You don’t have deja vu, modern book covers all look way too similar.
If you’ve seen one modern romance book, chances are you’ve seen them all. The book has a 2D, minimalist drawing of a girl and a boy, the title curled around them in a cursive font, all set on top of a colorful background. It seems like there are hundreds of books that fit this description, and they just keep coming.
The History of Book Covers
Book covers have heavily evolved throughout history. Images did not even appear on the front of books until near the end of the 19th century. Before that, many books were leather-bound specifically for the patron’s library.
Before 1830, most books had blank fabric jackets with the title printed into the spine. At this point, book covers were purely for protection, not for advertising the book’s content. Toward the end of the 19th century, book jackets and wrappers began to showcase illustrations describing the novel.
Around the 1920s, the paper dust jackets that used to simply protect the book’s binding were now printed with designs. When the paperback was invented in 1935, book cover designs truly began to take off with books being more affordable and attainable to the masses.
With book covers becoming a crucial part of advertising and selling novels, publishers began to get creative with their designs. The general aesthetic of book covers has shifted over the decades. The 1960s typically featured minimalist designs with small titles. The 70s showcased more vivid graphics, and in the 80s titles became larger and bolder. In the 90s, covers utilized more abstract art styles and darker color schemes.
Romance Books
The current trend of romance novels is one of the most easily apparent examples of similar cover designs. What is it about these covers that have made them so popular?
The simple drawings and bright colors are inherently eye-catching. For readers new to romance novels, the minimalist illustrations can seem less intimidating than a buff, shirtless man decorating the front cover. They can also be less embarrassing to read in public. These modern romance novels have the same steamy plots but have covers that present themselves as less explicit.
Some people think that these covers can be misleading, presenting the story as innocent and fun when the reality is much more intense. Writing a story with explicit adult content and then covering it with a fun illustrated cover can misrepresent the story within.
Fantasy Books
Romance novels aren’t the only genre being influenced by the apocalypse of book cover conformity. Another prominent example is fantasy book covers.
Many modern fantasy books feature dark and mysterious imagery. The text is often centered, with a gothic and stylized font. The words are surrounded by metallic or glowing images, often curling vines or flowers.
This format is easily repeated and does not reveal much about the actual content of the book.
Modern Fiction Books
The same can be said for the notorious “blob” cover. Many modern fiction books and memoirs have covers that are little more than bright blobs of color. The covers are filled with geometric shapes in colors like bright pink, mustard yellow, electric blue, and shamrock green. The text is often a white, all-caps, bolded font centered in the middle of the blobs.
This cover trend has dominated bookshelves and algorithms. Despite revealing almost nothing about the story itself, these designs are thriving. One possible reason may be that the covers still look good in miniature. Fine details aren’t as visible on online marketplaces or social media, but the bright colors and thick text can be easily deciphered at any size, on any screen.
Why Do Book Covers Look So Similar Now?
Today, book covers are largely influenced by the internet and social media. Bookstores and libraries are not as popular as they used to be. The vast majority of books are now sold online. Because of this, one of the primary goals of book covers is to look good in miniature.
On online marketplaces such as Amazon, books are shown as thumbnails. This requires the cover to be easily identifiable and striking at smaller sizes.
Book promotion is also dominated by online techniques. Authors and publishers promote their books on Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms. Because of this, book covers are made to be easily clickable. They are intended to easily fit into a user’s algorithm.
Rachel Ake Keuch, a cover designer for Random House explained, “…the current book cover trend is highly influenced by what publishers and sales teams think is ‘Instagram-friendly.’” If a book cover goes too far outside the box, social media algorithms may not share it as effectively.
Is The Art of Book Covers Dead?
Do avid readers just have to accept that book covers will continue to be less interesting and artistic? Are book covers going to keep getting more and more similar until they all look identical?
Trends come and go. The things that are popular now will not be popular forever. Maybe the future will see a resurgence in creative book covers. Maybe our screens will keep getting smaller and smaller until those digital book covers are nothing but a small square of text.
There is no way to predict what the future will bring, but nothing lasts forever. In the meantime, take the extra step to seek out unique books. Countless incredible books may not get the recognition they deserve because their cover is not “Instagram-friendly.”
Bringing attention to unique illustrations that may be flying under the radar can help revitalize the creative art of book cover design.
