Beautiful Book Covers

Books are a difficult business. Especially at the moment. The number of books being published has increased to the point where the market is saturated, the online buying phenomenon has kicked bookstores in the knees and – to really finish things off – the book buying public isn't spending as much as it once did. So what do you do if you're a publisher and want to increase sales of a new books? Produce a truly beautiful cover.

Over the last few months I've started to see some extraordinarily gorgeous jackets emerge. Some of them have been inspired by the 'silhouette' craze that's sweeping book design, while others have gone for what a friend calls "ornate simplicity". The now-famous artist Rob Ryan was, of course, one of the first to highlight the beauty of silhouette or cut-out design (rob-ryan.blogspot.com), but others have picked up the trend and embellished it with their own graceful details. (More details on silhouette art in a later blog today.)

Here are some beautiful book jackets that have stood out from the shelves lately. Oh – and if you want to know more about the enchanting patterned covers of the Penguin Classics Hardcover series, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, there's an interview with Coralie here:
greaterthanorequalto.net/blog/2009/09/coralie-bickford-smith-interview