Art and Design A comprehensive guide for creative artists - Aaltodoc

An example
of a book
cover layout
By understanding the definition and process of making a
badge, the same series of actions can be adopted to design
emblems, trademarks and logos, “... if you favour simple
elements and icons that are rich in meaning.” (Lidwell et al.
2010, 190)
On the other hand, even though some school badges are
designed to display icons that represent common shields,
banners, keys and books. Such ideas are conceptual.
Essential ideas and proposals for a possible course of action
are based on individuals' creative decisions.
How to design a book cover
A book cover is a thick protective outer page of a book.
Galbreath (2008, 42) is more enlightening: “If your book is
for sale, the cover is an essential marketing device that will
function like a logo and advertisement. A book cover must
look great—inside a book store and on the shelf. It also has
to look good when it's a tiny digital image on Amazon and
other online sites.” For that reason a book cover is the main
aspects of admiration for any book. Nevertheless, without
a cover there is nothing we can know about what the book
may contain.
Consequently, on the front part of a book cover, it is
reasonable to find the title, illustration and names of authors.
In the opinion of Bjornard et al. (2008, 56), “the title of a
book does not have to be huge.” In spite of that, “it must
stand out.” Designers achieve this by “creating variations of
colours and contrast” on the cover of a book.
The middle part of a book cover is commonly referred
to as the spine. Binding makes page hinges to get fixed
on a spine by ways of stapling, gluing, tying or fastening
et cetera. Nonetheless, not all books have spines. Books
without spines include, newspaper pull outs and tabloids.
The main purpose of a spine is to fascinate a user of the
book. The spine can be used to displays a title, name of the
author, editor, the publisher and/or the publisher's logo.
They are all necessary to serve the user of the book when it
is put on a display shelf.
At the back part of the book cover—it is the page area
where we sometimes find a written summary about subject
matter fulfilments; explaining the biographical matter about
the author of the book or quotes from people and other
sources praising the book.
In instances where the author’s portrait is required,
designers usually put it at the back page of the book
cover. As a learner, place a great deal of emphasis on the
requirements set by the task.
Some book covers are occasionally protected with book
jackets (dust jacket or a sheath).
Here is a set out table providing a concise and clear
summary of a book cover:
108 109
Flaps for a sheath
Flaps for a sheath
Back
1. Publisher's logo
and name
2. Subject matter
fulfilments
Spine
1. Title
2. Author
3. Publisher's logo
Front
1. Title
2. Author and/or
edition
3. Illustration
As a creative artist you can use your own ways to put the illustration. For
instance, it can be created to stretch out and fill up the whole cover or put
it at the front part alone.
A book cover and a dust jacket—both, may usually contain
resembling designs, although book jackets have extra
separate sections commonly known as flap overlaps. Flap
overlaps are loose extensions of a book jacket; they hold it
up well by wrapping the surface of an actual book cover to
keep it safe from easy wear and tear.
To make a book jacket Harden (1996, 34) remarks, “measure
round the book from cover to cover, including the spine
using your ruler and pencil mark this width on the inside of
the jacket paper, allowing an extra margin of 2 inches (5cm)
on either side. Trim the jacket to the right size.” Here we see
that the learner will as well gain the skills of creating covers
necessary for his or her own school books. Such a cover may
not necessarily have a design which matches with the book
cover.