What do you think of this cover?
What do you think of this cover design? Completely away from the “photograph of a flower” look. Created by @VM_Designut.
Please enter your comments below and not as tweets because I need to collect all the comments.
Comments (76)
You seem to be getting good free advice!
If you really do know what your book is about, I recommend a professional graphic designer to put your literary vision into visible form on the cover. This crowd-sourcing idea might make for an interesting article, but is a terrible idea in design. Art is not about what giving people what they want, but about creating needs people didn't realize they had. Find a designer that listens to you & inspires you.
The daisy in the background is a little unclear, and I'd like to see a 3rd colour in there. Some red, or pink maybe. Colours are too industrial for my liking - and there's something in my mind that wants to pull that curve out of there and either straighten it out, or put it on the other side. Maybe if the background flower was darker, more intense, that would take care of it.
I think the concept is good, I like the bee and flowers, I'm thinking that the 'enchantment' is the pull that the flower has for the bee.
Think it wil stand out on a bookshelf.
I also suggest for the header that your name is bigger, bolder, and for the letters to be closer to each other.
I will be more than happy for me and my team to help you with it and recreate it for you if you send us the original file ;)
I hope this helps
Good luck and looking forward to read it.
I loved the clean original design with white background. This one looks cheap.
Why can't you just have the word "enchantment" on the front? With a white cover? Or something like that? Make it simple Guy, but no simpler than that.
I liked for example the "reality check" one (simple elements pencils btw). Maybe something with pink or red, could more draw to passion, heart and soul...
Book covers don't matter as much once your name is recognizable. As yours is...
I'd like to ask what exactly would entice those who think this isn't "enchantment". Familiarity breeds glossy eyes. Nobody wants to see something that looks like it's "supposed" to. How boring is that?
On a scale of 1-5 with 1=NO and 5=GO, cover 1and 3 are 3's.
I know it's just a rough, but the typography is totally weak -- really sloppy and awkward. I think these need to be executed well enough that people are reacting to the facets of the design that you want feedback on.
It looks like a 'hand' of green banana.
It looks like the design intention is to draw attention to the bee like a "!!!" moment for the bee, which is a great idea. The paint blob (?) around the bee makes me think that the poor bug got squashed. Perhaps something else can be done to express this. The green is an interesting color choice. It will be an eye-catcher for sure on the bookshelves. I think a different color may express "Enchantment" a little better. The idea of the bee and the flower is wonderful. There is an opportunity for improvement in its execution.
The word "Enchantment" makes me think of Disney movies and enchanted forests. (Sorry!) Having said that, it is a great use of the word to talk about how we can change minds, hearts and actions of people. The word is not used very often in our daily lives which makes the book title compelling. This is a good design challenge for an artist to come up with a book cover that hits the right tone of "Enchantment" without being romantic or cute. It's hard, so this is a great effort.
Just my two cents. :)
PS I like the color combination green/black only on a
Porsche RSR, green paint, black wheels :-)
Not crazy about the type treatment or the color scheme. And the 3rd generation photocopy look is lacking for this subject and certainly for Kawasaki (who could certainly afford Kidd's or Sahre's expertise). It simply looks stalled in the "we're getting there" phase. If you keep this designer-- push him or her harder. This isn't IT. Close... but not there yet.
Go pro....the topic is too strong to take it where this is going. A professional cover......Good to Great like needs to be in play here.
I would not even pick this book up because of the graffiti effect.
I could do this cover in ten minutes and it would sell 10 million copies. Ok....maybe 15 minutes and 5 million copies.
Sorry - thats not a good work…
Can it be on the lines of a magician in a door entrance pointing his magic wand towards a man thinking or pointing a schematic image of a brain that's illuminated.
The drop shadows are both too dark and hard edged, but they are excessive and dated anyway. If the sun is behind everything, what light source would be creating shadows like that on backlit letters? None should. The sun concept is visually defeated by the incongruous shadows. A very subtle glow on the backlit elements would be much more effective. Your author block should have now shadow.
The typography is, I hate to be so negative but..., just plain ugly. Your name has an open track, that in lowercase simply looks bad. An extended typeface, with wider letters, would be a better way to fill the width without increasing the height. The "Author of..." line would really look much better in all caps, and since it uses alternating color, the use of italics - while conforming to "Chicago Manual of Style" rules - seems redundant and compounds the badly tracked U&lc. lettering.
Again, the title and subtitle are open tracked Upper & lowercase. Ugly!
While your name might be the draw to sell the book, the title should have just as much impact. It doesn't. If I were to leave it in the arc shape, I would 1) correct the circle radius to be concentric with the flower, 2) tighten the letter track, having it flush-right on the realigned t, until it only spans 60-70 deg. (the E should be about where the h is now), 3) the subtitle also needs a concentric arc, tighter tracking, and the end should align under the right edge of the t above it.
Those are just some suggestions, however, the basic design has a dated and unrefined look. It really lacks finish or a cohesive feeling.
Get rid of the shadows. Fix the type spacing, and reconsider the typefaces, too. Leave the title white, but make the bee a mix of 100% darker green* + 40% black, the subtitle the same and the flower with 60% black (basically, set their transparency modes to multiply and adjust opacity). Remove the sun splotches that lie outside the main sun splat. Add a backlight glow behind the type and flower, but it should be directional to the sun's position and have a graduated drop off that diminishes toward the center of the flower.
* change the colors... perhaps PMS-116, PMS-113 for the dark and light green, respectively (these are yellow/gold tints), and PMS-207 a deep burgundy for the black.
Or start over.
Overall, I would not go with this design. I t doesn't hold the image of Kawasaki.
It isn't good enough for you. A fantastic author deserves a book cover that rocks - and this isn't it. At all.
Hire a designer. As an EXPERT you need an EXPERT to represent what you do.
I wouldn't pick up your book based on the cover designs you've presented so far. And, I'd wonder why someone like you allowed such shabby design.
Why don't you want to put any of your accomplishments besides your book writing on the cover? It would inform and draw a new audience of those unfamiliar with you (yes, there are still a few of them out there :) How better to extend your market share of book buying then to put the info right in their face while they're in a perfect buying situation/buying mode...WILLING AND ABLE? It's the prime real estate. The ones with the list who already know you are yours already. Connect the dots for the rest of them. Get the impulse shopper. Make it easy for them to notice, desire, pick up and buy your amazing book!! it won't be at the risk of your devotees so there's no down side.
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