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The art of book cover illustration is distinctive from the art of illustration, in that selling the book is a primary component. Simply illustrating the story—the job of illustration throughout a book or magazine—is now compounded by the requirements of the marketplace. The book must stand out on a shelf or in a browser, amidst ever-growing competition. Book cover illustrations must work not only conceptually, but also as billboards for the product. Unlike self-standing illustrations, they should also integrate artfully with the accompanying type, usually the title and author’s name. In some cases, all these components are combined as a piece, but in others, the designer is required to tastefully blend art, whether illustration or photography, and type or calligraphy to create the book front cover design. There is no formula, no simple or obvious path to a successful book front cover design. The solutions are as varied as the audience and as varied as the designer of the project. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed and published by Knopf, is a great example of a current cover that’s successful in its simplicity. The word “Wild” dominates the cover, supported by a worn hiker’s boot, isolated on a white background. As a book cover illustration, the boot is descriptive, dynamic, and absolutely simple. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, published by Crown, takes a very different tone. The type on the cover, red on a black background, is deep and brooding, and is partly obscured by a scratchy, barbed wire-like illustrative element that, in addition to cutting through the type, lends an air of ominousness with really very little description. This is powerful proof that book cover illustrations need not be complex, ornate, or even particularly literal, to convey a strong message and tone. Another interesting aspect of this cover is the choice of giving the author top billing, and making his or her name more dominant than the title itself. This design trend has shown itself in book cover illustration more and more regularly over the past decade. This trend is often the choice of a well-known author—think Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Laurel K. Hamilton, Nora Roberts—whose names sell the book more readily than any other marketing or illustrative tool. James Patterson is another author whose name’s precedence over the title is a common treatment in his book front cover design. In addition to the use of his name as the primary selling tool, his book series “The Women’s Murder Club,” also utilizes large, iconic numbers to distinguish the titles, such as The 9th Judgement, 1st to Die, and 11th Hour. The simplicity of the graphic, and the dominance of the author’s name provide all the market needs to sell the book. Granted, not all authors may command the same attention from the prominence of their name placement, but in general, simplicity in the design of book cover illustrations, combined with style in both the choice of type and color, is usually a dependable solution.
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