Here is a link to a slideshow of "new, classic" book covers from Entertainment Weekly. As you will notice, my book design hero, Chip Kidd, is on the list 6 times. He's no slouch, that Kidd.
Big publishing houses have a staff of designers that get assigned various books to work on. The designer is sort of like the director of a movie or the architect of a house. He or she is the person who decides the overall look of the book and then does whatever it takes to get that vision accomplished. Sometimes that means hiring an artist or photographer to get a certain image. Sometimes it means creating something themselves. But they make the decisions about the images, the fonts, the paper stock, etc. In the case of children's books, sometimes the illustrator also designs the books but not always. Smaller publishers hire their work out and have varying degrees of success. Any monkey with a Mac can create a book cover but not just anybody can do something that looks classy, appropriate, and professional. I often wince when I walk through church bookstores because the tiny publishing houses are really hit and miss with their design - usually more miss than hit. Most of them are numbingly literal and generally unattractive. It's always a treat to come across something that grabs my attention, is attractive, and makes me want to pick up the book.
2 comments:
If a cover sells a book, (and I know it can !) then the cover artist ought to be well paid.
And, is the cover artist and the illustrator one in the same as in Children's Books ?
And is the cover artist an independent, or an employee of the Publishing Co. ?
And, why do these ??? even enter my mind ?
Linda,
Big publishing houses have a staff of designers that get assigned various books to work on. The designer is sort of like the director of a movie or the architect of a house. He or she is the person who decides the overall look of the book and then does whatever it takes to get that vision accomplished. Sometimes that means hiring an artist or photographer to get a certain image. Sometimes it means creating something themselves. But they make the decisions about the images, the fonts, the paper stock, etc. In the case of children's books, sometimes the illustrator also designs the books but not always.
Smaller publishers hire their work out and have varying degrees of success. Any monkey with a Mac can create a book cover but not just anybody can do something that looks classy, appropriate, and professional. I often wince when I walk through church bookstores because the tiny publishing houses are really hit and miss with their design - usually more miss than hit. Most of them are numbingly literal and generally unattractive. It's always a treat to come across something that grabs my attention, is attractive, and makes me want to pick up the book.
That's probably more answer than you wanted.
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