The Pale King designed by Jon Gray

There is just something very satisfying about writing on the edges of a book and being able to play with the shapes and the images you can create when bending the pages in different ways. This stack of perfect paper is written on in that satisfying way, which is what makes this a great cover. Unfortunately, the late David Foster Wallace did not finish this book before it was published, but I am sure he would have approved of this cover. If I saw this on the shelf at the book store, I would immediately be drawn more to this. It is definitely worth picking up a book and reading the description if you like a cover. It fits the material about an evil group of IRS agents, because I typically think of the IRS as being a group of money-hungry red-tape loving auditors during tax season.


http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/the_pale_king_1

The Red House, cover designed by Suzanne Dean

The little detail of the broken plate design intersecting over the red house is the most subtly obvious and appreciated detail. The book is about a family coming together after a death of one of their own. With the witty and dysfunctional premise as a centerpiece, this cover is a great reflection of the story. The red type is also a nice tie-in for the cover, if it was any other color, the cover just would not pop as much. The only thing that bothers me slightly about the cover is the cracked line of the design does not go through the type in 'Red House' so it just doesn't  look as pieced together as it should. Overall, a good design and something that would definitely catch my eye in a book store.


http://sshhhproject.blogspot.com/

Julian Barnes the Sense of an Ending, cover art by Suzanne Dean

Suzanne Dean designed 20 different covers for this Julian Barnes novel. There are very few designer's who would be willing to do this. Dean's attention to detail in each cover is what makes each one unique. The fact that the same or similar type is used in each cover is also something that you wouldn't consider to be that important. Considering the books' heavy themes on suicide, the title is very fitting for the material. Dean creates something slightly unique and interesting with the title on each cover. But the most harrowing cover by far is the one with the scattered dandelion seeds. That is probably the most reflective out of all the the covers on the source material.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8929045/Suzanne-Dean-the-secret-to-a-good-book-cover.html

No Country for Old Men, cover by David Pearson

This is a very good example of a text-only cover that works. The only thing I am not too sure about is the amount of scrunched-in kearning. I would like the letters spaced out a little bit more, but other than that this book does suit the material beautifully. The text looks like aged wood, with the grains headed in different directions. The fact that the letters themselves are not uniform is just something that draws you into this cover. The bottom of the cover could do without the "Utterly Compelling, Lucid, and Thrilling" -Sunday Times review. Putting a review on the front cover of a book is like putting someone's opinion of cereal on the front of the box. People aren't usually interested in someone else's opinion of a book unless that reviewer has a following, so that stuff belongs on the back with the plot summary. This cover may look far from new, but at least it shows the age and time of the story.


http://www.casualoptimist.com/2012/09/21/5-memorable-covers-2008-2011/attachment/9780330511216/

We, the Drowned, cover designed by Suzanne Dean, illustration by Joe McLaren

Again, with the use of lines, this book cover just becomes a draw to the eye without having flashy colors or glossiness. The text is itself simple and easy to read, which is great for people who hate seeing an eyesore on the front cover of books. The motion of the lines give waves and motion, but the center is always the ship. There are some nice, small details with the large cruise liner, the man drowning, and the bird at the bottom. How good a book cover is designed is based simply on whether the cover reflects the material on the inside. This book is about the town of Marstal, Denmark and how many of the people from there have sailed around the world. This book is supposed to be in the same vein as many of Herman Melville's and John Steinbeck's work. So I would say this is a very good cover.


http://i0.wp.com/www.casualoptimist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/we-the-drowned.jpg

The Paychopath test, design by Matt Dorfman

I have heard about this book from one of Ronson's own TED talks. He discusses how Psychopath's function, manipulate, and manage to be such fearsome and common to find leaders. The front cover plays on the duality of the human mind. What is expected from society can be seen in plain white text, with a rabbit running to one side. On the other side is a pieced-together puzzle. The crazy inter-workings of the book are exposed to reveal a hungry beast, ready to pounce on the innocent rabbit. The ripped-in-half design is probably what I like best about this witty, irreverent, and continually questioning book. Yellow is said to be the most eye-catching color, because the eye is immediately drawn to it. No wonder this is such a bestseller.


http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychopath-Test-Journey-Industry/dp/1594485755

The Art of Immersion. Cover by Jason Booher.

