Ultimatum

Author: Simon Kernick
Publisher: Century

ultimatum-1As regular visitors to Fixabook will know, we despair at missed opportunities on hardback covers. So often we see back covers with anodyne review quotes, meaningless author pictures… or just nothing at all.

So it is fantastic to see this — a hardback blurb that acts as an advert — a trailer — for the book. It doesn’t bombard you with a synopsis or exhaustive character list; nor does it try to impress you with reviews. It just heads straight to the heart of the action.

What’s even better is that Century have resisted the temptation to stick a long plot summary on the inside flap. Once again, the copy takes you immediately into the book’s dilemma and makes you want to read on.

ultimatum-front-flap-1

At a time when money is tight and hardbacks are increasingly expensive, it is even more important to apply this sort of thinking across all genres and to make our back covers work as hard as they possibly can.

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Posted by: Katie Roden
Monday, April 29th, 2013

The Goldfinch

Author: Donna Tartt
Publisher: Little Brown

goldfinchThere will have been a lot of attention paid to this cover, and it shows.

It is fresh, confident and memorable.

Given the title, plot and genre it would have been so easy to end up with a beautiful but boring painting of a bird. (All very arty but it would have added little to the overall communication.)

Instead, by using the rip device to reveal the bird behind it, the publishers have created something all together more graphic and intriguing.

The rough paper, taped edge and handwritten type create the sense of an intensely personal story. Interestingly, they also make the package peculiarly tactile.

We quibble, however, with the words ‘A novel’, as we have done many times before. How many people won’t be able to work this out from the Amazon description, the signage on the bookshop shelf or the blurb on the back? It feels like an industry practice that is maintained out of fearful habit rather than genuine need.

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Posted by: Katie Roden
Friday, April 5th, 2013

Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Phoenix

gone-girlEvery now and again a novel comes along that gets the publisher very excited. For once they actually believe each other when they claim ‘This book could be huge”.

In these situations it is always interesting to see whether the publisher dare do something distinctive. Or whether they stick to the genre rules to keep the retail buyers happy.

Gone Girl is an example of achieving a near perfect balance between genre conservatism and innovation.

On the one hand they’ve jumped on the ‘Flourescent Colour’ bandwagon that is sweeping through Crime Fiction (Peter Robinson, Martina Cole, Ian Rankin, etc) and they’ve also grabbed the ‘roundel quote’ idea from Jo Nesbo.

But by combining these tricks with a bold black cover adorned with nothing more than a few wisps of hair (a clever hint of forensics to signal the genre) they have produced something very fresh and confident.

Commercial but also different — No wonder this book is already becoming a winner.



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Posted by: Damian Horner
Thursday, January 24th, 2013

1984

Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Penguin

1984-censored It was a tweet by the literary agent, Jonny Geller, that alerted us to this cover. It is his favourite version and quite frankly it has shot right to the top of our list too.

The title and author name are printed in gloss black on a matt black background, so can only been seen when held at the right angle.

This wonderful piece of (apparent) ‘censorship’ might seem crazy at first yet it tells us so much about the story contained within.

In fact, it is perhaps the most concise piece of design communication that one could possibly imagine for this incredible book.

And yet at the same time it is also utterly distinctive, memorable and intriguing.

A remarkable achievement.

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Posted by: Damian Horner
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

Penelope

Author: Rebecca Harrington
Publisher: Virago

penelopeThis is a deceptively rich cover, laden with communication.

At the most basic level it looks ‘different’, which in itself is no mean feat.

More importantly, however, it delivers an enormous sense of the story and wonderful tonal nuances about the lead character with the bare minimum of detail.

As with any book that takes the main character’s name as its title, the designers will have been forced down a particular track. Who is she, and why should readers care?

In this case, the juxtaposition of a photograph of a young woman with unexpected, Disney-like cartoon imagery all around her whispers ‘innocent, naive and charming’.

