Books have been a fundamental part of human history for more than some millennia, and its physical design has been consistent throughout. Aside from the title, one of the most integral parts of the book is its cover. Through the eyes of the consumer, books nowadays are judged firsthand by what the buyer sees, and when the buyer sees a cover that’s less than favorable, then that book is ignored. The problem with this is that while the cover is one part of a whole, the design of it determines whether if it will sell.
Cover design is one of the most pivotal parts of the process of a book’s creation. Many books that range genres have suffered in their sales due to a badly designed cover. Thus, the purpose of this study was to find out what constitutes as a well-designed cover.
Through two studies conducted with an audience varying in gender and age, I have redesigned ten novels that range from contemporary to classic with the results in mind. The research will then be compiled in a how-to guide that consists of infographics and posters that publishing houses can reference to in order to boost sales and as well take into account what the audience deems a successful cover.
The books I chose to redesign are as follows:
1984
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Carrie
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Madeline
Peter Pan
The Phantom of the Opera
The Stepford Wives
The Help
The Time Machine
