I Always Judge a Book by Its Cover

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. This is a pretty risky cover, but the designers pulled it off. Why risky? Because viewers have to adjust to two very different color schemes and two very different themes simultaneously. On the left side you have formal, bordered black and white parchment, complete with standard serif text and the stagnant image of a rabbit. Yet this side appears to have been ripped away to reveal the invading right side, which boasts psychedelic colors, shredded typography, funky texture, and a ferocious leopard, apparently out to eat the rabbit. It isn’t quite an inversion, but close. Yet this Jekyll-and-Hyde design speaks to the “madness” within the pages, which is somewhat unsurprising given the title. Rarely do we see covers with such outrageous contrast, but the risk is ultimately one worth taking.

Readers’ Average Rating: B+

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. I love this design’s use of color. Almost every hue of the rainbow makes an appearance, yet it is a thing of beauty, rather than an atrocity. The overall grainy texture and subtle background images, from the dilapidated buildings to the woman in the white dress, add a dimension of intrigue. I find the pretty red flower appropriately ironic, considering the dystopic context of the story. I also enjoy that the type contrasts in shade but unites in font.

Readers’ Average Rating: B+