There is a Major Problem With Modern Book Cover Design

Sometimes, maybe you *should* judge a book by its cover.

I spend 35 hours a week working in a used bookstore. I see a lot of books. Most of them, I’m afraid, have terrible covers.

Traditionally, book covers have been the predominant form of marketing a book. Publishers hire artists to represent the ideas of a book at a glance — a picture, after all, is worth a thousand words — and shoppers rely on that initial impression to draw their attention and pique interest. It’s why, when a show or film is released, publishers release tie-in versions of book covers.

“Hey,” they say, “recognize me from that ad on YouTube?”

“Ah,” we say back. “How are you doing, Mr. Chalamet?”

The design language of books has evolved over the years just as everything else in the world has. Go back far enough and you’ll find book covers that were purely functional: they protected the words inscribed within them and bound them together.

In the 1950s, book cover design focused on illustrations done in a vintage style. Think Catcher in the Rye or The Lord of the Rings. Then, in the ’60s, the illustrations went away in favor of prominent text and minimalism. The ’70s ushered in vibrant graphics, while the ’80s brought…