The benefit of a good cover design is that it has the potential to turn a curious or potential buyer into a purchaser. For the author, a striking book cover is the most powerful marketing tool which can mean the difference between the success or failure of a book.
Approaching a designer
When considering having a cover design created by a professional graphic artist the author must have a clear idea of what would be the ideal finished product. However, that is not to say that the designer's flair should be constrained. By paying for expertise in graphic design, a certain amount of freedom is granted to the artist to be 'creative'. Constant communication throughout the design process will mean that feedback can be exchanged which should allow for the author to receive a finished cover design that will be fit for purpose and not merely what the designer wanted to produce.
It should be remembered that the role of a 'brief' should be to provide succinct instructions while allowing the designer the freedom to be creative. A creative brief will provide a useful framework in which the designer can work within margins without having creativity compromised. The author should provide guidance only, regular and honest feedback will be the secret to developing a successful cover design. The author must make clear to the designer any information regarding items which 'must' appear in the design.
For the designer to be able to use his creative skills to the full it will be necessary for the author to provide a precis or synopsis of the contents of the book to allow the designer to 'get a feel' for the content and style of the work. The genre and target audience should be discussed to enable the designer to select the correct styles and fonts for the cover. The demographic, gender and age of the target audience should be made clear. If the book is part of a series, the author should provide details of fonts, colour schemes and any famous logos as part of branding already in use. Precise details of sizes, resolutions and file formats should be provided to the designer to allow for continuity in the finished product.
Dealing with technical issues
Throughout the process of designing the cover, it will be important for the author to remain in contact with the designer. At this stage it will be necessary for the size of the cover to be discussed along with its utilization; will it be used as an e-book cover, for a traditional printed book or both. This information will be necessary as the designer will need to know the dimensions and the amount of space there is to work with.
The wise writer will utilize the designer’s expertise, creativity and experience to produce the most appropriate artwork for the book cover. Try not to be too rigid in requirements and give the designer freedom to work without the author indulging in micro-management of the project. There are various colors and fonts which will appeal to the different reader groups and genres. Give any information concerning specifying colors or any preferred fonts. These elements will set the tone of the cover and should reflect the content of the work as close as possible. Constant communication between author and designer can build trust and bring about high-quality results.
By looking at other, similar books already published it will be possible to understand what colour schemes, images and fonts are used on the most successful titles. As previously mentioned, a carefully crafted cover can turn potential purchasers into buyers, particularly in the case of e-books, where the cover is the thing that will, hopefully, attract the interest of potential buyers.
Conclusion
When consulting a graphic designer to provide a cover for a book the designer must be given a complete oversight of what the subject matter and content of the book concerns. This would be achieved in an ideal world by the designer reading the complete text, unfortunately, it is generally impractical. The author should therefore provide a synopsis of the text contained in the book to allow the designer to get 'a feel' for the project.
The author and designer must agree on terms regarding consultation during the development of the cover so that any modifications can be made before the project has advanced too far. There must be a very high level of trust between the two parties if the project is to be a total success. When evaluating the progress of the project, the author should be 'firm but fair' in any criticism of the work provided by the designer. Conversely, when the work is considered to be of a high standard and entirely acceptable to the author, praise should be forthcoming and positive feedback given regarding working with the designer.
Providing the designer with an accurate precis of the subject matter, offering support and assistance during the process and allowing the designer to 'do his job' will result in a final cover which will be a huge asset. The promotion and ultimate sales of the book will benefit and it will be a useful addition to the portfolio of the designer. This will be a win-win situation for all concerned.
Author Bio: Kieran Fallon is the owner of a Dublin Graphic Design Agency Éire Graphic Design. We are here to help your organisation become more memorable through designing striking logos, eye-grabbing flyers, posters that pop, exciting animated emails and dynamic lightweight digital advertising campaigns – always backed by flexible and insightful support.
