How to Design a Book Cover for a Competition

Book cover design should be bold and eye-catching.

An effective book cover design not only tells the book buyer about the book, but a unique and memorable design sells more books. Competitions to design book covers are largely judged on subjective qualities and require the skillful application of the principals that lead to book sales. However, some aspects of basic design and marketing research can provide guidelines. Designs that catch the judge's eye and that are both functional and unforgettable stand the best chance at winning a competition.

Things You'll Need

• Book cover template
• Image editing software

Instructions

1. 

   The spine of the book is visible on the shelf.

   Download a book cover template. The template for a book cover includes the front page, back page, spine, as well as the margins that may or may not be seen. Template generators can estimate the size of the spine based on the number of pages in the publication and adjust the other elements to your specification.

2. 

   Understanding color theory can help design book covers.

   Use simple and bold designs. Eye-catching designs are uncomplicated and striking. A strong contrast between solid colors or simple primary shapes can achieve that effect.

3. 

   Compare the spine to other book spines.

   Use clear lettering on the spine. Often the spine is seen first in a book store, and book sellers, book designers, writers and readers are aware of this fact. Use a font size that resonates visually.

4. 

   A large attractive title can be the cover design.

   Compare the subject of your book cover to top-selling book covers with the same subject. Though you want to produce a cover that stands out, you also want to design a cover that conveys with visual cues what the subject matter is without the observer having to read it.

5. 

   Try different colors.

   Edit the elements of your book cover in a graphic design program. Try different sizes, shapes and colors to produce harmony between all the elements.

6. 

   Art is an intregral aspect of book design.

   Harmonize the wording on the cover, the author's name and the synopsis with the graphics. The overall impression of the book cover should be cohesive. The graphics and the wording need to send the same message.

7. 

   Book cover design should reflect the subject matter of the text.

   Compare your finished product to other books with the same subject. If your design does not stand out among the books you have designed in an appealing way that clearly conveys the intended message about the contents of the book, then you need to adjust the elements of the book cover until that effect is achieved.

Tips & Warnings

• Find out who is judging the contest and what books have won the contest before.

• Browse book cover related websites and research both historic and modern book covers that have had impact.

• Do not plagiarize cover designs.

References

• Smashing Magazine: Excellent Book Covers and Paperbacks
• Smashing Magazine: Data Visualization Modern Approaches