Book designers pick their favourite covers of 2012

Q&Q asked five book designers to pick their favourite covers of the year.

Click on the thumbnails to find out why these covers were selected as some of the best of 2012.

Show caption

95332 So many designs this year blended into one another or hid behind their bolder, more interesting American and British cousins, looking years older than their pub date or as if they were playing catch-up with visual trends. There are a few great exceptions, and Michel Vrana's design for I'll Seize the Day Tomorrow is one of them. It is a simple, witty visual braced by bold, hand-lettered type that cleaves to a successful conceptual trend. One can take it in at a glance (online or in-store), but it has layers of meaning that demand further investigation (why, for example, is the cheese slice still wrapped?). “ Ingrid Paulson, Ingrid Paulson Design I'll Seize the Day Tomorrow by Jonathan Goldstein (Penguin Canada), designed by Michel Vrana https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/seize-90x90.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/seize.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/seize.jpg 330 502 [] https://quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/30/book-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-2012/slide/seize/ seize 0 0

95331 In its integration of text and image, this cover really sings. The film noir quality of the text reinforces the mystery in the photographic imagery. The oblique, pseudo-3D title seems to warn of intrigue lurking behind the innocuous subtitle announcing a novel. An empty pair of shoes (on their own somewhat standard fare for a book cover) casts a dark shadow in the grey water, while the water itself provides a textured counterpoint to the smoothness of the text, and seems to allude to some sort of natural disaster. People Park is one of a number of well-designed books to come out of independent and micro presses recently. “ Cheryl Dipede, freelance designer <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7715">People Park by Pasha Malla (House of Anansi Press)</A>, designed by Brian Morgan https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/peoplepark-90x90.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/peoplepark.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/peoplepark.jpg 322 500 [] https://quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/30/book-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-2012/slide/peoplepark/ peoplepark 0 0

95330 Maybe I'm tiring of speedy stock photo selections and laborious efforts to retrofit objects with book titles in new and witty ways. This typographic approach addresses the author's own experiments with letterforms, space, and pattern. The cropped and crowded letters speak to complex and ambivalent relationships. And, for a book that has been described by reviewers as an artifact that cannot be read on a Kindle, the bold title treatment translates surprisingly well as an onscreen thumbnail. “ Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design Love and the Mess We're In by Stephen Marche (Gaspereau Press), designed by Andrew Steeves https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/lovemess-90x90.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/lovemess.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/lovemess.jpg 313 501 [] https://quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/30/book-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-2012/slide/lovemess/ lovemess 0 0

95329 This cover's firing on all cylinders: it has striking symmetry, uses plenty of symbolism and imagery, and makes expert use of colour (the title and author's name are a mix of red and blue, lending them a darker shade than the rest). The bold decision to use a stark white background practically barks across a room, and the images provide much to dissect. I can imagine reading the book to learn how each piece relates to the story. (Who's the spider and who's the fly? And what's the carpet all about?) Like so many covers I admire, all those questions encourage me to pick up the book, examine it, and read the back cover copy. Then: sold. “ Michel Vrana, freelance designer <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7794">Carnival by Rawi Hage (House of Anansi Press)</A>, designed by Brian Morgan; illustration by Lorenzo Petrantoni https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/carnival-90x90.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/carnival.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/carnival.jpg 328 501 [] https://quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/30/book-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-2012/slide/carnival/ carnival 0 0

95328 Repetition: a book designer's friend. Colour: a book designer's best friend. Finish: a lucky book designer's special friend. I like this cover for all those elements, and I'm partial to book design that gets better when you actually encounter the physical object. This jacket's paper stock is great “ heavy and textured and coated with a matte finish that has a nice feel to it. The hair locks have a spot gloss so they catch overhead bookstore lights nicely. If everyone in the industry didn't get so freaked out, I'm sure this would have been a great test case for leaving off the type. “ Jessica Sullivan, book designer <A HREF="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=7719">The Blondes by Emily Schultz (Doubleday Canada)</A>, designed by CS Richardson https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/blondes-90x90.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/blondes.jpg https://quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/blondes.jpg 323 500 [] https://quillandquire.com/books-year/2012/11/30/book-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-2012/slide/blondes/ blondes 0 0

Quill and Quire