Waterstones Experiment

I decided to try an experiment, regarding what type of book cover attracts a person.

To start, three other friends and I went to Waterstones book shop. I told the three to browse the shelves, pick up books to have a closer look if they wanted to and to select two books which ultimately caught their interest. I also told them to not be distracted by author or genre – this experiment was on the book cover alone.

My Choice

As we set off to browse the shelves, I found two book covers that I appreciated.

The first book was The Norfolk Mystery by Ian Sansom. I could find no indication to who the illustrator was. Inside the book it only said, Typeset by Birdy Book Design. 

What I liked about the design was the sweep of the road, which halves the page in the most attractive way. It gives the eye something to look at. By following the line of the road, you are first drawn to the title and the illustration of the car. Next you follow the road to see the author's name and the blue background. You follow the road to the top of the book and then you have to open it – to see what happens next. The colours are minimal – blue, black and yellow has been used – and I found them immediately attractive and complimentary to each other. 

The next book that caught my eye was Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. This has been designed by Mick Brownfield. 

What attracted me to this book was that it is 3D! 3D glasses are even included inside. See my next post for more information on this book cover.

Kirstine's Choice

My friends had also selected their two books. Kirstine made the fastest selection. She is twenty-two and an English Literature student. The books she selected were Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth and Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl.

I was pleased to see that Kirstine had selected two very similar books... both with a yellow and black colour theme. When I pointed this out, she was surprised to note that this was true; she had not been aware of her decision. Yellow and black are colours often combined, especially when it comes to warning signs. Therefore, it is likely that they continue to stand out to us, even when on book covers.

Kirstine explained that she chose the books because she liked their simplicity (this simplicity perhaps because their minimal colour scheme), while she also liked the silhouette seen on Bitter Greens. With paper-cuts growing in popularity, there seems to be more silhouetted images coming into existence. I personally love the bold look that they accomplish.

Zoe's Choice

Next, was Zoe, who is twenty-eight and studying Graphic Design and Illustration. I had therefore expected her to go for a more design-orientated cover, which she did. Her selections were Wild Abandon by Joe Dunthorne and Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.

Wild Abandon contained strong typography, which immediately catches the eye. The combination of bright colours – purple, yellow and red – on a plain white background is also striking. 

With Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Zoe admitted to be attracted to geometric shapes, which this book certainly makes use of. It was interesting to see this selection of Zoe's, for Kirstine said that she did not like this cover, as it made her feel dizzy. Nonetheless, it was certainly a cover that stood out to anyone passing by, which seems to be half the battle in bookshops. 

Alyson's Choice

Alyson, another English literature student, 20 years old, selected He Lover of Death by Boris Akunin and Adam Roberts: Short Stories by – you guessed it - Adam Roberts.

He Lover of Death was another example of only a few bold colours being used. This book cover uses red, white and black, a well-used combination that never fails to attract attention. The decoration frame around the book also draws the viewer immediately into the title and image. Alyson said that she liked the gothic feel to this book cover.

Her next selection had a very vintage appearance, reminiscence of old sci-fi movie posters. Alyson said she liked the cartoon style of this cover, perhaps expressed in the spiky speech bubble that displays the text, “Short Stories”. 

 

I really enjoyed doing this “experiment”. A few things I noticed were:

- It seems that the combination of only a few bold colours is very appealing to the viewer. ALL of us chose one book that contained only two or three strong colours.

- Simplicity of image was another occurring feature.

- All of us picked books that were either from shelves or displayed on stands. The problem with having a book on a shelf is that the viewer can only see the spine. Therefore, the spine should also remain a selling tool.