placement, and color.

• Highlight The Main Theme Of Book

Your book cover should support the theme of your book. It is also required to align with the mood of the book. What does your book focus on? An exploration of modern society, adventurous, thrilling, fun, or romantic. It should have a cover according to its type. Like a serious book will have a serious cover to portray its genre. Outline the theme of your book and keep it in mind when choosing the type of imagery you desire to have on your cover.

Furthermore, if you are working with a designer, you need to give him an overview of your book because he will not have enough time to read your entire book. Provide him a summary, and he will get the idea for the cover.

• Consider The Genre Of Book

When it comes to covers, different genres have different conventions. You will rarely find any romance book cover not having a couple on the front. A crime book cover has dark covers, giving hints that the book has a serious crime story. You can also check competing book covers to get a sense of the genre. In this way, leaders will immediately get to know about the genre.

• Eliminate All The Clutter

Covers which have clutter don't work well when viewed in small sizes. Massive books are browsed online and diminished down to the size of a thumbnail. Your readers will turn away if your cover at thumbnail size looks cluttered. Pick one main element of your cover: the title or part of the image. Once you learn about your focal point, you can easily design the rest of the cover by focusing on that point.

• Opt For Imagery That Influences Your Audience

As we know, a picture speaks 1000 words. Images have the power to communicate sentiments and emotions. All you need to do is explore the different types of imagery that can speak louder for your book. For example, An image of a cropped staircase represents golden art. It could be impactful for the audience who cares about architecture and design. Similarly, A book cover design for kids will have some colourful and animated images that will appeal to the kids. Understand your audience and see what type of image will catch their attention.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to design an ideal book cover?

Below, we have mentioned a few effective tips for designing a book cover.

1. Give readers a preview of what's coming.
2. Let the reader clearly know about the book genre.
3. Introduce your main lead.
4. Keep the right tone.
5. Design in a way that makes sense to your genre.
6. Pay attention to every detail.
7. Have a unique style.

2. How to pick a book cover designer?

An effective tip for finding a book cover designer is to ensure that the designer you choose has experience in your genre and your desired style in their portfolio. Check whether their style aligns with your book's tone and genre or not.

3. Is there any application that will help in designing a book cover?

Yes, numerous applications help people in designing book covers online. Novel Art 4+ Book Cover Maker is very easy to use and assists in making a beautiful book cover. You can also design it on Kindle, Wattpad, etc.

Let Us Conclude

Book cover design has evolved with the trend of eBooks and online booksellers, but some of the basic principles of effective design are still applicable. Designing a cover that captivates a reader's eye is key to the triumph of a book.

What's more, you can easily discover some amazingly handy design templates online if you are not comfortable using any design software or tool like Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. However, we would recommend finding a professional designer who is expert in designing an appealing cover that brings massive sales.