Book cover clichés: have you spotted recurrent designs?

Certain themes and stories seem to be packaged with a particular aesthetic. Have you spotted this trend? Share your examplesWhy is it that books about Africa always look the same? A recent article on the blog Africa is a Country demonstrated that "the covers of most novels 'about Africa' seem to have been designed by someone whose principal idea of the continent comes from The Lion King" - reducing it, no matter the subject, geographical area or writer, to an acacia tree and a sunset. This followed a Twitterstorm triggered by a tweet from SimonMStevens:Like so many (wildly varying) writers on Africa, Adichie gets the acacia tree sunset treatment... (@AfricasaCountry) pic.twitter.com/zMQtirfrQ9.@SimonMStevens @AfricasaCountry See also soulful-black-woman-with-colourful-smudges e.g. UK pb eds of Adichie's bks. pic.twitter.com/bt7kUcaP06There is a peculiar phenomenon in English-language publishing in Southeast Asia: a ubiquitous genre perhaps best thought of as Asian sleaze. It spans fiction and non-fiction, but the cover generally features a partially clothed woman with long black hair, either in silhouette, or viewed from behind. The title is usually something along the lines of Bangkok Velvet. The author is always a white man. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #english-language publishing #southeast asia #white man

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My Job in 5: Helen Chapman, Picture book designer, Penguin Random House UK

Describe your role My job title is picture book designer but people outside the industry always think that I must illustrate all the books! Unfortunately I’m not that talented (though I do a mean stick man) so I end up describing my job as being an editor for the illustrators. Working in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lucia Berlin and a Tale of Two Book Covers

Picador designer Justine Anweiler wrote about how she went about creating the cover for the UK edition of Lucia Berlin's novel, A Manual for Cleaning Women. The post Lucia Berlin and a Tale of Two Book Covers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revisit Fables’ Beautiful, Groundbreaking Comic Book Covers

Let's celebrate some of the best cover artwork comics fans have ever seen. The post Revisit Fables’ Beautiful, Groundbreaking Comic Book Covers appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2015-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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35 Books Every Designer Should Read

We asked some of the world's top design schools to share their favorite books. Here's what they recommend for your summer reading list.It doesn't matter if you're a student of design, or just someone who hears the term "design thinking" and stays quiet at meetings while noting to Google it... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Classic book covers by Paul Bacon – in pictures

The designer who pioneered the ‘big book look’ - creating covers for more than 6,500 books, ranging from Catch-22 to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - has died aged 91 in New York. Here are some of his best Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wandering Hand on Bum Book Cover Causes Controversy

A new edition of Jilly Cooper's sexy novel, Riders, has moved a hand, previously on the bum, to a higher position — eliciting surprisingly strong reactions. The post Wandering Hand on Bum Book Cover Causes Controversy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Google Designed An E-Book Font For Any Screen

Say hello to Literata, Google's font designed exclusively for longer reads.In January of 2014, a Pew study showed that nearly a third of American adults had read an ebook in the last year, and 50% of adults owned some kind of tablet or e-reading device. Many of these readers are using the wide... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fourth Millennium book cover revealed

The fourth book in the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series will be called The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Quercus today (31st March) revealed the title and the UK cover for the book, which has been written by Swedish author David Lagercrantz, co-author of footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Go Set a Watchman book jackets: a designer reads the artwork

The newly revealed covers of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird sequel are a graphic illustration of their publishers’ ambition to ensnare her fansCover for Harper Lee’s Mockingbird sequel revealedArguably the most hotly-anticipated novel in the world in 2015, Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, had... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Go Set a Watchman': Here's the book cover

Harper Lee's book 'Watchman' reportedly centers on an adult version of the 'Mockingbird' character Scout and will be released this July. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Book Cover Judges You Back

You can't open this book—literally—until you make it clear you don't have any preconceived notions.I'll admit it: I definitely judge books by their covers. But this book might train those of us who are prone to snap judgments to become slightly better people. If you look at the book with... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When A Book Cover Judges You

Dutch designer Thijs Biersteker has come up with a book jacket that will only open when a prospective reader shows the right facial expression. The post When A Book Cover Judges You appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Morton book 'lifts the lid' on establishment cover up

Michael O’Mara Books will publish a new book by biographer Andrew Morton titled 17 Carnations: The Windsors, The Nazis and the Cover-up. Michael O’Mara acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from the book’s American publisher, Grand Central Publishing.   O’Mara said: “It’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paris Exhibit Praises the World of Book Covers

We Love Books! is an exhibit within the second edition of the inspiring Graphic Arts Festival taking place in Paris until March 4th. The post Paris Exhibit Praises the World of Book Covers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kim Kardashian's butt missing from book cover

Kim Kardashian West has revealed the surprisingly posterior free cover of her selfie book. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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30 Years of Iconic Criterion Covers Collected in One Beautiful Book

Criterion Designs is a beautiful book that captures 30 years of iconic movie covers. The post 30 Years of Iconic Criterion Covers Collected in One Beautiful Book appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Kindle Designer's Touching Online Memorial To The Marginalia Scribbled In Books

With The Pages Project, a designer of early ebooks revels in the inky, intimate musings from the margins of used books.Erik Schmitt's obsession with marginalia—handwritten scribbles or notes in the margins of books—began after he inherited a chunk of his grandfather's library. Handwritten in the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ellen DeGeneres Doing Design Book for Grand Central

Hachette's Grand Central Life & Style imprint has signed up a design book by Ellen DeGeneres. 'Home' is set for fall 2015, preceding the launch of DeGeneres' lifestyle brand, E.D., in spring 2015. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains

If you find yourself in a bookstore, Peter Mendelsund can be hard to avoid. The post What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beijing Book Fair 2014: The Sweet Spots

On day two, rights agencies' booths were packed, with deals being signed on the spot. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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