This is probably one of the most noticeable book covers for a few reason's. The book is itself about how the media has comes to grips on advertising, and how we view the world. So to have those many layers on how media influences our daily lives and how people have become smarter about creating ways for people to interact with media, especially with the digital age boom. The repetitive design of the front cover draws the eye to the center like a magnet. The shape of someone's head is such a simple, artistic design, yet it's a bit like looking at the rings of a tree or the lines in a vinyl record. This is a very simple, honest way of using geometric design and it just works on so many levels. The front cover of the book just down't appear complicated and cluttered. So the audience for the book becomes a target, with the bulls eye pull drawing them in.



http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Immersion-Generation-Hollywood/dp/0393341259

This is a Book cover designed by Jason Booher and Helen Yentus

Based on the description of the book, this is actually a perfect book cover. The main character in the book tries to get a girl to remember her life as he spins these wild tales. Some part of the tales are true, and he hopes that the girl remembers something of her past life. The themes in this book are about breaking down the walls in someone's conscience. This book is meant to be a complete mind-bender in trying to distinguish truth from reality. The simplicity and blankness of the front cover of the book are somewhat of an echo of an amnesiac's brain. Jason Booher and Helen Yentus did a good job with this cover, because the type peaks through these little paper windows.


http://www.beautifulbookcovers.com/cover-art-the-way-through-doors-by-jesse-ball/

1Q84 a novel by Murakani Haruki, cover art by Chip Kidd:

This book sleeve  and cover are very interesting from a typographer's standpoint. When you remove the front cover, the photo images are taken away to reveal the negative of the book's title 1Q84. When the sleeve is on the book, the images fit together perfectly and create the image you see. Chip Kidd is not known for being outlandish when it comes to typography. It's easier for people to know what the title of the book is is they can read the text on the front cover. I know there is that stupid saying 'Don't judge a book by it's....' but that old saying is not helpful to true designers. There is no excuse for a designer to scribble something on the front cover that people in the bookstore can't even read, or looks like an eyesore. The type of this cover is consistent, and there aren't five different styles on the front cover. Also, the front cover of the book isn't ruined by reviews, which is something that always bugs me. There should be maybe one or two reviews on the back cover, and no more. The front cover is the 'haiku' of what the book is about, and in this case it was done properly.


https://literaturepost.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/murakami-haruki-1q84-the-slow-moving-feast/

This book cover is by the fantastic Chip Kidd:

Wait until you see what is behind the cover and take off the boxers....This is a piece of smart design. Not just because it relates to the title and themes of the book, but also because it adds humor. Who cares if it is a bit disappointing that there is an x-ray of a man's pelvis behind the cover. The humor is that some people breathe a sigh of relief after discovering it isn't an anatomically correct picture of male genitalia. The type itself is nothing special, but what the sleeve and cover add to this book is something that adds to the readers interest. When you this up in a book store, admit it, you want to know what's inside. This is not only a simply smart idea, but having the sleeve covering the work 'NAKED' at the bottom kind of make me think of sheets on a bed.


Watch this video to undestand the inner workings of Chip Kidd:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC0KxNeLp1E

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/02/20/beautiful-covers-interview-chip-kidd/

There is a very good story behind this Cover.

Originally, a designer was brought on to take a photo for the book cover. The designer, thinking that he would use figurines, sent plenty of photos to the publishing company with figurines. One of the figurines was a large Santa and a small girl that looked like she was in shock over something. Augusten Burroughs wrote back to the designer, saying that it was not what he was looking for and to try again. When the designer asked why he did not like the figurines of the Santa and the little girl. He got a response saying that since the Santa figurine was turned around and the little girl looked surprised, it made people think that Santa was showing the girl his privates when they looked at it. The designer ended up not getting the contract for this book cover, but they used the indecent exposure idea for the front cover anyway.

With Augusten Burroughs humor in the books he writes, this cover is very befitting to his strange style. I really like Augusten Burroughs work, and the front covers for each  are just so unique, I kind of want to display them on the front of my bookshelves.


https://reviewsbylola.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/book-review-you-better-not-cry/