If you’ve followed me for some time, you’ve probably seen me mention The Book Designer. Halfway through each month, Joel has a post about e-Book cover designs. I’m always looking for ways to improve, so I submitted Thanmir War for December’s collection.
Joel will make comments just below each cover if he has them, and that is what I was hoping for. I’m about halfway down the page, and there are a lot of submissions, so it might be easier just to CTRL + F and search for Loni Townsend. But I’d recommend looking at all of the covers and Joel’s individual comments, if you have time.
Joel’s comments for me:
JF: A great job for your first time out. Keeping a simple palette and focusing on one main graphic element really helps, but you’ll need much better typography to get to the next level.
So I asked him what he meant (you can find this in the actual comment section at the bottom of the page) and he indicated the title didn’t have much of an impact.
Oh.
I have no formal design training, nor would I say I have an eye for it. Pretty much all of my graphical design experience comes from self-taught dabbling and getting feedback on what does and doesn’t work for everyone else. You can read about my cover creation experience here: The Cover.
Typography is something I haven’t studied. But looking at the title again, I can see how it pales compared to the rest of the design. Perhaps it needs to be bigger. Maybe have a background. Maybe remove the shadow. Seeing I only got this feedback a couple days ago, I haven’t figured it out yet. But, like all things books, I am embarking on personal study and intend to improve.
I’ll be sure to post any useful tips/links that I find!
What are your opinions on the cover/title? Do you have any typography suggestions or maybe resources to check out?
I like your cover. It’s unique. And I don’t think your title looks bad.
I don’t have an eye for this stuff or training either, so I’m at a loss to suggest any improvement.
I’m glad you like it. The great thing about making the covers is the use of layers, so I can play with different title styles without losing this one.
I think you do have an interesting cover, but if you want to set off the title more, a darker backdrop would set off the contrast splendidly. Or there’s always the chiseling affect. *shrugs* I
Oooh, chiseling. I think I’ll try it!
Part of me wonders if it’s because the writing tends to frame the tree.
I do tend to find my eye is drawn to the image rather than the title, then your name pops out as I follow the line of the trunk. Is that what he’s possibly talking about?
I think that’s it–the whole glossing over the title in favor of the image. Gotta find some way to make it pop!
I love that you submitted your work to him and he gave you constructive advice. There are so many facets to this business! Crazy!
The business is a bit daunting, if you ask me. But there are tons of people like Joel willing to give a helping hand with the goal of making the book business a good one.