Non-fiction Book Cover Design: 3 Secrets to Design an Amazing Cover
- By SreePoorna
- February 20, 2024
Book cover design is mainly to attract the readers to the book. A good book cover grabs the attention of the readers, and it also increases the reader’s curiosity to know more about the book. A book cover is the first impression, and as an author, you have to ensure it is the best first impression.
Designing the cover for any book, be it fiction or non-fiction, is indeed a task. As an author or cover designer, you need to think of ideas for the cover that is apt for the content and the genre of the book, and also the expectations of the audience. You need to keep these factors in mind before deciding on a cover.
The genre of the book becomes the vital factor while thinking of cover design. There is a difference in selection of covers when it comes to non-fiction and fiction books. The approach might remain the same, but the requirements might be different.
Difference between Fiction & Non-fiction Covers
Fiction Covers
Have you noticed the covers of fiction books? The covers of fiction are more artistic, and the cover doesn’t give away more information. The fiction covers give the title of the book, and author’s name, and it doesn’t give away more of the story or content.
The design choice for fiction books is vast. There are numerous options ranging from photographs, illustration, typography, and more. The cover can be creative, and fiction covers can afford to be elusive or vague. The principle aim of fiction covers is to create intrigue among readers so the design can be vague creating curiosity in the reader’ mind.
The covers of fiction books reflect the genre of the book. For instance, murder mysteries or horror novels use a lot of dark colors and designs for the covers since the genre itself is dark and secretive. On the other hand, romance novels tend to use a lot of bright colors or photographs since the theme is such. As an author, you need to ensure that the flavor of the book is reflected on the book cover.
Non-fiction Covers
If you’ve noticed non-fiction covers, it is evident that the non-fiction covers are different from that of fiction. Though the dimensions of the cover might be the similar for both, design is entirely different. Non-fiction covers give as much information as possible. Unlike fiction covers, covers here can’t be elusive or vague.
Non-fiction books serve a purpose or have a strong message in them depending on the type of non-fiction. The same holds true for non-fiction book cover as well. The readers need to understand what they need to expect from the book and what can they expect to learn or know here. The cover has to give away as much information as possible for the readers.
For instance, you would have noticed the extensive use of typography on non-fiction covers. Self-help or motivational books use a lot of text on the covers to give the readers a better understanding about the book.
Like fiction books, the colors and the font on the cover of non-fiction covers should reveal the genre of the book. For example, the book cover of a memoir should look different from the cover of a self-help book.
Designing Non-fiction Covers
Book covers for non-fiction should be chosen and designed carefully since the cover has to give ample information about the book to the readers. Designing covers for non-fiction titles doesn’t stop with the selection of fonts and color. You need to put in a lot of thought into designing the book cover.
There are a few steps that would help you with designing a non-fiction book cover. The steps include:
Book covers for non-fiction should be chosen and designed carefully since the cover has to give ample information about the book to the readers. Designing covers for non-fiction titles doesn’t stop with the selection of fonts and color. You need to put in a lot of thought into designing the book cover.
There are a few steps that would help you with designing a non-fiction book cover. The steps include:
1. Extensive Research
There are many sub-genres under non-fiction, which includes self-help books, biographies, memoirs, and more. Each sub-genre has its own specifications and expectations. So, as an author you need to think of both these factors as well.
It would be beneficial if you look at the best non-fiction covers to find inspiration and ideas. Look at Amazon Kindle bestsellers list, look at non-fiction titles, and find the
covers for each sub-genre under non-fiction. You can understand the aesthetics of the cover, colors, and font used. It will help you with deciding the look and feel of the cover.
2. Add Subtitle or Reviews
Non-fiction covers use more text. But it is important not to overuse text on the cover and mislead the readers. When you look at many non-fiction books, they use subtitles along with the title of the book. It helps the reader understand the genre better. For instance, if the title of your book is only a word or two, a subtitle for the book will help the reader understand what the book is about.
Another way is to add a review on the cover, or any award the book might have won on the cover. It will instill curiosity among the readers, and also makes the cover more appealing.
3. Use Text
Professional cover designers find non-fiction covers quite challenging and easy at the same time. For instance, motivation or self-help books use text on the covers rather than using pictures.
When you are creating covers for non-fiction titles don’t be afraid to use text over pictures. The correct design and title of the book alone is enough to sell the book. In recent times, we have seen many non-fiction books with mazing typography covers. Choose an appropriate layout design, font, and color according to the genre of your book.
There is no hard and fast rule for designing book covers. However, it is better to have these ideas in mind before you start the designing process of your book cover.
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