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Symbols and Metaphor on Book Cover Design
All book covers sit somewhere on the metaphorical continuum, because covers must convey the essence of an idea.
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Tricks for Writing A Lengthy Work
How do you write a lengthy piece of writing — a book, a thesis — without giving up? Various writers share tips and tricks. Here are a collected few.
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The Hand-Lettered Look In Book Cover Design
There’s a style of art and illustration, frequently seen on book covers, and I have no idea what to call it. Let’s call it the hand-lettered or hand-drawn look.
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Book Cover Design With A Large Central Graphic
This book cover design layout is very common and does not call attention to itself. Still, I’ve collected a number of these covers for a compare and contrast.
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Margins and Spacing in Book Cover Design
Let’s take a close look at how graphic designers alter margins, kerning and leading when creating contemporary book covers. First, by way of contrast, a small selection of book covers which are centre justified. Note than in all of these examples, the symmetry is broken by another stand-out page element, be it a marketing blurb, […]
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Blur and Glitch Effects on Book Covers
This is a collection of book covers which make use of blur, glitch and other distortion effects. The set of four Tove Ditlevsen book covers each exemplify a different kind of blur and glitch effect, so it’s nice to see them all together: Another trio: Here are some other examples of blur and glitch. These […]
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1960s-1970s Lettering in Graphic Design
A designer called Paul Bacon was influential in creating a mid-century look which is back in fashion.
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Dear Marjorie: A Short Crime Story
Dear Marjorie, I wonder if you’ve had much to do with law-enforcement. Twice now, I’ve had the experience of an official rat-a-tat-tat at my own abode…
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What architectural style is the house of Psycho?
The Psycho house is similar to what is now called ‘Second Empire Style’. What makes this style of architecture feel so creepy?
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Making a Posterised Book Cover with AI
Images are posterised when the graphic designer creates large, flat areas of colour or tone. This style is reminiscent of 20th century pop art popularized by Andy Warhol, influenced by the arrival of photography. Photography technologies changed the course of painting forever. And here are some Warhol style capsicums I painted recently, with the photo […]
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Writing Activity: Describe the Inside of a House
Describe a house, describe the inhabitants (or inhabitants since departed). Below are examples of house interiors from novels and short fiction. A RURAL COTTAGE IN 1950s ENGLAND The room downstairs at the front of this cottage would appear to serve Mr and Mrs Taylor as both dining room and general living quarters. It is a […]
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Integrating Text and Images in Book Cover Design
This is one of those low effort, big reward tricks which is so very common on professionally designed book covers but relatively rare on less attractive self-published books: The graphic designer integrates the text into the graphic in some way, often to create the illusion of depth.
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King Midas: An Ancient AI Allegory
King Midas was a King of Phrygia, a dominant kingdom in Asia Minor from around 1200–700 BC. He thought quite a lot of himself apparently, and boasted that anything he touched would turn to gold. Perhaps he was speaking metaphorically, but he goes down in mythology as a supernatural character whose touch would literally turn anything […]
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A Little Journey by Ray Bradbury Analysis
“A Little Journey” is a 1951 short story by American author Ray Bradbury, first published in the August 1951 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine.
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Fluorescent, Neon, Glowing Colours On Book Covers
These contemporary book covers all utilise fluorescent, neon or glowing colours to eye-catching effect.