7 Fatal Flaws of Book Cover Design by:Deborah Perdue

Some common mistakes of the amateur book designer:

1) Submitting low resolution files to the printer, in RGB color mode rather than CMYK

All artwork, both photos and logos, must be 300 ppi (pixels per inch) for book publishing. This can be changed in a photo editing program, however, the file must be large enough to begin with. An image file can be reduced but not enlarged to maintain quality. If your image looks pixilated or blurry, it is probably not high enough resolution for book printing.

Printers will reject files that have not been converted to Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK - an offset printing standard) and instead are in the RGB color mode (Red, Green and Blue), which is for viewing with computer monitors. The way to change your file is to bring it into a photo editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, open it, and go to "Mode" where you will find a choice for CMYK instead.

2) Submitting the spine and back side of the cover in separate files, rather than integrating the front, back and spine all together.

This is self-explanatory. A professional book designer knows how to combine all files into one. Also important is to get the actual and exact spine dimensions from the printer BEFORE finalizing the cover art.

3) Finding art that is cartoon-like, for web use rather than offset printing.

Available online is non-copyrighted artwork and stock photography, which you can order high resolution. Often it is important to credit the company where you bought it. Web type artwork is NOT acceptable for printing of high quality book covers.

4) Using boring typestyles that are used all the time, like Times or Arial

5) Using too many typestyles so design looks confusing and is not clean.

6) Overuse of shadows and outlining so design is cluttered-looking

7) Designing without "white space." White space is important to give the eye a rest while looking at designs. If you peruse a professional designer;s sites, you will notice they often use even space around a book cover. Sometimes amateurs fill every nook and cranny of the page, not leaving at least 1/2 " of space between the outside margins. Sometimes printers will reject the book cover if type and artwork extends too closely to the margins.

About the author

Deborah Perdue, owner of Illumination Graphics, has designed many dynamic and effective book covers and interiors, since 1980. Designing book covers is a passion, and she shares her expertise in this article, showing some common pitfalls that novices may watch out for, offering solutions as appropriate. See her book design portfolio at http://www.illuminationgraphics.com/book-design_portfolio.html and for a longer bio, testimonials and many more samples, go to http://www.illuminationgraphics.com

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