Surely you have heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but I have to confess that I do—and especially graphic designers do. And the thing is, a book cover is its letter of introduction. Of course, there are titles and writers who could have a blank cover and still be read, but outside of bestsellers and major authors, a book cover is that first impression in which you try to capture the reader’s attention and welcome them into the story. It has to have a visual stimulus interesting enough for that book to be chosen among all the others. And yes, I confess, I am guilty—I have ended up reading books precisely because their cover caught my attention before their synopsis, because I found the design so compelling that I wanted to know what was hiding inside.

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With this confession, I begin this series of blog posts dedicated to analyzing book covers that I have liked and whose stories have also remained in my heart. From the point of view of someone who loves colour and who remembers things more by their colours, forms and textures than by their names, I will try to take a journey through the shapes, symbols, and sensations that a good design can express.

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Design is a language, and not a simple one. A colour, a specific font, an icon—each of them can have different meanings or symbolism depending on how they are presented, how they interact with each other and other visual elements, and even in different countries and cultural contexts. Just as the translator’s job is to translate a story into another language while preserving the author’s emotions and intentions, the designer’s job is to visually interpret the same story preserving the same emotions and intentions.

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No spoilers below - I think ;)