Come to think of it, as nice as the art is, I don’t think it’s possible to at least make a half-decent cover out of it. I mean, even if you had a font that could go well with the art, where would the text go? How would you place it in a way that would make sense?
Plus, there’s the issue of color. You would either have to go with text that’s colored similarly to the art, making it hard to read, or go with a more vibrant title in contrast to the dark background, making your eyes bleed.
White would probably work … I agree about there being no good place to put it though. Narrow strip along the bottom fine for the byline but the title …?
C. Wain’s own blog is entirely set in white font on a black background, if you want to apply that “readability” tag with a broad brush…
Brad
5 years ago
I do like the art, seems very Gothic to me. As for the font – yuck and it drags this cover down. If they picked a different font, color and maybe it could be part of the oval/border?
I’d even be happy if the title (in appropriate, clear fonts) filled the oval, obscuring the negligible art therein. Put the byline beneath the oval, and Bob’s yer uncle.
Yup, I was just about to say, white or bright yellow lettering, sans-serif to offset the overly ornate background image. Well done, @dtw!
Rachel Anderson
5 years ago
I had the misfortune of winning this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Let me tell you, the story inside makes this cover look like it belongs next to the Mona Lisa.
Come to think of it, as nice as the art is, I don’t think it’s possible to at least make a half-decent cover out of it. I mean, even if you had a font that could go well with the art, where would the text go? How would you place it in a way that would make sense?
Plus, there’s the issue of color. You would either have to go with text that’s colored similarly to the art, making it hard to read, or go with a more vibrant title in contrast to the dark background, making your eyes bleed.
White would probably work … I agree about there being no good place to put it though. Narrow strip along the bottom fine for the byline but the title …?
C. Wain’s own blog is entirely set in white font on a black background, if you want to apply that “readability” tag with a broad brush…
I do like the art, seems very Gothic to me. As for the font – yuck and it drags this cover down. If they picked a different font, color and maybe it could be part of the oval/border?
I’d even be happy if the title (in appropriate, clear fonts) filled the oval, obscuring the negligible art therein. Put the byline beneath the oval, and Bob’s yer uncle.
Quite. There we go – fixed in about ten minutes.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pUJfvuK6vz49rwgRCVD4pxT4vNHi2W4A
Yup, I was just about to say, white or bright yellow lettering, sans-serif to offset the overly ornate background image. Well done, @dtw!
I had the misfortune of winning this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Let me tell you, the story inside makes this cover look like it belongs next to the Mona Lisa.