Confessions of a Book Cover Lover

Ok, so I’ll admit it, I do judge a book by its cover- but my initial reaction isn’t always binding (ha!). I’ve learned that books, much like people, “dress” a certain way to attract those who share their interests.  A science-fiction book’s cover has a certain visual parlance that lets readers know other-worldly happenings are bound between its pages.  Chick-lit, biographies, children’s books and almost all other categories have their own book-cover language as well (not to mention different eras- holla at vintage Penguins). Here are a few book-cover designers I am particularly enamored by.  Let me know what you think!

Christos Kourtoglou- I love his collage work!  
Sanda Zahirovich- Her work reminds me of Suprematism; bold geometric designs somewhat surreal
 
Emma Wallace- Simple, clean, powerful 
Jacob Sutton- He is the photographer for these Kafka covers.  This is a perfect articulation of how I feel when wading through Kafka’s never-ending labyrinths, feeling less than human (hello Gregor Samsa) and impossibly inert (all permutations of K) and a little forgotten (this is for you hungry artists). 
Penguin Drop Caps- Beautiful typography! What’s better than the marriage between language and art? 
And a resource for typography and book-cover lovers: 
We get a lot of delectable rare book donations, some of which remind us of forgotten eras, others remind us that some cultural moments should perhaps remain in obscurity. For our readers who want online access to antique books, here’s an international database of rare books, manuscripts and antique photos.  http://www.wdl.org/en/
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We get a lot of delectable rare book donations, some of which remind us of forgotten eras, others remind us that some cultural moments should perhaps remain in obscurity. For our readers who want online access to antique books, here’s an international database of rare books, manuscripts and antique photos.  http://www.wdl.org/en/