We specialize in book design services for self-publishing authors and independent publishing companies. We create cover designs and page layouts for fiction and non-fiction novels, children’s books, text books, annual reports, magazines, catalogs and manuals.
Cover Design
First rule of cover design, the cover should be creative and intriguing, pleasing to the eye and highly interesting. Second rule, make the cover fit the story or genre, appeal to the target audience and tell what the story is about at one glance. Third rule, make sure the cover is one complete composition, professionally designed to high quality standards. That’s where we come in. With many years of design experience and hundreds of cover designs, we have the expertise to create a cover for your book that is everything you imagined and more.
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There are three elements of a cover design for a book: the front cover, the spine and the back cover. They all play an equally important role in enticing the reader to choose to purchase a book. The three elements should flow together seamlessly with an overall balance in color, composition and typographical design.
With on-demand-printing covers are printed using Four Color Process which represents the four colors of ink: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These four colors of ink are printed in tiny dots that combine to create an image that is a near perfect match to what we see with our eyes. This printing process allows designers to use full color images in cover designs. Before the days of four color printing, cover designs were most times restricted to only two colors of ink to save on printing costs. This technique was called duotone, which usually used black ink and a contrasting or complimentary ink color to create very effective two-color covers. This technique still works for some types of covers, like mémoire, historical fiction and nonfiction, especially ones that could use old black and white photos.
The Front Cover
The front cover of a book should peak the curiosity of the reader. What does the cover tell them? It needs to tell them more than just the title of the book and the author’s name. The cover should reach out and grab the reader and make them want to read what’s inside. To do this the cover should be attractive, well designed and most of all give the reader a glimpse of what’s inside.
We offer cover designs using a variety of types of images including photography, graphic elements and custom illustrations. Depending on the type and subject of the book, the target audience and the images available, we will work with you to achieve a design that will appeal to readers and sell your book.
Cover Design for Books in a Series
For authors who publish a series of books, such as poetry, fantasy novels, romance novels, westerns, educational books, business books, software manuals, or Christian ministry books, we can help you create cover designs that reflect the same style throughout the series. By using similar design elements, complimentary images, and colors that harmonize with each other, your series will take on a style that readers will recognize and appreciate in a collective work.
Samples of poetry book cover designs using the same style for books in a series
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The Book Spine
The spine of the book is an important element of a book’s cover design due to the fact that many books are displayed with only the spine showing. The spine of the book should contain the book title in legible font and large at the bottom of the spine but can also proceed and even appear larger than the title if the author name is highly recognizable and will sell the book quicker then the title.
The Back Cover
This is the area most readers will turn to to find out more. A short synopsis of the story is a way to give the reader a sneak preview. The back cover is also a great place to put reviews or endorsements and, don’t forget your web site address.
You will also want to include your ISBN and bar codes where they can be easily scanned at the cash register.