All of us understand the old stating, “Don't evaluate a book by its cover”. Let's face it, in truth … we so do.
Undoubtedly, if it's your preferred author, you will purchase their newest release, whatever it appears like. If you're browsing the racks, looking for something brand-new to check out, then the immediate psychological response to the cover– whether it's mindful or subconscious– is inevitably essential to your choice to select it up and take an appearance.
In other words, covers act as a store front for each title, attracting readers with their visual appeal and meaning the stories within their pages. That indicates the skilled people who bring the very best covers to life are absolutely worth speaking to.
This is why we were eager to talk with Leah Jacobs-Gordon, a multi-disciplinary designer with an enthusiasm for illustration and an eager eye for fascinating style, who's dealt with more than 250 book covers to date.
Getting going
Born and raised in south London with Jamaican roots, Leah's love for the arts led the way for her profession in brand name and product packaging style. She has actually dealt with prominent brand names such as Cadbury, Mr. Kipling, and Philadelphia. Along with these endeavours, she's taken a specific niche as a freelance book designer, developing covers for a series of global publishers throughout different categories.
Her venture into book cover style started rather serendipitously. “Around 7 years earlier, I was a junior branding and key-art designer at my very first full-time style task, and discovered myself at a little a crossroads regarding which instructions I desired my profession to advance towards,” she remembers.
While dealing with projects for food, drink and publishing business, she was drawn to the twin appeals of book covers and product packaging style, which influenced her to obtain functions in both fields.
Eventually, however, she didn't require to pick. “My very first prospective catch remained in publishing, where I talked to with a little independent publisher,” she describes. “Although I made it to the last of interviews, due to the nature of the function, they chose to pick somebody else. They stated they enjoyed my work and asked if I would like to do self-employed work with them rather. Quickly after that, I ended up being a mid-weight product packaging designer, and I've been doing both professions at the same time since.”
Eventually, then, she has the very best of both worlds. “Although I like what I do, branding and product packaging style is so rooted in lasting, forward-thinking method, and the procedure can take months and months,” she describes. “However, with book cover style, I feel I can take advantage of my creative side a bit more.”
The flexibility of expression fundamental in book cover style is what genuinely mesmerizes Leah. “Of course, the book cover still requires to be clear and be aesthetically genre-identifiable to a customer, however it can likewise be abstract in a manner that is challenging to manage in branding,” she states.
