Where does the design of a children’s book cover begin? Lewis Caroll in his “Alice in Wonderland” once said:
What is the use of a book without pictures?
It sums up the main principle in the children’s book cover design: use images and illustrations to draw young readers’ attention. However, you also need to pay attention to market research, colors, and typography to end up with the design that kids will not be able to walk pass.
In this article, we will explain to you how to master the children’s book cover design and capture childhood magic.
And the fun part is that we’ve also collected outstanding examples of the children’s book cover design ideas to boost your imagination.
Let’s get to it!
Keep reading to learn how to choose the perfect illustration, fonts, and colors appropriate for your target age group. We guarantee that young readers will become all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
On your marks, get set, go!
It’s time to address the elephant in the room and start with the first and most important rule in children’s book cover design. The book cover MUST be appropriate for its age group. That’s the key factor to take into consideration before you even start coming up with design ideas. We’ve put together some tips and tricks for book covers suitable for toddlers, school children, and teenagers.
Let’s take a closer look.
If you’re reading this, most probably, your target audience is children who can not read yet. The purpose of the book is to entertain them through lively images and teach some small lessons. For example, good manners or compassion and forgiveness. Some of these books also cover the school program’s basics, like counting and learning the ABCs. Keep in mind that the book’s interior design should include images and illustrations, and just little text blocks. That takes a bit of the pressure away from the front book cover design too.
Chances are, in this category, the children start picking books in the bookstore on their own. The age might vary from first grade all the way to middle school. If you’re dealing with slightly older kids, your book might not have any additional images inside, which turns your book cover design into the lead attention-grabbing tool. Unless it’s children’s non-fiction like an encyclopedia, steer clear from photo-based design. Illustrations still remain a go-to.
Though, you might want to make your characters less childish and more cartoonish and real. You can also add some additional details – don’t be afraid of creating a busy book cover design. However, decide what will serve as the eye-catching hook in your cover design. Your main purpose is to intrigue the young readers and turn your book cover into a treasure hunt.
Besides, you might start dealing with a series book cover design here. Things to keep in mind include:
It’s extremely important to analyze and research current market trends, needs, and expectations to create a fantastic children’s book cover to hook teenagers. Think about it: your book will probably cover a bit more complex topics, such as first love, friendship, peer pressure, family conflicts, fashion, etc. Check what’s being done around you and what are the “hot” and “cool” trends in the market niche.
Now that you have a better idea of which design layout will be best for your age group, let’s talk more about all the cheerful colors, fonts, and illustrations in children’s book cover design.
An excellent idea for children’s book cover design is to toss in some lively and jolly letters and fonts to tell the readers what a fun adventure they are about to start.
Here are a few ideas for the fonts for your children’s book cover design:
Use vivid and dazzling colors that attract children and their parents, and make your cover design impossible to miss. Young readers who just started discovering the world are more likely to associate their learning objects (including books) with everyday life. That’s why many book cover designers try to turn the cover itself into a so-called learning block.
However, make sure you do proper research, if you’re covering a niche topic, to avoid sending the wrong message.
According to color theory and psychology, these color combinations are best for the children’s book cover design.
Based on your age group research, find out what types of images, illustrations, and ornaments, your readers will not walk past. Use that knowledge to turn pictures into an attention-grabbing and appealing visual element of your design. In the children’s book cover design, most of the time, the win-win situation would be to turn the image into your central design element.
Hope we managed to steer some light on the children’s book cover design ideas. All you have to do is hint that your book cover will open the door to the adventures of a lifetime.
Which children’s book cover design did you like the most?
Let us know in the comments section below.