What’s the lure of good design?

How does a book cover influence what you’ll be reading?

We all know that art is in the eye of the beholder, we’ve heard this statement over and over, however, I once found myself at the bookshop without my list of the new books I wanted to purchase. (My phone battery died within seconds of me accessing the ‘notes’ App on the phone, mental note to keep on recycling envelopes and use those at doodle sheets; pen and paper) Instantly my trained design eye scoured the new fiction wall for books that would spark a memory or recognition of a review. Instead, I'm drawn to covers with strong typography, vibrant colour, and a mood-enhancing ‘feeling.’ It’s no wonder that the recipient of this year’s book design cover won – it’s a beautiful work of art. (Shimmering Skies is an amazing read as well.)

The fundamentals of good design are that form follows function. This principle was burnt into my subconscious in my early graphic design days, and it states that the shape (form) that something takes should be chosen based on its intended purpose and function. In the example of a book cover, it's no wonder then that a thriller or psychological murder mystery cover gives you that unsettling feeling standing four feet away.

I once posted this very same question on FB recently and while I received a mixed bag of responses, some people were committed to the genre regardless of the cover design, others were author-specific, however as one who reads widely both in fiction and non-fiction, and who appreciates the time spent on how a visual can influence a purchase decision, a true artisan has that reader in mind, the one who has lost her list of titles, and now is propositioned with an array of titles all screaming for attention, pick me, pick me!

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