In an era defined by short attention spans, the game of trying to sell books is more complicated than ever. As a result, the book cover has become the publishing industry’s trustiest tool. Whether in a bookstore or on TikTok, a cover has to tell an 80,000-word story through a compact image and snatch attention, even if for a few milliseconds.
What do book cover trends—from swirling, abstract blobs to sunrise colours—have to say about how we choose our stories? And how do designers navigate a business where their art is used to sell books in an increasingly inattentive market? The Walrus held a roundtable with book designers Ingrid Paulson (a freelancer), Emma Dolan (Penguin Random House Canada), and Jazmin Welch (Arsenal Pulp Press) to find out the methods behind the design of contemporary covers.
