This tropic strikes home for me. I'm still working on a complete familiarity with the basics of Creative Suite, so my design work is largely simple, geometric, and typeface-driven, with plenty of negative space and tactful hits of color.
I found myself agreeing completely with the blogpost Erin linked to, though I would quibble somewhat with the title. I don't think the author is listing problems with "symbolism" so much as problems with "literalism"—covers that depict directly what is happening in the book. But that's a quibble.
I like seeing how a few choices (a typeface, a color, a shape) hint at something larger, or simply suggest a mood, of sorts—minimalism, minimalism, minimalism, basically. That's not to say that I don't enjoy/respect/love a dense, complicated cover; I'm speaking to what draws me in and how that's also how I design, too. Two out of the three concepts I'm bringing to class on Tuesday are squarely in that aesthetic. I've made it a point to bring in at least one (one!) concept for each assignment that is outside my immediate comfort zone.
And my goodness, that Sylvia Plath cover...so much rage face.
