Art of the Start
Foreword is a weblog community in the service of book design, books, art, photography and design.
Share the passion with us.
This page is an archive. Links were current at the time of publication.
« Production/Book Design Assistant Wanted
Foreword main page
Book Designer Wanted »
Share what we love: book design.
Like something? Don’t like something? Book design news? Broken link? Problem with commenting?Let us know.
Foreword is hosted by:
All editorial items are licensed:
All original graphics and graphics presented in the context of a review or post are the copyright of ospreydesign or their respective owners.
Comments:
This is all the proof I need that marketing guys know hot, award-winning design when they see it.
(Mumbles to self, unhappily) Idiots, they’re all idiots . . .
Compared to 95 percent of the rest of the contest entries, this is an incredible cover.…
I like the title treatment but the image is a total cliché. It is suppiosed to be a spark but really looks more like someone beating an egg. I have seen this kind of image on modern cookbook covers.
Oh GAWD.
Regardless of what those hacks at istockphoto say, I happen to know the art director at Portfolio (an imprint of Viking), and this whole contest thing is something that he (and many other people at his company) were against. And after seeing the results, I know why.
There are contests in which there must be a winner, and then there are contests in which the judges refuse to award a prize. Unfortunately, this is an example of the former.
Sorry, Guy.
We’ll still read it, though!
Not me - I’ve been turned off by the whole contest thing.
If you read it, at least check it out from the library. Don’t give your money to someone who cheapens our profession.
I was hoping for free/CC-licensed PDFs being available for download.
Even better!
What exactly is wrong with it? I don’t think it’s particularly attractive, but I don’t really see any Bad Design™ except that i can’t tell what the picture is supposed to be.
It would be very helpful to the students who read this site (me!) if you’d all go into a bit more detail. Thanks!
Brian, there are two issues. One is the contest and the waves it caused; read back through the entries to get the whole story on why it’s particularly not welcome here.
The second is what you mentioned — it’s not attractive and you can’t tell what the main photograph is of! (In all seriousness, people I know and respect have discussed eggs.)
Brian, the cover would probably be adequate for a small publisher or a DIYer. However, it is not a professional book cover for a larger, established publisher who is trying to make a profit from this title.
You asked a good question, though. The next time you’re in a bookstore try placing The Art of the Start next to other books in its category. (Go ahead, create your own store endcap. I do.) I have a feeling that you’ll be able to see a difference then.
No wonder you’re so loved at stores all over Florida…;)
Regardless of what those hacks at istockphoto say
Ouch! Even though I don’t like this cover at all, that does mean the istock guys are a bunch of hacks. They’re actually pretty cool.
Leave aside the question of the competition; the main problem was the design brief, which basically only contained the title and a convoluted (and misleading at that) subtitle, “The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything,” which was mercifully axed. It wasn’t about starting anything — if Guy’s seminars are any indication of the content, it’s about startups and other business ventures.
At any rate, there wasn’t really anything to hook into for interesting, unique design ideas. Guy’s apparent taste for visual cliches didn’t help matters either.
For the record, however, I think the idea behind the visual here is worth developing; I just don’t think it’s fully there yet. And the title type, well… better than many of the other entries, but still pretty clunky. Oddly, the author lines are nicely done — should have taken a cue from that for the title.
w/r/t the type, there’s something totally different on the web page:
I think the image is supposed to be a matchstick being lit. It explains the gradient in the title. Still, something seems to be lacking in the overall design. Because the photo is abstract, it makes the cover look unfinished.