Amanda's Library: My Favorite Book Cover Designs
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Every book needs a cover, and every cover should be well-designed and convey the story that the author is sharing with their readers. Here are three of my favorite book cover designs and the designers behind each of the covers.
Image from Amazon
The Silent Patient
The design of the cover for The Silent Patient is very well executed and conveys the thriller/psychological genre of the book accurately. Anne Twomey is the designer behind the cover, and I think she did an excellent job in every aspect of the cover design.
The different layers to the cover make the design interesting because at first glance you may not notice everything, but as you look at it closer and begin reading the book, you can notice the symbolism behind the design choices and the depiction of the story.
Another element in addition to the layers is the use of the paper texture on a flat surface to add contrast between the background and foreground which includes the text and title of the book. This design choice also goes hand in hand with the story since the main character in the book is an artist who makes canvas paintings which goes back to the importance of tying in the story’s message to the cover. Twomey explains her design choices and thought process when deciding how to convey the painter aspect of the story which plays a big role in the main character’s background.
“In ‘The Silent Patient’, the protagonist is a painter. I found myself drawn to continue exploring painting as a theme for the design. I could have tried to replicate the paintings as described in the book but felt that there needed to be some room for the reader’s imagination through the author’s words. I kept thinking, however, I still wanted to allude to painting, perhaps through some other means. Eventually, the idea for a painting of a woman with some damage to it kept resurfacing for me.”
I think it is interesting how Twomey includes the paper tear over the main character’s mouth to symbolize and communicate to the viewer the main character’s silence in a unique and intriguing way without giving anything away and drawing the viewer in to potentially read the book.
Image from Amazon
Five Feet Apart
The next book cover design that is one of my favorites is Five Feet Apart which was designed by Lisa Perrin and the cover alone stands as a work of art. The intricate details featured throughout the cover are beautiful to look at and represent the story very well.
The use of bright colors throughout the cover makes it stand out and each of the colors complement each other in a mesmerizing way. Additionally, (my favorite part of the design) the highly detailed representation of the lungs as flowers in the design emphasizes the main theme of the story which follows a girl with cystic fibrosis and the challenges she faces with her own lungs as well as her interactions with other patients with cystic fibrosis.
This cover does a great job of communicating the romance genre of the book by having the two main characters appear on the cover while also incorporating the cystic fibrosis messaging. I think Perrin did a beautiful job with this cover, especially with the flower lungs surrounding the characters to serve as a constant reminder that they are not living the lives of normal teenagers and that their disease will continuously get in their way.
Image from Amazon
All The Light We Cannot See
The last book cover that is one of my favorites is All the Light We Cannot See which was designed by Scribner Publishing. The use of cooler colors such as greens and blues really gives a moodier feel to the design which is reflected in the themes of the book.
Along with the color choices for the cover, the typefaces used complement each other nicely and are used in unison instead of the two different styles fighting with each other. The bold sans-serif typeface used for the title does not take away from the background image, but instead supports it and the leading draws the viewers' eyes to the bottom of the cover to understand more about the book.
The skyline of the city that is the background image on the cover plays a role in telling the story of the book through the design by representing the city where the story takes place, which is Saint-Malo, France. The incorporation of the cooler colors in the photo continues to tie in the sadder themes throughout the book and the significance of the city during the time in which the story takes place.
Hi! I’m Amanda Riha!
I’m a graphic designer with a background in advertising and psychology and have a passion for being creative and building connections with those around me.
When I’m not designing, you can find me reading as many books as I possibly can or spending time outside!