Three of the most widely used publishing programs for creating book covers-Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher, and QuarkXPress.Ī range of self-publishing companies have also developed their own software or online apps to allow users to create quick and effective cover designs for books aimed at distribution online through Blurb, Amazon, and Lulu, among others. Similar and less expensive alternatives include Affinity Publisher and InDesign’s ancestor, QuarkXPress. The tutorial below uses Adobe InDesign because the program is an excellent all-round choice for creating a full wraparound cover for print. However, most designers will use some form of publishing software to pull together the final artwork, which allows them to set up covers accurately for print or digital export.Īdobe InDesign is the market-leading publishing program, allowing advanced control over layout, typographic formatting, color palettes, and exporting for both print and ePub. Whether you’re creating a cover for a print book or eBook, there’s a program to suit every cover design project.Įvery cover designer has their preferred software of choice, and there’s no right or wrong program to use. Which Software Should I Use to Create a Book Cover? Cover designers will have to set up their artwork to the correct spine width before sending the cover to print. The spine width of a book is determined by the number of pages and the weight of the paper stock. Learn how to create a winning cover design with this five-step strategy for designing best seller covers. This information in turn can help you work out the spine width of the cover. The publisher and/or author can provide you with a page count and the weight of the paper stock (measured in “Grams per Square Meter,” or GSM) the inside pages will be printed onto. In the cover design for Italy, My Love, featured below, the dominant elements are type and color, with a texture overlay adding subtle depth to the design.Ĭover designers must also take technical considerations into account, including choosing a standard size for the cover and setting up the cover for end use as a print or eBook cover. This is a good technique for giving a cover a strong, graphic feel. A cover designer might choose to prioritize image, type, or color, or a pair of these, on a particular design. These three elements are pulled together into a layout on the cover. These elements fall into three categories: In general, successful cover designs combine carefully curated visual elements. Discover more iconic book cover designs here. The former prioritizes image and color, while the latter takes a typographic approach. David Pelham’s graphic cover design for Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, and the cover for Pyscho designed by Tony Palladino. As long as a cover design is eye-catching, beautifully designed, and relevant to the subject and genre, the inspiration behind the design can be as unique and broad as you like. But some of the most iconic book covers draw on quite unusual sources. Looking at visual and written sources taken from the time period or geographical setting of the book can help to trigger contextual ideas. Others prefer not to read the book at all! Some designers find that reading the book they are designing for provides enough inspiration to start creating cover concepts. In the same way that artists, illustrators, and photographers look to sources of inspiration to kickstart their creativity, a cover designer will have to do the same. But, the approach to creating a compelling cover can actually break down into simple steps that any designer can emulate. The sheer variety and quality of professional cover designs can overwhelm a budding cover designer. What You’ll Need to Create a Cover Design You’ll also pick up top techniques for how to approach the cover design process, to create an effective, eye-catching layout, and technical tips for making sure your cover artwork is as professional as possible. I’ll show you how I approach a cover design project, showing you everything from setting up your document correctly, to putting together an eye-catching design, to expanding your layout to include a back cover and spine, and finally exporting your design to send off to the printers. Even if you’re a relative beginner to InDesign, this tutorial will show you how you can create print-ready covers for paperback books quickly and easily. Learn the basics of book design with this guide to creating a front cover, and find everything you need to do to get your book ready for the printer.Īdobe InDesign is the pro designer’s software of choice for creating beautiful book covers.
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