15 Book Cover Design Ideas to Grab Readers’ Attention

"Don't judge a book by its cover," but when it comes to selling books, that's exactly what your readers will do. Here are 15 book cover ideas to inspire you.

By: Geri Mileva
November 10, 2022
Book Cover Design Ideas

The old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover," but when it comes to selling books, that's exactly what potential readers will do. Your book cover is often the first—and sometimes only—thing that potential readers will see of your book.

Book covers give readers a glimpse into your story. It’s a shortcut that helps them determine if they like your work and if they can trust you with their valuable reading time. Book covers are the critical element thatsells your book, and it's essential to ensure that your cover is professional, eye-catching, and reflective of the book’s contents.

15 Book Cover Ideas for Inspiration

When looking for book cover ideas, start with the bestselling books within your genre. Readers have specific expectations for book cover designs, and most genres already have a formula guaranteed to work. But don’t be afraid to experiment with other unconventional book cover ideas to stand out from the competition.

1. Minimalism

Minimalist design is always popular because it conveys the book’s main point elegantly and profoundly. The clever use of whitespace helps the book stand out from cluttered book cover designs. Minimalist book cover design can be used in a broad genre of books, from non-fiction business books to sassy fiction books.

Minimalist Book Cover Art bynskvsky

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Famous Examples of Minimalism

Timur Vermes’Look Who’s Backisn’t afraid to stand out with lots of whitespaces and a clever illustration that hints at what the book is about.Darrell Williams’ In Pursuit of Grituses a compelling image and clean typography to convey the book’s message.

2. Clever Typography

If you have a clever title, you can turn it into a powerful typography that conveys an image related to the title and the book’s contents. Typography can be intertwining text, big and bold fonts, or carefully organized fonts that create stunning imagery. The clever use of colors can also enhance the typography’s visual look.

Hand-drawn book cover illustration of a female character. Made bymitxeran

Famous Examples of Clever Typography

Karan Mahajan’sThe Association of Small Bombsdrives the book’s point by representing the spaces of the vowels as connected bombs. Eric Wilson’sAgainst Happinessuses clever typography and whitespace to communicate the book’s purpose.

3. Silhouettes

Silhouettes are ubiquitous book covers because they grab readers’ attention. A talented designer can create a unique take on this popular trend to make your book stand out.

Silhouette book cover design byjjkjeky

Famous Examples of Clever Silhouettes

Han Kang’sThe Vegetarianuses a classic silhouette that lends the novel a mysterious aura and gives the reader a glimpse of what to expect. Kiran Millwood Hargrave’sThe Girl of Ink & Starscombines silhouette, contrasting colors, and handwritten font to grab attention and convey the book’s mood.

4. Real Photos

Real-life photos aren’t only used for biographies. They can become attention-grabbing cover artwork depending on how they’re treated.

A book cover design featuring a real photo byrebecacovers

艺术治疗的一个男人的照片捕捉your attention and draws your eyes to the gripping tale of this book by J. Edward Gore. The same technique is used in the book cover design of HC Michael’sThe Girl Who Never

5. Hand Drawn Covers

Hand-illustrated coversscream originality and is versatile enough to work with any genre. A talented book cover designer can create these unique covers.

An illustrated book cover design byluisagalstyan

Famous Examples of Clever Hand Drawn Covers

The book cover forThe Great Gatsbyallows the Y to be used as a wineglass and convey what the protagonist goes through in the book. Joanne M. Harris’Runemarksstands out with colorful and intricate hand illustrations.

7. Photo Collages

最近的照片处理给书中创新cover designers the ability to create exciting photo collages that grabs attention and gives your book a modern look.

A Photo collage book cover design bydavidcolonfilm

Famous Examples of Clever Hand Drawn Titles

The clever use of photo collages creates a unique look to Joshua Cohen’s book. This book design idea is possible with the creative use of photo editing software. Evie Wyld’sAfter the Fire, A Still Small Voiceimmerses the title with a collage of photo illustrations that capture the reader’s interest.

8. Big Bold Typography

You can’t go wrong with using big and bold fonts as a book cover design. It’s not a new trend, but it has remained successful, as evidenced by the number of books using this book cover idea throughout the years. This design screams at the reader to grab the book or miss something great. It instantly stands out in a sea of book thumbnails since bold colors are also used alongside bold text.

When using this book cover idea, you shouldn’t go for subtlety, as being loud is the aim of this design.

Big typography book cover design byprintok

Famous Examples of Big Bold Typography

Ernest Cline’sReady Player Oneinstantly stands out with its contrasting colors and bold fonts.The Godfatherby Mario Puzo remains a timeless classic with its bold fonts and contrasting colors that immediately grabs attention.

9. Interactive and Immersive Typography

This book cover idea integrates the title into the imagery or scenery depicted on the cover. Sometimes, it may involve obscuring parts of the title, but that’s typical of this cover design idea. Mystery and suspense books utilize this trend to help readers get a glimpse of the scenes in the book and pique their interest in the rest of the story.

