You’ve finished a book and now face a new challenge: How to find a designer who will сatch its mood and reflect it on the book cover?
Here’s the truth: the book cover design process can be smooth and stress-free if you prepare in advance. In this article, you’ll learn how to choose a professional book cover designer, create a brief, and get the result you’ve always dreamed of.
Go ahead and check out our advice!
How to gather information for book cover design brief
Before you start looking for a designer, know what kind of cover you want. Prepare a brief that includes details about your book and your preferences – this will help the artist get your vision right and nail the perfect design.
How to get it right? Check out these effective tips below.
Step 1. Study the market
Before developing a cover concept, it’s crucial to understand what sells in your genre. It will help you attract your target audience and fit in your category.
Start by visiting Amazon’s bestseller list for your genre. Select about 40–50 covers, considering the following criteria:
- Number of reviews: More reviews generally indicate popularity.
- Release date: Focus on newer releases.
- Relevance: Ensure the books genuinely belong to your genre.
- Price: Be mindful that inexpensive books often rank high but may not reflect bestseller quality.
When you have your collection, analyze trends and common elements among the selected covers.
By the way, you can download a detailed checklist on how to analyze bestselling book covers in your genre from the Mibl Academy page.
Step 2. Decide on the basic visual elements
These elements include imagery, color palette, and typography. You can learn more about them in our blog post – How to Design a Book Cover. For now, we would like to go through this briefly.
Imagery
If you aim for a character-based design, consider the main character’s appearance, including face, clothing, and pose. Decide if they should be alone or with others. All these details are crucial.
For an object-based cover, identify an object that will be the composition’s focal point. This object should be symbolic and significant like a magical artifact, weapon, or accessory closely tied to the character.
Additionally, consider the background. It can be abstract to enhance the foreground or a specific setting to amplify the story’s atmosphere.
Colors
Pay close attention to the color palette, as it sets the mood of your cover. Potential readers should instantly sense the emotional experience your story offers. They’re often seeking not just an engaging plot but also an immersive atmosphere.
For instance, red conveys passion or danger, pink evokes a romantic and light mood, yellow radiates joy and energy, and blue suggests calmness, relaxation, sophistication, and intelligence.
Check out our feature article for more insights into the psychology of color in book cover design.
So, before selecting a color palette, consider the mood and emotions you want to evoke in your audience.
Typography
Each genre has its typography standards, essential to understand when designing a book cover. For example, horror and science fiction genres typically use bold and massive sans-serif fonts to convey a sense of intensity and futurism. In contrast, romance often features handwritten fonts, creating a more intimate and refined feel.
Much like color palettes, fonts play a crucial role in setting the book’s mood. A playful font can make a cover feel lighthearted and fun, while an elegant font might suggest sophistication and romance. Serious fonts can impart a sense of gravity or importance, while formal fonts lend an air of professionalism and tradition.
Choosing the right font is not just about aesthetics. It’s about ensuring the cover accurately reflects the book’s genre and mood, attracting the right audience.
Step 3. Search for the cover design examples
By providing visual references, you give your designer concrete evidence of your preferences, making it easier for them to create a cover that meets your expectations. This step bridges the gap between your ideas and the final design, ensuring a cohesive, effective cover that resonates with your target audience.
Select examples from bestselling covers that you find most appealing. You can create mood boards for fonts and color palettes separately to better organize your ideas. Be sure to include references to your story’s characters or key objects.
When you have a summary of necessary and specific details, it’s time to find a person or company that can implement your ideas.
How to find and interview a book cover designer
You may wonder where a professional book cover designer dwells at this stage. You can hire a freelancer or make an order in design companies. The following tips will ease the search for you.
Check their portfolio
You should start by determining the designer’s style. They can cope with a book cover design for fiction and non-fiction, but the covers will differ in colors, fonts, and images.
Therefore, look at the portfolio and pay attention to the best works in your genre and whether they resonate with your vision.
Agree on time and payment
If the designer hasn’t specified the price for their services right away, ask and agree on it before starting cooperation. Make sure that the service of the selected book cover designer is affordable for you. Also, don’t forget to ask if the price includes revisions and how many you get. If you have to pay extra for changes, find out how much they’ll cost.
An illustrated book cover design is more expensive than the one with a customized image from the depositories. Allocate your budget correctly and assess all the expenses beforehand.
Set deadlines
Agree on deadlines and ask the designer to divide the task into several stages. For example, decide when they will show you the first draft and how long revisions will take. Also, agree on how often, when, and through what means you will keep in touch.
Check licenses
Ensure that the images used for your book cover are correctly licensed – you can ask the designer to send you links from photo stock sites. Additionally, it is vital to know whether you will receive the source file. The source file allows you to make future adjustments or redesigns to the cover as needed.
How to provide book cover design instructions accurately
When you’ve hired a designer, it’s time to tell them about your requirements. Use the following list when you set the assignment. It will simplify your work.
Check it out and not miss a thing when ordering a book cover design:
- Book title
- Book subtitle
- Author’s name
- Platform or publishing house
- Print or electronic version
- Cover, back, and spine needed
- Size and number of pages
- Extra text (summary, author’s bio, etc.)
- Ideas on general and specific details
- Examples as a reference to visualize your book cover concept
As the process is launched, it’s time to learn how to communicate with a designer and give feedback and insights to attain desired outcomes.
Cooperate as a team
Effective communication is vital for work. How can the writer make it productive?
The key to success is to remain specific and flexible!
Give constructive feedback and clarify your position
Provide constructive feedback and clarify your position. Vague comments like “pretty good” or “bad” don’t help the designer understand what needs to be changed. Instead, offer specific reasons to help the designer improve the cover.
For example, if you dislike a script font, explain that you prefer something edgier. Avoid merely criticizing; give detailed, constructive feedback to guide the designer in making the necessary adjustments.
Be flexible in communication with a designer
Rely on the designer’s competence and ask about the ideas for your book cover. Be flexible and respect a professional opinion. Don’t be afraid to trust your designer and ask for advice. As a result, he may offer you a compelling option you couldn’t even think of.
Where to find a book cover designer?
Now, you can effectively share your vision and communicate with the book cover designer. However, we forgot the most important thing: where to find this professional? Here are some great places to start your search:
- Freelance websites. Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and 99designs host many talented designers. You can browse portfolios, read reviews, and find a designer that fits your style and budget.
- Social media. Instagram and Twitter are excellent places to discover designers – use hashtags like #bookcoverdesign or #coverdesigner. You can also ask for recommendations in author communities on Facebook.
- Design portfolios. Websites like Behance and Dribbble feature a wide range of designers’ portfolios. Browse through their work and contact those whose style matches your vision.
- Professional book cover design companies. Consider companies that specialize in book cover design for a more polished approach. Reedsy, Damonza, and Miblart offer professional services tailored specifically to authors.
- Personal recommendations. Don’t overlook the power of word-of-mouth. Ask fellow authors or friends for recommendations based on their experiences.
Conclusion
Creating a compelling book cover is an essential step in bringing your story to life. It’s more than just an image; it’s the first impression that can captivate potential readers and entice them to explore your world.
By understanding your target audience, conducting thorough market research, and developing a clear vision, you can effectively collaborate with a designer to create a cover that truly reflects your book’s essence. Remember, a well-designed cover is an investment in your book’s success, so take the time to do it right.
What are your basic rules for finding and working with a designer? Share in the comments!
