It is the cover that makes the first contact with your readers. And the message and mood of the cover communicate with the readers. The cover design tells them whether the book will excite them or not. So, are you wondering how to design an exciting book cover that effectively conveys the essence of the book? This blog will give you a peek into the book cover trends of 2022 to inspire you. 

2022 Book Cover Trends 

There were around 825.7 million print books sold in the year 2021 by U.S. publishers. As the pandemic kept people at home reading habits have changed across the globe. 

Just the increase in the number of people who read books, there has also been an increase in the number of people who write and publish their own books. In fact, among the total ebook sales in the year 2020, 30-34% of them were self-published. 

So, if you are planning to self-publish your book, take a look at the book cover trends and see which ones you can use for your book. 

1. Custom illustrations 

Ideas that are sometimes hard to comprehend look simpler with illustrations. And illustrations also have the power to capture difficult emotions that sometimes summarize the book. So, using illustrations lets you paint the most accurate picture of your book. 

Truth be told, illustrations almost never go out of style, especially in the case of book covers. And with illustrations, you have the flexibility to get as creative as you like. 

In the case of fiction, you can use an illustration of a critical scene in the story or even the illustration of the protagonists. And in the case of non-fiction books, you can use simple illustrations that convey the theme or the genre. 

Is your book fun or insightful? Will it make people nostalgic or take them on a journey to an imaginary world? Whatever be the mood, whatever the theme, illustrations can powerfully convey it. 

Kimp Tip: There are several types of illustrations that look relevant on a book cover. Be sure to explore them all to understand which one resonates with your writing style. When done right, you can extend the illustration theme from your cover design onto your marketing materials for promoting the book as well. 

Looking for custom illustrations to go on your book covers and marketing visuals? Kimp Graphics bundles them all. 

2. The use of handwritten/hand-drawn fonts

Typography has a huge role to play in the first impression the book creates. Orignal fonts and hand-drawn scripts have a charm of their own. An authentic font style can also be a representation of the authentic concept in your book.

Hand-drawn fonts capture creativity. And they are perfect for personalizing the overall look to suit your needs. When you have to show how fun or vibrant your book is, you can always add a subtle bounce to the letters or add swashes for a touch of elegance. 

And when you need it, you can also create retro styles in hand-lettering. Since these fonts do not look like the standard fonts in the commercial font libraries, they will make your book stand out. 

3. Less is more in cover design 

Minimalism has a steady spot in the world of design. In a bookrack filled with colorful covers and text-heavy designs, a minimalistic book cover will definitely gather all the attention it deserves. 

You can also use minimalism in book cover design as a way to show how you powerfully utilize your words to convey the intended information in a crisp and straightforward fashion. 

Minimalism is easy on the eyes. So, it can be a welcoming visual for a book. If you want to use photos and other visual elements but still keep the design minimalistic, you can do so by using light colors or monochromatic color schemes. 

Another way to follow this book cover design trend for 2022 will be to smartly use negative spaces. This way you can also get people to take a look at the critical sections on your book cover, without clutter. 

4. Photos to draw attention 

Real-world photos add more depth to your design. For people who are used to looking at their gadgets, rich visuals on a book cover can be easy to relate to. 

For some categories like recipe books or even books on interior designs and home styling, photos are indispensable. When you cannot capture the idea in a single photo, you can also use photo collages. 

When you use photos, remember to build the background and the font styles around them. Try blending the accent colors or font styles to seamlessly blend with the style of the photographs. 

Kimp Tip: When you have to use photos on your book cover, stay away from stock images. Using authentic photos will make the book look more credible. 

Wondering how to edit the layout to make your photos attention-grabbers on your book cover? Book a call with the Kimp Team and we’ll tell you the many ways to design a book cover with real photos. 

5. Real faces for humanizing the book 

In most cases, real photos of natural scenes or rooms or flat-lays work. But in some cases, adding photos with people in it will be a better choice. And this is something that we have seen quite often in recent years. So, even for authors looking to design their book covers in the year 2022, this is a trend to try. 

Photos of people are the most appropriate choices in biographies and memoirs. It can also be used when the book is about team building or interpersonal skills and other such topics. 

If you think adding real human faces will be the best way to humanize your book, then you can definitely give it a try this year. And if you wish to get creative here, you can also superimpose the image onto the background or use a caricature instead of the real photograph. 

