This is in my response to an earlier post to pick out the cover of my book.
If you could believe it, it was a tie. It was completely even. At first it looked as if the top option was going to win hands down, but with a late push the bottom picture took over, and then finally the top one caught back up and it stayed there. So, let me ask everybody, what do you think about the following as a cover idea, keep in mind that the back is on the left and the front is on the right. I changed the font and did something with coloring. I really want this to look good.
Comments
Colour contrast
I like the idea of using both images. However, I would advise caution on how you have the text on the back cover. Some of it isn't readable.
In order for text to be readable, there needs to be sufficient contrast between the foreground and the background colours, especially when dealing with text being read on screen (its not as critical in print, but still should be taken into account). The World Wide Wed Consortium (W3C), the organisation which defines web standards, such as HTML, has come of with a scientific formula for measuring contrast, and set guidelines for minimum levels for their accessibility standards. Their minimum recommended contrast ratio is 4.5:1, but ideally 7:1 or greater should be aimed for.
The contrast ratio for the back cover ranges from 7:1 to 20:1 for the majority of the text, except for the text over the child where it drops to 1.6:1, making it virtually unreadable.
For reference, the tool I'm using is available free from http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/contrast-analyser.html. It is one I use at work and is very handy (I'm a software developer specialising in web based applications, so have to know the guidelines when designing user interfaces).
Getting text to work over an image is hard. To get contrast both between the child and the background and the child and the text with a single text colour is going to be virtually impossible. I would suggest moving the child to the edge not having the text go over the image, assuming the text can be shrunk to fit without it becoming too small. This would potentially stop the back looking as text heavy as well. The other alternative would be to have the text change colour when it goes over the child, assuming your software can do that, although I'm not sure how well that would work.
I hope this helps. Its little details like this that can turn a good design into a great one.
book cover
thgere is an alternative that would leave the back cover virtually clear , wht not pit the text on the fly of the dustcover thats how the majority of professional book writers do it with their Bio on the back leaf
Jacqui
but
This is actually going on the back of a paperback and on the websites where it would sell, all the text would be visible on the page, separate from the picture. But it is something to think about. The issue is the picture goes from black to grey so a third color would throw the entire contrast work. Perhaps if it were in primary colors like red and blue and then yellow would have worked. Or even secondary colors If it was orange and green I could use purple (ICK!) But I will tweak it. The cover isn't going to be updated on the book until the 1st of the new year. The reason? I already designed fliers featuring the old logo that is going out with my Christmas Tip Cards that I deliver to my customers. If I could sell, say 10 or 20 books, I would be ecstatic
Katie Leone (Katie-Leone.com)
Writing is what you do when you put pen to paper, being an author is what you do when you bring words to life
OOOOR...
Make the image of the child walking the bottle into more of a watermark. In other words, it'd be just a slightly lighter impression in the black and grey background, it too being in the grey scale. Currently there's too much contrast between the boy and bottle and the backing, causing it to be impossible to generate enough additional contrast for the text. Then choose appropriate colors for the text. The yellow and blue used should be reasonable for over a grey scale background image with watermarking.
BTW, I do love the design itself. I do agree it needs some tweaking though.
Abigail Drew.
The winner is.K.T.
I say go for it!
May Your Light Forever Shine
I’m not an expert
I’m not an expert. You could use the yellow on top. Then a highly saturated blue should be readable against the gray toned background image. It should be more visable than the yellow.
DJ
I'd drop the text from the back
or make it under the picture, if needed.