You've spent hours & hours writing a great book and now you gotta make sure it sells. One of the best ways is to make an eye-catching book cover design.

Unfortunately, people will always judge a book by its cover so you gotta make sure to create a unique one. In this article, we'll share some great tips that will help you create the perfect attention-grabbing book cover.

Jump to a Section:

- Introducing the book

- Match the style of the genre

- Make it attention-grabbing

- Colors

- Imagery

- Typography

- Keep it simple

- Conclusion

Introducing the book

You need to introduce the most important element in the book, whether it is the protagonist, the main takeaway message, or similar. The cover should be like a trailer for a movie – giving you a taste of what’s coming while hiding any spoilers about the book.

The picture is worth more than 1000 words, so when a reader picks a book, he should get an idea of what to expect from that book.

For example, if the book is about “the protagonist that went to space and got lost”, it could showcase “the protagonist surrounded by space and planets on the cover”.

Depending on the genre of the book, it’s important to introduce the protagonist on the book cover to connect readers to the story. Doing so can attract more attention, make the reader sympathize with the character, and increase the chances of the book being sold.

Also, you should emphasize the tone of the book. It should be clear what emotion is mainly spreading through the book, so the reader can imagine and easily get drawn to it.

Match the style of the genre

Every genre has its own design style and theme. For example, fiction and romance, thrillers, fantasy, horror, and science-fiction.

Those styles and themes were established a long time ago and can be recognized with just a quick gaze. The cover design should maintain that style, but still, be able to make the book “jump off the shelves”.

Most readers tend to have one or two genres that they like. When a reader picks a book that has a protagonist with a dragon, on the cover, they are expecting it to be a fantasy genre. The reader should have a clear picture when looking at the cover.

Make it attention-grabbing

When you are scanning the bookshop, it's hard not to notice the books that are different. You can use colors, typography, and imagery to make the book stand out from the rest.

In the following segment, I will share with you some of the secrets professional designers use to make the cover content “attention-grabbing”.

Colors

The main thing to focus on when picking between colors to use in your cover design is contrast. A good example is black and white colors, which can easily highlight certain areas of your cover.

The white color naturally draws our eyes to whatever uses its color. Contrast is really useful when looking to highlight the important areas of your cover and focus the reader's attention.

Another useful way to use colors is using them as an accent. That can be a really powerful move. For example, if you add a small amount of red color, to a black and white picture, it easily draws attention to that red detail.

Imagery

Using the right imagery can make all the difference in the way your cover is perceived by others. Images can give strong emotions, so picking the right image can affect the audience and grab their attention.

You could easily use imagery alone to create the entire cover design if you do it correctly.

Besides colors, images can also be used as an accent. Sometimes you don't have to use the whole image. Using just a part of an image with a good composition can make a great accent to the cover.

Typography

Don't underestimate using only text as the book cover design. Picking a font for your cover is essential for conveying a clear message, invoking an emotion, and reinforcing the genre.

You should treat your title like a logo. Choose a font that stands out in people’s memories.

Keep it Simple

Book covers that have unnecessary details can be overwhelming. It's hard to understand and quite impossible to pick the important parts of your design when it’s cluttered with details.

One of the ways to keep the design simple is to leave plenty of blank space. By doing that you are making it easy for the important information to be visible. Using negative space can also be a way to make the design simpler and attention-grabbing.

Conclusion

Creating an attention-grabbing book can be challenging. The tips mentioned above can ease the process and lead you in the right direction.

But, if you’re still struggling to make your book cover design stand out, we got you covered (pun intended)! We offer affordable custom cover designs for your projects. To learn more, go to our Pricing page.