New book trends didn’t reflect only on the content and the storyline of books, but also on the typology of the protagonists. There are more and more strong, outstanding, often female characters even in genres like SF, thrillers or detective novels– not only as a supporting role for a hero but as strong, powerful lead characters which, of course, have to be represented on the book covers as such.
From Katniss Everdeen or Hermione to Bella Swan, female characters in bestsellers have been transformed into pretty powerful figures. They are strong, smart, courageous and capable to cope with danger and adventures equally as their male colleagues-sometimes even better. Making a book cover for such a protagonist might be quite a challenge. It is not enough to put just a beautiful or smart, deep-thinking, face, with a gaze lost somewhere in a blurry surrounding or the sky full of stars. That could fit for a romance novel, but stronger protagonists need something more catchy, more intensive. If a book has a well-known character, the book designer may play with symbols using a new approach, new techniques or a new perspective of a well-known story or symbol, making it modern and communicating well with the new audience, especially the young ones. If you put on a cover a glass shoe in gro plan and a blurry girl in a blue dress, the association will certainly be clear, no matter how you name the book or the character. Stephenie Meyer didn’t have to name her character Snow White – it was enough to put a red apple in her hands. Another excellent example of such an approach is the symbol of Mockingjay on the Hunger Games book cover – clear enough to make that book recognizable among thousands of others.
Sequels and remakes of well-known novels are maybe easier to work with, but the same approach can be used even for an indie novel. In making a good book cover, the designer must recognize the character, the scene, the symbol which fits the best on the cover. It should not be too complicated, but a too simple, minimalistic solution is not always the best choice, because it doesn’t really draw enough attention. It’s somehow similar to putting make-up-you must put an accent on one thing. In make-up, you can choose between eyes, lips, cheeks, eyebrows, face contours etc. But you don’t stress more than two parts at the same time if a very dramatic look is not what you are trying to achieve. It is similar in book cover making. If you use very large or specific font than it’s better to represent a symbol on a cover than a complicated scene. If your choice is dramatic colors, don’t exaggerate with effects. If the scene is complex then you should stick to the basic colors. Too many characters on the front page or a college may even look better in graphics or with reverse colors than in a classic approach. Depends on a character and of a book.
This area is very interesting and has many possibilities for development – one’s skills, and of course, one’s imagination.
