Photo Credit: Eman Ali

London Book Fair, an annual publishing event held in London open to both exhibitors and visitors interested in the publishing industry, has been held for over 50 years and continues to be ‘an essential part of the international book trade calendar and is the preeminent spring event of the publishing year.’ (London Book Fair, n.d.). This event helps to ‘set the tone’ for the year ahead in publishing and offers many insights and different points of view into different sides of the industry. In my opinion, one of the most valuable aspects of the event lies in the talks which are held during all three days of the event. While many talks at London Book Fair had much to offer, the Cover Meeting, which was held at Author HQ, had a palpable energy. I attribute this particular energy to the speakers giving the talk, Jack Smyth and Nico Taylor. Smyth is a Freelance Designer, while Taylor is a Literary Art Director. The talk ‘explored the role of the book cover in the ever-evolving publishing industry’ (London Book Fair, n.d.). Both speakers were clearly passionate about their work and how it goes from concept to final product. 

They explained that there are three main parts of the ‘journey’ of designing a book cover: process, context, and response. The first part being the process, or how the cover is made. They stated that the process is a collaborative one where you walk through step by step. One of the examples shown to the audience to demonstrate this first step was The Love Marriage by Monica Ali. Jack and Nico talked about how they received the manuscript and were given context for the book in order to inform their decisions when designing the book cover. They shared that one of the choices they often make in their design process is that they try to avoid telling too much of the story in the cover of the book, advice which they stressed to be very important to their audience. Another piece of advice which was given to the audience was to think of how the cover would look on a billboard and to ask yourself if the title and author name were removed, would it still feel like the same story?

The next part of the ‘journey’ is the context, which refers to the author, environment, or if the book is part of a series or a special edition. They stressed the idea that every book has different expectations around the cover design and that the look and feel of a book could be influenced from a previously published work, whether it be a standalone or a part of a series. Virago Classic books were given as the example of a series of books which all needed to have a similar theme and design. The process for this particular series was interesting as they wanted to celebrate each cover individually, while paying attention to the historical context behind the books. They aimed to use what they called ‘Virago green’ to connect all of the covers, but noticed that the shade of green wasn’t consistent throughout previous works which allowed them to stray from this parameter slightly. However, they stayed consistent in the typography and panel on each book while also making sure to have some interaction with the typography and image. Taylor mentioned that he had the opportunity to work on the Italo Calvino backlist and the new covers which were being designed. He began with looking at how the books have been contextualized in the past. Taylor advised the audience that if the parameters for a project are too tight, you don’t give yourself many options. In this specific case, they started with a grid layout for the design. They were able to stay consistent with this parameter, which allowed them to have an individual element exist in the center of each cover. He also noted that designers embrace the restrictions given to them as it was ultimately to their benefit when working on these books. 

The third and final part of the ‘journey’ is the response and how it pertains to the publisher, public, and internet. Both of the speakers stressed to the audience that once the cover is designed, the job doesn’t stop there. They mentioned that once the book cover is completed and on the market, mainstream publications such as the Bookseller and The Guardian may start to take notice and discuss the cover you’ve designed. This also pertains to book covers and how they can almost develop a life of their own, like with Normal People by Sally Rooney and the popularity that the cover itself gained after its release. Both speakers were also careful to note that while books and book covers are being noticed more on social media platforms, such as Tik Tok and Instagram, it’s important to not get sucked into trends when designing a cover. They shared this piece of advice as there seems to be a surplus of overly similar book covers flooding the market. 

Ultimately, I walked away feeling as if everyone who attended the event, professional or not, could take away something valuable. They showcased the importance of their profession and of the importance of book covers through all of the examples given during their talk. It was made clear just how important and worthwhile their talk was as showcased by the number of attendees both seated and waiting outside of Author HQ hoping to catch what Jack and Nico had to say. The real world examples which were brought in by the speakers made a notable difference in the audience’s understanding of the importance of book covers and the ‘journey’ which designers and publishers have to undergo to get to the final product. 

References:

About the london book fair (no date) A Global Marketplace. Available at: https://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/about.html (Accessed: 27 March 2024). 

Ali, E. (2022) School Book fair photography, Unsplash. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-table-full-of-books–xIWf2DUq0I (Accessed: 22 April 2024).

Smyth, J. and Taylor, N. (2024) ‘Cover Meeting’ The London Book Fair. Cover Meeting, London, 13 March.