Immersive typography book cover design byokomota

Famous Examples of Interactive and Immersive Typography

This cover interpretation of Erica Ferencik’sThe River at Nightalready gives readers a sense of the thrill and suspense that reading the book will bring them. Rebecca Schiff’sThe Bed Movedmay be hard to read at first, but upon closer inspection, curious readers would see that the typography was used to tell the story.

10. Handwritten Typography

Seeing handwritten letters on a book cover design makes the book feel quirky and fun. It’s a popular trend for Young Adult fiction where readers expect to see lots of personality within the page.

Hand drawn typography book design bystrike80

Famous examples of handwritten typography

John Green’sThe Fault in our Starsinstantly stands out with its handwritten typography that promises readers a warm and unique story. Rachel Cantor’sGood on Paperpromises a contemporary and friendly read based on the handwritten title.

11. Double Exposure

Double exposure is a technique that uses a big picture as the backdrop and mixes it with the outline of a compelling image. The method can create surreal and frightful imagery, making them ideal for suspense, thriller, and horror books.

Double exposure design made byjoeghaly

Famous double exposure examples

Patrick Logan’sOne Wilde Nightsuccessfully conveys the gripping tale inside the pages with its suspenseful book cover. The same is true for L.T. Ryan’sEnd Gamewhich combines double exposure with splashes of bold color.

12. Retro Look

Don’t be afraid to go back in time with retro looks, especially if your book took place in a specific period. Retro touches are making a comeback and can be interpreted in different book cover ideas.

Famous examples of retro look cover art

Stefanie Snider’sLittle Gamesgives off a classic vibe that certain book lovers of this genre would find appealing. Kurt Schlichter’sInfernouses classic illustrations reminiscent of the 1980s in this book set in that period.

13. Whimsical and Charming

If you’rewriting a children’s book, it goes without saying that your book cover design must be whimsical and charming. Illustrations work best with children who will spot your book and ask their parents to buy it for them. It also conveys that the book is child-friendly.

A charming illustrated children book cover design byluisagalstyan

Famous examples of whimsical and charming book covers

Judith Kerr’s classic children’s bookThe Tiger Who Came to Teaconveys precisely what a kid would expect from the story.The Giving Treeby Shel Silverstein is another classic children’s book with a literal but charming cover.

14. Contrasting Colors

Contrasting colors are always helpful to add life and draw attention to a book cover. For dark thrillers, this is a time-tested technique that conveys gritty and suspenseful endings. If you’re writing a mystery book, stick with dark contrasting colors that set the tone for moody and dramatic stories.

15.Sizzling Images

Romance books follow a somewhat strict convention featuring sizzling scenes or handsome guys. But you can also experiment with tone and bright colors depending on the setting of your book. Contemporary romance might use more brilliant colors, while period romance usually involves darker tones.

A sizzling book cover designed bygermancreative

Do-It-Yourself vs. Professional Book Cover Design

As an author, you want your book to look its best. After all, this is your chance to make a good impression, and your book sales depend on a fantastic book cover design. Both have pros and cons that you should carefully consider.

Designing Your Own Book Cover

It’s easy nowadays to create your own book design using tools like Canva and Photoshop. You may explore this route if you lack the resources to work with a professional designer. You know your book better than anyone else, which gives you a major advantage when designing a cover that accurately reflects the book’s content. It's also usually cheaper to create your own cover than to hire a professional.

However, book covers are harder to design than they seem. Creating an eye-catching and effective book cover takes more than slapping text and an image on a template. Also, your cover might not be as high quality as one designed by a professional.

Hiring A Professional Book Cover Designer

Authors now have several options for hiringprofessional book cover designers.你可以支付10美元到500美元for a book cover design depending on the artist’s experience, the intricacies of your design, the time the project takes, and the options you want to choose from. Covers can also take an average of three weeks, depending on the designer and subsequent edits required from the initial output.

When you work with a book cover designer, you're guaranteed to end up with a high-quality, professional-looking book cover. A good designer can incorporate feedback and make changes until you're 100% happy with the final product. You also don't have to worry about any of the technical aspects of design, such as file types, sizing, etc.

It may be more expensive than designing your own cover but working with a professional is an investment that pays off. Professional book cover designers have developed the expertise to create an attention-grabbing book cover that generates sales.

Wrapping Up

Book covers are the first marketing tool any author needs to sell their work effectively. Creating eye-catching book cover designs may seem complicated, but with inspiration from conventional and trending book cover ideas, you can arrive at the cover design you want.

A professional book cover designer can help you achieve your vision and create an attention-grabbing cover. Secure the success of your hard work by investing in a professional book cover design.

About Author

Geri MilevaContent Strategist

A prolific and versatile writer, I have built a colorful portfolio that includes hundreds of published pieces reaching a wide variety of audiences. I like telling stories. I believe that a good story delivers value while capturing, influencing, and sustaining its intended audience. This has always been, and always will be, my primary aim as a writer.