6. A small dose of retro 

Retro styles were quite popular in 2021 and they are likely to appear in more books this year as well. If an entirely nostalgic cover design feels incoherent with the theme of your book or your style of writing, you can always add some vintage elements. 

Pop art and vector illustrations with a touch of vintage elements can also add a new dimension to your book cover. 

7. Cleaner and more practical typefaces

Gadget use puts a strain on your readers’ eyes already. You want to be sure that they can read the text on your book cover without straining their eyes further. And so, more practical designs with cleaner and more legible fonts are being used by most authors. 

For this, you need to choose the right typeface and also the right kerning or spacing between each letter. This makes your title, tagline and other text content on the cover easier to read. 

8. Silhouettes

While adding photos and illustrations helps convey the information straightly, if you wish to evoke an aura of mystery, silhouettes work better. 

We have been seeing different types of silhouettes on book covers. Some are shadow images of the real character illustrations and others are clean line drawings. This sets the mood and gives just enough information to keep readers guessing what the book is about without giving it all away. 

9. A flavor of nature

A lot of books these days come with trees, plants, flowers, and natural scenery. After all, what better than snippets from nature to please a reader’s eyes. 

And when you choose these elements you can combine them with the above concepts like illustrated florals or real-world photos of beautiful landscapes, and even botanical line drawing for a minimalist cover design. 

Knowing that these are some of the trends that are likely to be seen in the world of book cover designs, let’s also talk about some quick-fire pointers on how to implement these ideas for real. 

Implementing Your Idea for a Book Cover Design 

Even if you have chosen the trend you will like to implement, you should be sure that you incorporate it into the design without deviating from what your book is about. If there is no correlation between your writing style, the story or the concept of the book, or even the characters in it, then the cover will not make much of an impact after all. 

Start by identifying the objective of your book cover design. Among all the books stacked on the bookshelves, what draws people to your particular book? That’s the question you should be asking. And if you cannot answer this, it means that your book cover design does not have a strong visual hook. 

There should be an element of intrigue that encourages them to actually take a look inside. Your powerful words and unique writing style can take it from there. But for people to notice the book, the cover design comes first. And this also includes the text you add to the cover. 

The title and author’s name are indispensable details. But do not leave it there. Try describing the value your book offers in a single line. Or quote reviews from readers and critics that capture the strengths of the book, in case it is a republication. Author details will also be valuable insights to let people know why they should trust what the author has to say.   

The overall design should be such that the reader instantly identifies the genre and connects with the theme of the book. 

And What About Ebooks? 

For ebooks, you can extrapolate the above design ideas we discussed. But there are a few key differences to keep in mind:

• You do not have both front and back covers to present the outlined information. Since it’s only the front cover that people see, you will have to be careful about the layout. And just because you have less space, do not try to cram too much information. You should still keep it crisp but with captivating visuals.
• And talking about visuals, you need to be extra careful in the case of an ebook cover design. The time it takes for people to quickly scroll past your ebook in an online list will be much less than the time it takes for their eyes to skim through the bookshelves and pick a book. The visuals, therefore, should be strong enough to reel in their attention. Metaphors, bright colors, you know the drill. Make it bold and beautiful.
• Because there will be no physical book to hold, you cannot compromise on the size and shape of the cover. Try to mimic the authentic rectangular design and feel of a physical book. 
• Do not hesitate to look for inspiration from other ebooks in your genre. 
• The thumbnail size in which your ebook cover will be displayed varies from one site to another. So, you need to be double sure that the text, at least the hero text that is meant to draw people in, is legible on a small scale. 
• When it comes to colors, most online ebook stores have a white website background color. So, an ebook cover with a predominantly white color scheme might sometimes be missed. Hence, if it is an ebook-only release, then try to incorporate colored backgrounds for the cover design. 

Explore the Year’s Book Cover Trends With Kimp Graphics 

When you have a rough idea of how you want your book cover design to look, communicate your thoughts with your designer. Details like the emotions your book evokes or the incidents and inspirations for the book help conjure the right visuals for the cover. And with this, not just your book, but also your book cover will tell a beautiful story to your readers. With all the design services included in a Kimp Graphics subscription, you can work on your cover design, ads, flyers, and other promotional materials for your book all at a flat rate. 

Register now for a free trial of our unlimited design services.