a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Scattered Moments by Barbara Meyers
What's the genre? What is it you like or don't like about this cover?
Does it make you want to know more about the book? Does it make you want
to BUY the book? Discuss.
I like the colour scheme. It's delicate yet eye-catching, a rare combination.
The delicacy of the falling leaves and the byline font suggest delicate, sensitive fiction.
This cover would work better for me if it had a visual focus, something to anchor my attention.
I'm afraid the writing on the piece of paper in the bottom right corner is illegible at thumbnail size (which is the size at which covers are mostly viewed), so it doesn't serve any real purpose. I don't know whether it's meant to be a poem, or a letter, or a list of story titles.
I'm guessing that it may be titles of short stories. If so, this information might be better placed in the book's Table of Contents, and/or in the blurb.
Instead, consider simply the words 'Short Stories'. These words can be larger, and would therefore be easy to read at thumnail size. They could also be placed directly into the picture, without the distracting visual element of a piece of paper. It would be legible, meaningful, practical. It would also allow scaling the gazebo to a larger size so it becomes the visual focus of this cover.
However, this applies only if the writing on the piece of paper is indeed a list of story titles. If it's something else, please ignore this suggestion.
Without the piece of paper, and with the gazebo scaled to larger size, I would be strongly attracted to this cover.
I too love the leaves and the overall color scheme. But it's got too many elements of the approximate same size, making it a little busy. I actually think if the gazebo was larger and the poetry dropped that would help.
There are too many typefaces on the cover. Scriptina is such a strong typeface (author name) yet must also be treated with much care as it gets out of hand easily. It's very casual, but the other typefaces are more formal. The three together just don't match, then there's a fourth on the poetry. Perhaps if the type was simplified and the leaves really allowed to shine...
I agree with what's been said: too busy, too many fonts. The whole background looks nice, the leaves and the page. But the top two lines and author name, as well as the title, are a little hard to read and don't pop from the page.
No central focus. Type very ordinary and hard to read. I get a sense of the mood being sought but it's not there yet. I like the gazebo. These elements - the trees, leaves and all - can be reworked in a way that captures that bittersweet tang they want yet adds up to a strong design. But really, start again. (Maybe, um, hire a new designer, too.)
I like the colour scheme. It's delicate yet eye-catching, a rare combination.
ReplyDeleteThe delicacy of the falling leaves and the byline font suggest delicate, sensitive fiction.
This cover would work better for me if it had a visual focus, something to anchor my attention.
I'm afraid the writing on the piece of paper in the bottom right corner is illegible at thumbnail size (which is the size at which covers are mostly viewed), so it doesn't serve any real purpose. I don't know whether it's meant to be a poem, or a letter, or a list of story titles.
I'm guessing that it may be titles of short stories. If so, this information might be better placed in the book's Table of Contents, and/or in the blurb.
Instead, consider simply the words 'Short Stories'. These words can be larger, and would therefore be easy to read at thumnail size. They could also be placed directly into the picture, without the distracting visual element of a piece of paper. It would be legible, meaningful, practical. It would also allow scaling the gazebo to a larger size so it becomes the visual focus of this cover.
However, this applies only if the writing on the piece of paper is indeed a list of story titles. If it's something else, please ignore this suggestion.
Without the piece of paper, and with the gazebo scaled to larger size, I would be strongly attracted to this cover.
correction: 'in the bottom right corner' was meant to be 'in the bottom left corner'.
ReplyDeleteI too love the leaves and the overall color scheme. But it's got too many elements of the approximate same size, making it a little busy. I actually think if the gazebo was larger and the poetry dropped that would help.
ReplyDeleteThere are too many typefaces on the cover. Scriptina is such a strong typeface (author name) yet must also be treated with much care as it gets out of hand easily. It's very casual, but the other typefaces are more formal. The three together just don't match, then there's a fourth on the poetry. Perhaps if the type was simplified and the leaves really allowed to shine...
The colors are great, but I would love to have more information if this was a collection of stories or a novel.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Robin that there are way too many type faces.
I agree with what's been said: too busy, too many fonts. The whole background looks nice, the leaves and the page. But the top two lines and author name, as well as the title, are a little hard to read and don't pop from the page.
ReplyDeleteNo central focus. Type very ordinary and hard to read. I get a sense of the mood being sought but it's not there yet. I like the gazebo. These elements - the trees, leaves and all - can be reworked in a way that captures that bittersweet tang they want yet adds up to a strong design. But really, start again. (Maybe, um, hire a new designer, too.)
ReplyDeletePink against orange=automatic recoil.
ReplyDelete