Texture & Morgan Swain

Texture can also play into making the most of the physical book. For example, spot gloss can enhance a particular part of your design - and perhaps the shininess would attract the viewer! The physical book can be picked up and handled, so designers can make the most of that by introducing textures into their designs, encouraging the viewer to pick up the book for a closer look and feel.
 

Morgan Swain's suggested redesigns for classic Roald Dahl books reconfirm this theory. She makes use of the book's cover by giving them the appearance of a physical object. George's Marvellous Medicine looks like a medicine container, with the introduction of a prescription label and the shiny, green texture of a plastic bottle. This texture particularly stands out to me from Swain's collection. The book is so glossy that it catches the light and shines. Already I want to hold the book, to work out its texture and what technique has been used to achieve this appearance. The hand-drawn typography across the label also adds a carefree stroke to the cover.

James and the Giant Peach, meanwhile, resembles the appearance of – you've guessed it – a peach! The orange and gold colouring of the cover adds a fuzzy texture that neatly resembles that of a peach. I could find no further information regarding how these books have been produced and have to wonder if a texture has been used or if the peach colouring is in fact matt. It seems to me that when you hold it the book it would be as fuzzy as a peach. However, I can see that a spot gloss has been used to reinforce the appearance of the peaches' label, cleverly converted to display the title of the book and the author's name. Without this glossy label, the book was certainly appear less like the peach it is trying to mimic.

The next book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, seems to be the one with least texture being used, though the shadows of the chocolate wrapper almost give the appearance of a book jacket. I think that could be a wonderful idea – remove the jagged chocolate wrapping book jacket to perhaps reveal the golden ticket beneath? Perhaps the designer could have further made use of the physical book by such a technique. However, this design is still utterly enticing. The typography reveals the era in which the book is set, as does the “packaging” of the chocolate bar. 

To conclude, texture is another selling tool that can be used in book design, especially when it comes to the physical copy of the book. These designs would not be nearly as impressive seen on a screen, for you wouldn't be able to pick them up to feel their unusual textures. 

References: 

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2013/june/talent-spotters-norwich-ua

http://morganswain.co.uk/