This is a young woman who is clearly out of step with expectations (a fish out of water) and we all know that is a recipe for humour and chaos.

Job done.

The blurb simply needs to deliver the setting (Harvard University) and we know exactly what we are in for with this book.

The fact that the publishers did not resort to using a strapline is testament to the power of this design. For that alone, they deserve our congratulations.

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Posted by: Damian Horner
Friday, January 11th, 2013

Ratburger

Author: David Walliams
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

ratburger-1This cover merits close attention by any of you out there with authors who are genuine brands in their own right. Of course, the main text is a guaranteed child-pleaser, full of bogies, bullies and spit. But it’s the first-person approach that we find really intriguing.

The author’s voice adds warmth and confidence. For children who know Walliams in a range of guises — author, actor, presenter — it is exciting to be spoken to in this way.

Now think about the possibilities for other genres. How about a crime author using their blurb to describe how they construct their plots? A historical novelist exploring their favourite character? This is an opportunity to speak directly to readers, to give them an insight into the mind of their favourite authors, and to do something very different.

(As an added bonus, underneath the jacket is a great Tony Ross illustration — another example, like My Time, of a designer doing something extra and special and thus making the overall package irresistible.)

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Posted by: Katie Roden
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

Predator’s Gold

Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: Scholastic

reeve-spine_0OK so these aren’t spines but we couldn’t leave this series without picking up on the treatment of the paper edges.

By colouring them blue the publishers have perfected the ‘video game look’ and turned this book into an altogether different visiual proposition.

Each element (front, back, pages, visuals, typography, etc etc) works off the other to deliver a truly three dimensional design concept.

Suddenly it no longer looks or even feels like a book — it is a unique and peculiarly tactile piece of packaging.

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Posted by: Damian Horner
Friday, December 14th, 2012

Mortal Engines

Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: Scholastic

reeve-backNormally we like blurbs because the copy is well considered and the strategy is right.

This blurb does all those things but mostly we love it because of the way it looks.

Here is a back cover that works as hard as the front and we haven’t come across a boy yet who isn’t mesmerised by it.

Sometimes a blurb just has to communicate a feeling about a book.

Usually publishers do that with clever words but here it has been done with computer game imagery and it works a treat.

Bravo.


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Posted by: Damian Horner
Friday, December 14th, 2012

Infernal Devices

Author: Philip Reeve
Publisher: Scholastic

reeve-frontThese covers look like nothing else around them and as a consequence they leap off the shelf and Amazon screen.

The reason is quite simple: The publishers have taken the visual language of video games and applied them directly to a series of print books.

A clever idea when your target audience are young teenage boys and your content is all about cities waging war on one another at some point in the distant future.

Every detail is correct from the CGI visuals; to the book numbering; curved edges and series identifier (“Predator Cities” which in itself sounds like a video game collection)

It is great to see designers make leaps like this and start with the mindset and interests of their target audience rather than remain stuck in the confines of what ‘books for boys normally look like’.



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Posted by: Damian Horner
Friday, December 14th, 2012

The Teleportation Accident

Author: Ned Beauman
Publisher: Sceptre

teleportation-1Here at Fixabook, we’re often to be found bemoaning the lack of time and effort publishers seem to give to their back covers, even on books with wonderfully designed fronts.

So it’s a real pleasure to find a fabulous exception — The Teleportation Accident.

Sceptre’s designers have created a rich, tactile and utterly desirable hardback, with beautiful colours and finishes. What we love is the fact that they have lavished as much care on the back as on the front, with a really pleasing result.

True, the quotes chosen aren’t particularly special… but the design actually makes you want to read them. Even the barcode has been placed carefully to add to the sense that this is something unusual and special. Overall, the design works hard to make the mysterious title appealing rather than off-putting.

It’s a book you want to pick up, stroke and explore — front and back. Lovely…

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Posted by: Katie Roden
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
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