03/16/2022
A common question I get from students, stakeholders and clients on publishing projects is "What makes a good book cover?"
Designing a book cover is part art, but it's actually more of a science. When coming up with the book cover for Ronald Harrill's book, "Makeda: Queen of Sheba (pictured)," I employed several concepts on the elements of art and the principles of design:
1.) A successful cover conveys something about the words inside. A good book cover conveys the personality and tone of what the audience should expect. With this image, I wanted to convey the image of a young Makeda becoming the ruler of a powerful nation. The focus was to create a joyous celebration, one where a young girl achieved such an accomplishment without limitations.
2.) Design for negative space. In art, negative space is the area around the main subject in a composition. With "Makeda," we used negative space to build the background around the young queen. You can see the people cheering and the surrounding city, which provides a lot of depth but doesn't look crowded. Negative space also allows for other elements, such as experimenting with type.
3.) Think of type as an art element. We think of letters for the purpose of reading, but letters also have artistic qualities to set the tone of the book. With "Makeda," we used an African-inspired typeface to accent the front cover, along with designing the lettering to give the implied texture of gold.
When designing a cover, think of it as it’s like a big crowded party, and you’re trying to get your face to stand out in the crowd. A good book cover is essential to drawing readers to your book. So when you are working on your next publishing project, keep those concepts in mind and consider A Touch of Omari.
- Michael Johnson, Creative Director
"Prepare to Be Inspired"
