Cree -aye- Tiv- Vi-Tee (Creativity) + Cover Design

So I've been struggling trying to come up with a topic for this week's blog discussion. Similarly I've also had a tough time coming up with creative design concepts for book covers. In my opinion it's a lot easier designing a magazine, flyer or newsletter layout. Magazine layouts can combine so many other elements -so in my opinion you don't have to settle on one strict concept. Books have to rely heavily on the cover to bait the audience and provide insight without revealing the entire story. Ahhhhhh THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT!

A designer looking to design a cover has to chose from so many different elements:
typography vs images
photos vs illustrations
color vs black & white
conceptual vs literal
contemporary vs….. well I don't quite know what the opposite would be

So, this week I would like us to discuss our creative designing methods. Where do you draw your inspiration? What is the process? And please post 3 creatively designed book covers and why you chose them.

My three are…


Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
Very simple, bold color, basic yet eye-catching illustration


John Dies @ the End by David Wong
Gross concept, very literal, but memorable


Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me by various contributors
Conceptual, muted colors, but memorable (I would have never thought to create a cover like this one)

Here are a few others I thought were cool!



How To Speak At Public Events

I just did a google search for creative book covers and came across this blog http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-book-cover-story/