Book Design from Concept to Delivery
Contrary to the saying, a book is actually judged by its cover. Although there is more to a book than what meets the eye at first glance, having a solid design that captivates and resonates the message in every book is of inestimable worth that perfects the whole art of design, photography and publishing.
Driving a book design from start to finish takes a significant amount of effort. The final product has to embody message in the right context without compromising the use of art, lines, graphics and colour. Are you a photographer or an artist looking for ways to bring your ideas alive? Here are 5 steps to help you drive your book design from ideation stage to delivery.
- Start with the idea
Every design cover for a book starts with the idea; Your idea. If you happen to be designing a book that you have written by yourself, then you are in luck. Gather inspiration for the idea by breaking your book into many important points that depict the highs and lows of the story. If you are using a book graphic designer, forward the notes of the key points to the designer in a cover brief. This will allow the designer to use the cover brief to spark inspiration around the mood, genre, age range, target audience and key scenes in the book.
- Brainstorm
Once you have gathered all the highlights and key points in a cover brief, it’s time to start brainstorming your ideas. Professional book designers that are relevant in different niche already know the selling points and would know what the final picture should look like. For instance, kiddies book should be colourful and carry a happy vibe. The colour blue with meadows and hills may just be the right way to go.
- Sketch it out
Once you have brainstormed and jotted down the ideas that come most appealing to you, the next thing is to try and put the image in your brain down on paper. Start with tiny sketches of a couple of ideas and consider blending these pictures into each other. Take note of the images and how the rhyme with the colour and import these designs into Photoshop or Illustrator. Work on a couple of options and design before shortlisting the best two or three of the lot.
- Get feedback
Even when making a book design as/for self-published author, you need to get reactions and feedbacks to get fresh ideas on your work. Show off your work to friends and colleagues with a good eye and relate the theme to them. To see how good your work matches the book inspiration, show it to some people and have them guess what the book is about. Ensure you get those extra eyes before concluding.
- Perfect and Print
Once you and your previewers have elected a particular design that works well with the cover brief and story of the book, the next thing is to relay the feedback and touch-up your work for perfection. Once you are sure of the design you have, you can finally hit the print press.
At XYZ, our team of professionals bring their wealth of experience to deliver relevant and captivating design that will boost your business and publications. In need of a professional design for your book cover, click here to contact us and schedule a free consultation appointment today.
