They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But in reality, that’s quite hard to embrace. Most of us are definitely influenced by book cover designs. If it is too dull to look at, then chances are you will leave it at the bookshelf or read it later on. However, if the cover of the book is captivating, it lures you to flip the pages and read right away. 

If you are an author or if your company is creating a short e-book, it is necessary that you work on your cover design. This can take a lot of time and effort but it will be worth it. Remember, there are thousands of reading materials available whether online or offline. How can you make sure that your target readers will actually read your book? Even if you have the best novel, or best reference material, it can fail if you don’t work on your book cover designs. 

This article shows some of the popular book covers over the years. We hope that you can get ideas from these and come up with your own. 

Just a quick tip. If you want to have good book cover designs, you must work with experienced graphic designers. They can help you brainstorm and can turn your ideas into actual designs. Design Doctor is one of the best teams that you can work with. 

 

Best Book Covers of All Time  

Truth be told, there are thousands of great book covers. These help in making the books more successful in the market tremendously. But right now, we are giving you 7 of our favorites, and we will tell you the reasons why. Perhaps, you might want to use these as your inspiration not just for book cover designs, but for graphic design projects in general.   

 

1. Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes 

Talk about a genius way to use negative space. You see, even book covers can use a minimalist design depending on the concept. As for this book, it makes you think who’s really back now. The hairline alone is iconic. It’s not hard to get it right.   

The objective of book cover designs is to spark interest. This one definitely achieved it. Look Who’s Back is a satirical novel about Adolf Hitler. According to reviews, this book will make you laugh.   

 

2. Wilder Girls by Rory Power 

This is one of the most intriguing book cover designs in the list. It’s actually a work of art based on our opinion. The strange design is pretty much effective. Now, take note that some of the most popular book covers are eccentric. This is a risky technique and if you will take that same direction, you have to do it right. 

Wilder Girls has received amazing reviews from readers. This is recommended if you are in the mood for some scary reads. 

 

3. Cherry Blossoms by Mari Nakahara & Katherine Blood 

Pretty. That’s how we can describe this book cover design. It’s one of those books that you can actually place in your living room as an added decoration. The book cover is warm and it certainly takes you to a different place — like an actual window. 

This shows that you can use real photos for book covers. But if you are to use this approach, make sure that you will choose the perfect typography to go with it. It shouldn’t overpower your picture but should give your readers an idea of what your book is all about.

Cherry Blossoms is an amazing book celebrating the National Cherry Blossom Festival. You get to enjoy amazing artworks and photographs.  

 

4. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

We are pretty sure you know the movie The Godfather. However, we are to talk about the classic bestseller’s book cover. The title itself and the name of the author takes the majority of the space. In most cases, this style might not work unless you choose the perfect typography. You see, the one that was used in this book almost made the title its own logo. It’s strong, bold, and iconic.  

 

5. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss 

You can be playful with your book cover similar to what was done in The Cat in the Hat. You can even use the main character if necessary. 

This book about an eccentric cat is actually a good reference for philosophical discussion. This is the reason it became a big hit around the globe. And yes, it deserves a spot in our list of the most popular book covers.  

 

6. Life Support Edited by Julia Copus

Life Support’s book cover design might look extremely random. But that’s also the reason why people are drawn into it. It has that raw beauty that is truly captivating. It’s almost child-like and that gives it such an innocent appeal. 

If you want to read poems that would help you escape from trivial daily conversations, this is your best bet.   

 

7. In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado 

This is another risky approach for a book cover design. Nevertheless, it proved to be effective. Just looking at the cover itself can send chills down your spine. It’s a classic example of how a book cover can instantly connect to its readers.  

In the Dream House: A Memoir gives you a glimpse of abusive queer relationships. 

 

Graphic Designers and the Best Book Covers 

In the first part of our article, we already mentioned the importance of graphic designers in creating effective book cover designs. This is because most of them are familiar with the emotional effects of colors, typography, layout, and illustrations. These are all important if you want to give readers a taste of your book. 

Graphic designers are not just about what will look nice. Their creations are never superficial. Instead, they use different elements to send a strong message. Such skills cannot be acquired overnight. A great graphic designer for book covers have years of experience and are already exposed to a lot of materials. Because of that same exposure, they can suggest themes that will work best for each genre.

At Design Doctor, we only hire the top graphic designers and we have a stringent application process. This ensures that every project or book design cover is delivered on time and with outstanding quality.