While books are shifting from things on paper to things on computers and handheld devices–now that there are plenty of acceptable, affordable and popular, e-readers, ebook and tablet computers, there is one thing about reading that won’t be changing: the appeal of the book cover. On the contrary, with more and more online outlets for electronic books appearing we’re bound to see more and more book cover designs tailored to each store’s market. Making for even more enjoyment from the multiple artistic interpretations for one book.
Publishers already use different covers for different markets, so it would seem that expanding the number of covers for a book, or allowing individual shops to tailor a book’s cover to the aesthetic appeal of their customers, would likely convert more sales. There is a lesson about customizing for sections of your demographics in here somewhere.
A few classic book covers that we never want to see changed.
Some covers are timeless…
Do you think this degree of customization could be beneficial? Will it help reach the long-tail of tastes, or just ruin the image of the book by giving it a cover that says, figuratively, and visually: “Hi (your name) we’re watching you, you will like this book, it has an illustration by one of your favorite designers, see! isn’t it lovely?”
Same book different cover
What is in a cover? A book with any other cover would still read the same.
The color love in this post was sponsored by HP.
Speaking of books: “Cool palettes from old paperback book covers” in the COLOURlovers group Old Paperback.