Book Cover Design 101: What Makes Up A Cover
So, I promised at one point to talk covers, specifically book covers and what makes a good book cover. And I realized that to talk covers, I need to make a few things clear and that means understanding some basic concepts/terms.
This is going to be long since it's more complex than you think. I also ramble a lot. LOL.
To go over the terminology and the basics, I'll use covers that are currently bestsellers on Amazon that I've screen-capped. Here's some of the important terms/concepts:
Font - This should be self explanatory. There are four kinds of fonts that are generally used: Serif, Sans Serif, Script, and Unusual. Script and Unusual can be Serif or Sans Serif. And font choice is really important in conveying genre and readability.
Image - Also self explanatory. The image can be made up of several images stitched together, various effects, gradients, vectors, and it can be illustrated or photographed or a combo.
This is the current cover for Loretta Chase's Steamy Historical Regency Romance "Lord Perfect". It's a pretty standard clinch cover. (Called clinch because one character, typically the dominant male, is clutching the other. This is also true in LGBTQIA+ covers.) The coding is spot on... Let me break it down:
I'm going to talk font first.
The LIME arrow points to the testimonial/endorsement. In this instance, it's a generic author endorsement by Julia Quinn... the author of the Bridgerton series (and another big name HistRom author). Publishers, especially trad pub, love these because they think that readers will read books if one of their favorite authors endorses that author. Julia Quinn also writes steamy historical regency romance, so if she's endorsing the author, they likely write the same genre. This text is in black in a simple serif font. This text is the least legible because it's the least important.
The RED arrow points to the author name. For this book, it's the largest bit of font on the cover. That's because Loretta Chase has a large following and HistRom readers are nothing if not devoted to their favorite authors. This is often true across all genres. The larger the author name, the bigger deal they or their publisher think they are. The author text is also in a SLIGHTLY different color than the title or the brag. This is because the cover designer chose to have all of the important text on the bottom of the cover (Viable choice), but they want people to know which is which. The author name is in a slightly swishy serif font and each letter is capitalized with the L of Loretta and the C of Chase in a larger font size. There's also a drop shadow under it. This is the most legible because it is what the publisher deemed the most important.
The YELLOW arrow points to the brag. This is where the author lists their most important achievement. Did they make the USA Today bestseller list (the easiest of the major paper lists)? Then, you'll see that. New York Times (Super hard for Romance since many of their partner stores don't sell Romance)? Then you'll see that. Bestseller with no listing? That means they cracked the top 100 in their category on Amazon (or another site... but Amazon is most likely). International Bestseller with no listing? That means they cracked both the U.S. bestseller charts and at least one of the other country stores (again this is likely on Amazon). Some people only put bestseller on their brag if they reach number one in their category. But it is absolutely not consistent. If they list a book/series title, that's because it is trying to appeal to readers of that book/series. The brag is in a simple serif font (probably the same as the endorsement), but in white and larger because it's more important.
The MAGENTA arrow points to the title. It is in a simple script font and as the title, it's the second largest font on the cover. It also has a drop shadow to make it stand out. For some reason, it's not perfectly centered... No clue why, likely a mistake or a crop from the paperback version (the dimensions are different for ebook and paperback). Script fonts are really common in romance, especially historical romance.
The AQUA arrow points to the characters. They are models who have been to a photo shoot. This is a photorealistic cover, although in past years they were actually painted. And even today, many designers will run the photo through a program to add a paintbrush effect. They're dressed in sort of historical clothing... as is very common for trad-pub it's pseudo historical. (In a former life I was a costumer.) It is very likely that the woman actually wore a white dress and the color has been added by the cover designer. I am 90% certain that I've seen both models before, especially the male. I don't think it's the fat-phobic dude, but it could be. The fact that the clothing is partially off hints at the steamy nature of the contents within--the color of her dress adds to this too. For some characters, you'll get headswaps. If it's done right, you won't notice.
The BLUE arrows point to the background. This is a little complex, so let me break it down... There are at least Three, although I think Four images that are stitched together to form the background. The Roses, the Stairs, the Building, and the Fence that runs into the building. There MAY be an additional image above the fence of some trees. But I'm not totally sure because of the effects. The background is telling a hint of the story and also playing into Historical Romance Tropes. The color appears to be a gradient that's slapped over the stitched background - possibly two... The Red again hints at the steamy nature. And, if this is part of a series, it's likely that each book in the series will have its own signature color for the cover. There's also a paint stroke effect that is most noticeable over the arch fence thing. That stroke effect does double duty. It draws your eye to the characters and it also hides/obstructs the stitching on the background.
Let's move on to a different cover. This time I've chosen a serial killer/police procedural (Think "Criminal Minds") that has been put out by a medium press publisher.
Starting with the font. As a note, none of the fonts have a drop shadow or outline to them. And they appear to be all the same sans serif font, I think.
The MAGENTA points to the title. You are a LOT more likely to see sans serif fonts in Mystery than you are in Romance. The font color matches the color of the character's coat. As well as the series title & number. There's a small cloudy overlay to the text that hints at the fog of mystery. On this book, the title is the most important thing.
The RED arrow points to the author's name. Note how it's smaller than the title, but it also stands out. This is the second most important thing.
The LIME arrow points to the Series title and Number. This is so readers of the series know where they are. Third most.
The YELLOW arrow points to the hook/flavor text/tagline. This a little tidbit to try to reel in readers, or at least get them to go on and read the summary/blurb. Fourth most.
The WHITE arrow points to the self endorsement. Apparently the author couldn't even mine her reviews for an endorsement, let alone a publication, blogger, or another author. This is more common in smaller press or indie pub. I'm putting my money on the publisher, though. This is also the least important element on the cover.
The AQUA arrow points to the character. Based on the other covers in the series, this is probably the main character... D.I. Lottie Parker. It's incredibly common in mystery to show the lead in either silhouette or from behind. This is because publishers want the reader to be able to insert themselves into the detective role. (It's also why so many YA covers do the same, JSYK.) The only colors on the cover are on the character. Their coat and their hair. That's it. Monochromatic is also common in Mystery/thriller. (And Erotica, but that's another post).
The BLUE arrow points to the background. There are at least five images stitched together... And I'm fairly certain that I've got at least two of them from various stock photo sites. The birds are one layer, the tree limbs at the top another, the clouds that overlay are yet another, the house is its own thing, then there's the dock. It's possible that the hills in the background are another image, but that seems like a lot of work. (There's a ton of dock in lake photos out there.)
So now you should have a good idea what makes up a cover.
I've got more to say on this, but this post has gotten long enough. I told you I'm long winded. LOL
