Working Titlez

Sue Campbell, a Colorado resident, is an experienced art director and book designer of many years; she is also the principal designer for Stephens Press titles. In this interview with Working Titlez, she shares her knowledge on what makes an effective cover design, how the process works, and what inspires her creative efforts.

How important is color in book cover design?

Color is always important in design. Color is hard-wired in our brains. It means things to us on a basic human level, but it also has cultural meaning so we must be careful with how we use it with respect to cultural connotations. Certain colors evoke emotional responses—it reminds us of events or experiences. And it also acts as a language, one that we learn and with it make associations. For example: we know that darker colors mean mystery and fearful happenings—tension. It makes sense then for thrillers to often appear cloaked in dark and mysterious images in dark colors that evokes a bit of unease.

Should color trends be followed?

By trends, if you mean what is fashionable or popular in a given year. No. I don’t think so. I don’t personally follow color trends because color is so significant. Particularly in book cover design. Because colors are rich in meaning—the decisions to use them need to be made in consideration with the subject matter, genre, target audience, and the feeling you want people to get when they see the cover. People may be surprised that we don’t just pick blue or red or green because that’s the author’s (or our) favorite color. Of course, sometimes you have to do that too. That’s an ill-considered way of making those kinds of design decisions though.

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Q: I’m reviewing the page proofs for my book and the designer has eliminated the indent for the first paragraph of each chapter. Is this right?

A: It is indeed, Dear Author. In fine typography and well-crafted books, the first paragraph of a chapter is not indented. Ditto for the first paragraph following any heading or sub-heading.

Why?

Each new paragraph signifies a change in thought, direction or organization of the text. At the start of a new chapter, the reader already knows it’s a new paragraph. As for headings, adding indentation prevents the heading from lining up properly with the text following it.

More indenting rules: An alternative method of setting off each paragraph is to put an extra line break between each graf (shorthand for paragraphs used by editors and designers). This is sometimes called a “white line”. Indents plus white lines are never to be used together — only one or the other. Generally, books get indents. Websites and blogs usually use white lines, in part because different browsers may interpret indent coding inconsistently. Business writing, letters, and reports may use either (but not both).