March 2011
11 posts
11 tags
Tornado Warning by Elin Stebbins Waldal. ‘Tis the season for tornadoes, so why not celebrate (if you’re into tornadoes) with an appropriate cover? What I love most about this design is the high contrast color against the looming thunderous sky. The clouds in the background are various shades of grey, exuding the chaotic violence of such a storm. The disintegrating flower, or perhaps...
10 tags
Heart of the City by Ariel Sabar. I love New York, so it’s no surprise I love this cover. Part grunge, part classic Big Apple dedication, the design captures the unique persona of its subject matter: love in a city as anonymous as New York. Anyone can spot the familiar “I <3 NY” logo through use of the American Typewriter font and large red heart. I like that only a...
10 tags
Jane’s Fame by Claire Harman. Is there anything more lovely than a stack of books? I think not, and this cover proves it. The baby blue background sets the design in a calming, comfortable environment, much like Jane Austen’s prose. The stack, comprised of books both old and tattered and new and fresh, is a wonderful tribute to the classic author, one that symbolizes her success...
9 tags
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro. I seem to be attracted to silhouettes lately, and this design is no exception. What first catches my eye about this cover is the jarring yellow background and the mix of yellow accents. Yellow doesn’t exactly scream “deadly,” but that adds to the intrigue of the design. I don’t think I would have chosen orange-red for the title color, but it...
10 tags
666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce. A fun design for a fun title, I always say. (Not really, but it makes sense.) I love the simple color scheme of the cover: black, white, shades of grey, and splashes of yellow-green. The fancy and glamorous gate in the background channels Park Avenue to perfection. The title sits in a black bar, as though a sign on the gate, which is also clever. The title...
8 tags
Revolution by Deb Olin Unferth. With a design like this, the book should be called “revelation” instead of Revolution. The cover pops with a background color that is somewhere between red and fuchsia and suffused with a grunge texture. The multicolored diagonal title is probably my favorite part of the design. It is blocky in nature, but stretches across the cover in a flexible, fun...
11 tags
The Girl With the Glass Feet by Ali Shaw. Since the weather outside doesn’t seem to be letting up, I thought I’d share a beautiful wintery book cover. This design is gorgeous on several different levels. Let’s start with the foreground: No one ever expects to see a white silhouette of something, which is why the buck and crow figures are so jarring—but it a strangely...
9 tags
There’s Cake In My Future by Kim Gruenenfelder. In honor of National Women’s Day, I thought I’d pay homage to this delightful design. Don’t get me wrong—I think there’s more to a woman’s life than what the little dangling trinkets represent. The pale purple background of the cover sets a feminine tone that is not too overt. The woman’s hand and...
8 tags
Among Others by Jo Walton. The starswept, child-like magic of this cover brings out the best of fantasy, coming-of-age stories. The design is tinted in a surreal orange glow, though if you look closer you can see that it in fact fades from yellow to red. In the background stand blurry, towering objects—whether trees or some sprawling castle-like structure is up to viewers to decide. The...
9 tags
True Confections by Katharine Weber. Like a candy shop filled with dazzling colors, patterns, and scents, this cover grabs viewers and doesn’t let go until they’ve satisfied their interest. The swirling candy cane stripes of the background bring classic “confection” to mind and elevates the design to a new level. In fact, the stripes are almost hypnotic. The centered...
10 tags
Crossing the Heart of Africa by Julian Smith. This design manages to capture the exotic brutality of the African continent without turning viewers off. The pure black background, always jarring, is offset perfectly by the grey-traced map of Africa, within which we behold the title and author in a compatible typography set—bold, white, eroded capitals and flowing orange accents. This color...
