User:Mrandall06/Cover Art

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Book Cover[edit]

A book cover is usually made up of images (illustrations, photographs, or a combination of both) and text. It usually includes the book title and author and can also include (but not always) a book tagline or quote. The book cover design is usually designed by a graphic designer or book designer, working in-house at a publisher or freelance. Once the front cover art has been approved, they will then continue to design the layout of the spine (including the book title, author name and publisher imprint logo) and the back cover (usually including a book blurb and sometimes the barcode and publisher logo). Books can be designed as a set of series or as an individual design. Very commonly the same book will be designed with a different cover in different countries to suit the specific audience. For example, a cover designed for Australia may have a completely different design in the UK and again in the USA.


The Great Gatsby, one of the most recognizable book covers in American literature, shows two sad female eyes (and bright red lips) adrift in the deep blue of a night sky, hover ominously above a skyline that glows like a carnival.  This design still adorns the cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece 88 years after its debut. The iconic cover art was created by Spanish artist Francis Cugat.  With the release of a big Hollywood movie, however, some printings of the book have abandoned the classic cover in favor of one that ties in more closely with the film.  

The Great Gatsby Book Cover 1925