DOs and DON'Ts of ebook cover design

[amoroso]

What are your favorite DOs and DON'Ts of ebook cover design?

[CJ Archer]

Because of the smaller size I think you need an uncluttered image, big clear title and author name and a design similar to other books in your genre. You want to compete with the big names out there, so pick a big name author in your genre and study how their covers look. Are you going to design your cover yourself or pay someone?

[amoroso]

Originally Posted by CJ Archer

Are you going to design your cover yourself or pay someone?

I designed my first cover myself (see my avatar), and will probbably also do at least the next few ones. However, I don't have a specific project in mind. I have started this thread for brainstorming and collecting useful suggestions.

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by CJ Archer

Because of the smaller size I think you need an uncluttered image, big clear title and author name and a design similar to other books in your genre. You want to compete with the big names out there, so pick a big name author in your genre and study how their covers look. Are you going to design your cover yourself or pay someone?

Clarity is good I agree. And what you say about mimicking big name authors makes sense, but I refuse to do it. I HATE the way most professional covers look (with the gigantic names and titles and graphics that seem recycled).

So I do it my own way. My covers are far from beautiful or even tasteful, but they bring me peace of mind.

[Namekuseijin]

Whatever you do, don't give out the solution to a mistery story in a single image. Case in point being this terribly dumb cover for a public domain ebook:

http://m.feedbooks.com/book/795/the-...the-rue-morgue

[DocNoir]

Originally Posted by ASparrow

Clarity is good I agree. And what you say about mimicking big name authors makes sense, but I refuse to do it. I HATE the way most professional covers look (with the gigantic names and titles and graphics that seem recycled).

I agree that the giant name with the slightly less giant title is annoying. It's pretty much like Coca Cola, then. "Stephen King" No other info needed. Eventually, it'll just be "New Stephen King", no title.

I want a cover to put me in a mood. Every time I glance at the cover, I should remember what the world of that book feels like.

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by DocNoir

I agree that the giant name with the slightly less giant title is annoying. It's pretty much like Coca Cola, then. "Stephen King" No other info needed. Eventually, it'll just be "New Stephen King", no title.

I want a cover to put me in a mood. Every time I glance at the cover, I should remember what the world of that book feels like.

I hear what you're saying about mood. I seem to have a better chance of that happening with UK versions of popular books. I'm not a Brit, but for some reason when I see UK versions of novels in airport bookshops, I tend to prefer that version over the American ones. I can't put my finger exactly on what's different about the aesthetic sensibilities.

Though it's irrelevant to ebooks, the tactile feel of a cover is also important to me. I've not bought books at times because they didn't feel nice to the touch. There's one kind of material used in trade paperbacks that makes me feel like I'm scratching my fingernails against a blackboard.

[DocNoir]

Originally Posted by ASparrow

Though it's irrelevant to ebooks, the tactile feel of a cover is also important to me. I've not bought books at times because they didn't feel nice to the touch. There's one kind of material used in trade paperbacks that makes me feel like I'm scratching my fingernails against a blackboard.

Oh, I know that one...and I think I like it. Yeah, I prefer the rougher ones, kind of matte, not at all slick. I also like trade pbs with flaps and deckle edges. So there's still a bit of the old-fashioned in me.

[Marseille]

Originally Posted by DocNoir

I want a cover to put me in a mood. Every time I glance at the cover, I should remember what the world of that book feels like.

I share the feeling, but I don't think I'm up to that level of graphical creativity. I've started work on my first cover, mostly trying to keep it simple, but I am trying to create one slick visual element using sculptris and keep the rest minimalist. Hard to say at this point if I'll ever get even close to what I'm after or just giving up and going for a stick-figure approach that might accidentally look "stylized" or quaint.

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by DocNoir

Oh, I know that one...and I think I like it. Yeah, I prefer the rougher ones, kind of matte, not at all slick. I also like trade pbs with flaps and deckle edges. So there's still a bit of the old-fashioned in me.

Deckle! Ooh, I love deckle.

[dworth]

"I'm not a Brit, but for some reason when I see UK versions of novels in airport bookshops, I tend to prefer that version over the American ones. I can't put my finger exactly on what's different about the aesthetic sensibilities."

A lot of US editions of books have covers that look like the ones UK editions had in the 1980s to my eye - all big, gold embossed lettering and corny illustrations. Sci-fi and fantasy novels seem to be the worst offenders. It was more marked a few years ago mind you, these days it's more common for all regional editions to have the same cover.

[MrPLD]

DON'T use default styles or templates in packages like GIMP, Photoshop, Corel Draw (oh god these are bad!) or even worse, Office Clipart (the soul withers!).

DON'T use abused fonts like Papyrus, even though they do look really nice. Sadly the Morpheus/Dark11 font is going that way too.

[bthrowsnaill]

I'm reading a book called "Blink" which is about how people make snap "intuitive" decisions, more drawn out cognitive decisions, and how decision making effects purchases and product satisfaction. I'm only about half way through the book, but the section I just read about product research was very interesting. One assertion of the book, based on an analysis of product research, is that packaging not only effects a purchasing decision, but it also effects the level of satisfaction with the product. Examples are given that show, for example, that consumers can report a 10-20% greater level of satisfaction with a product if the packaging is optimized (eg: round tubs of ice cream vs. rectangular).

The conclusions that I am drawing are as follows. First, ebook covers may be more important than I gave them credit for being. If people decide on whether to purchase an ebook as a "blink" gut feeling (esp. likely at a low price point like $.99), then the importance of a compelling cover cannot be underestimated. But beyond that, the cover may even influence their satisfaction with the book after they complete it.

[MrPLD]

Ah, humans and their irrational, illogical quirks..... captain.

[Anke Wehner]

I'm not a designer, but just some thoughts, mostly spurred by looking around Smashwords...

If in doubt, keep it simple. It's better to have a simple but neat cover than one that turned into a jumbled mess as a result of attempts to make it "spiffy".

If you start with an image the same format as the cover, and you have to squish your title awkwardly to keep it readable, don't do it. Find/create/commission a different image, or edit the image to make part of it low contrast enough to serve as background, or something.

If you look online for images to use as cover illustrations: Respect copyright. Google image search is not a clipart site. Most images posted on the net are not in the public domain. It's only free to use if the creator of tha image says so explicitly.

If you resize an image, resize it proportionally.

Don't have the text touch the edge of the cover.

For the love of KITTENS, don't add lens flares.

If you're publishing a series, try to use the same general layout and style for all covers, for recognition value.

There are always exceptions, but only if you really know what you're doing.