Firstly I really like this book cover, the simplicity and creativity of the titles typography immediately grabbed my attention. The text is all in a logical aesthetically pleasing order and the use of a standard every day font leaves little room for confusion or distraction of the “dot of the I” being out of place. There is no “image” used on this book cover but the creative attention paid to the “I” means that there is simply no need for one as the typography simply says it all. I think all the text works well together as there is enough space between the title, sub title and the authors. I think the use of the orange band works well stops confusion between who is the author and what is the sub title but, if the ordering had to be changed I would change the font and size of the authors. The one think I don’t like about this cover is the black border. I believe that its is not in keeping with the rest of the cover. I think this book cover would also look good in black with small white text.
The Healing of America- T. R. Reid
The Healing of America is also another creative but simple book cover that grabbed my attention. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the arrows. I think without these arrows it would take a bit longer to figure out what the image was. I love the way the text has been applied as it is clear and easy to read in the correct order. The image and the meaning of the book relate in the sense of people associate “healing” with medicine. I think another good idea would be a bandaged face but I like the simplicity of the original cover. I think that the use of coloured pills would also work quite nicely as well. Neither the text or the image dominate the layout, I think they both complement each other quite well.
Gomorrah – Roberto Saviano
After seeing this book cover I couldn’t help but cringe. The use of the “god father” like typography for the title up the right hand side is horrible to look at not to mention incredibly hard to read, especially when but at a 180 degree angle. The use of the splattered blood, looks fake and creates chaos. The subtitle is again written in another hard to read font, it is too tall and squished together. All these elements are too “over done”. I think anything done to this book would improve it. Firstly I’d change the font and application of the type and get rid of the “blood” splatter. I don’t think that this book cover was created by a designer, there is nothing nice about this book cover, it just makes me angry to look at!
