2010: Still Judging a Book by Its Cover
January 12, 2010
Long time readers (hi, Mom!) may remember my round up of book covers for Eat, Pray, Love. During a recent trip to the bookstore my design snobbery raised its ugly head again. This time, after looking at shelf after shelf of mysteries, I literally chose a book by its cover.
Interesting lettering, quirky artwork, classic looking limited palette, background texture adding depth to the design. Not only did I think this was a winner, but I saw that there was a whole series of books which carry through this design:
These books were published by Bantam Paperback, and kudos to them on the excellent work.
Would I have bought this book, though, if it looked like this?
(Bantam 2006 mass market paperback). Probably not. The cover isn’t terrible, but isn’t good, either. It certainly doesn’t stand out to me in any significant way. The art strikes me as a much too literal interpretation of the mystery inside.
This one would have been a contender, but compared to the recent paperback designs it pales in comparison:
(Bantam 2005 hardcover)
(Bantam 2005 paperback) This cover feels very discordant to me. I really hate the top, very classical, type treatment of the author’s name (Shàngó) with the deco feeling treatment of the title. And the colored woodcut look of the art seems to match neither style.
(Doubleday 2004 hardcover) Does the art match better here? Maybe. The type still aggravates me.
And then we have the audiobooks:
Nothing horrible here, but nothing setting me on fire either.
Not only did I buy the book because of the excellent design, but I was more willing to give the book content the benefit of the doubt as well. Design makes a difference.
I know this is an over-simplification, but perhaps what’s so appealing about the top version that you like, is that it looks like it’s a hand-drawn illustration, as opposed to what is a dry, obviously computer generated graphic on the others. I think the same is true of Eat, P, L…the newer one looks artistic and interesting, and the others have that heavy-handed “look a computer did this” look.
Comment by Tina Cornell — January 12, 2010 @ 12:10 pm