(Don’t) judge a book by its cover

Abstract

The article deals with the role of the cover in the economy of the book. During this period, when book sales moved exclusively online, the cover had an even more important role. Is the cover a business card of the book? Does it focus on the message of the book, like the title of the book? Can the cover sell the book or not? The phrase „Don’t judge a book by its cover” is wellknown. And yet we must not underestimate the importance of design even in the case of a book. Sometimes it is the cover that can determine us to purchase a book or on the contrary, not to give importance to a particular publication. Romanian artists Viorel Simulov and Luminița Penișoară, members of the Union of Fine Artists in Romania, signed hundreds of covers and illustrations for books, they try to clarify how important the design of the cover is in the success of a book. Font, size of the letter, styling, all these elements attract us and influence the buyer’s decision. They come with atmosphere and colour, just as the voice in the spoken language or in ads. In fact, the book cover acts like a commercial, and all the rules of an ad can be applied to the book cover too. So, beyond words, commercials use images, page settings, colours. These additional elements carry out signification that can strengthen or contradict the meaning of words. We can also use the principles of advertising when creating the book cover. The paper presents some important elements to take into account when it comes to the cover of a book. My work is based on the experience of several cover designers, who present their point of view on the subject. With two of them, Viorel Simulov, and Luminiţa Penișoară, I discussed at length, face to face, în a series of interviews. I have synthesized their opinion in this work. Then, because I see the cover as a well-made advertisement, I analyzed this iconic level of the cover, following the theoretical principles of the iconic level in the advertisements. At the end I presented the results of the 2021 contest initiated in Romania, by Dreamstime agency, regarding the best cover of the year.