Contact support

We’ll reply to your email in few hours.

Agree with personal data processing. For more info please consult our privacy policy.

Get custom offer

We’ll send a custom offer directly to your email in a few hours.

Agree with personal data processing. For more info please consult our privacy policy.

Become a partner

Agree with personal data processing. For more info please consult our privacy policy.

How to use Getcovers

1. Choose your package

2. After choosing a package, you’ll be redirected to our client portal. Add extra services to your order and complete checkout (we offer 100% money back guarantee)

3. Click on “Start the order” in your client dashboard. Fill in a book cover design brief and our managers will contact you to confirm the order.

Cookbook Cover Design Ideas for Indie Authors

Anastasia
6 minute read
30.12.2020

Working on the cookbook & recipes cover design, but have no idea where to start?

We’ve got your back.

We’ve put together the most common cookbook cover design ideas to whet your appetite.

Keep reading to find more about photo-based, bordered, celebrity, text-oriented, and conceptual culinary book covers.

Let’s get cooking.

Cookbook cover design ideas

Below you’ll find tips and ideas on the typography, color palette, and images for your culinary book covers design. Wait, it gets so much better. We’ve also attached gorgeous examples and best practices of the cookbook & recipes covers. 

It’s time to chow down!

Photo-based cookbook covers

Want to awaken your readers’ appetite? The best way to do so is tossing in the actual photos of delicious food as a centerpiece of your cookbook and recipes cover design. 

  • Use bright, vivid colors to feature the flavors and hint at the dish’s freshness and unforgettable taste. Make the cover design look as realistic as possible so that the readers will immediately picture the meal (or its ingredients) on their dining table. The color palette should make the image pop. Don’t be shy: highlight that deep purple eggplant, yellow mango smoothie, or strawberry cheesecake that melts in the mouth. 
  • You might want to mix some handwritten fonts, like Sophia or Merienda, with the classy ones. They are a great weapon of choice when it comes to evoking a homie and cozy feeling. 
  • Since we’re looking into a photo-based cookbook cover design, the name speaks for itself. Make sure you use only high-quality, realistic, and licensed photographs. Stick to the same style, and try not to overload the culinary book cover with too many pictures of different food types. 

Take a look at these delicious examples of photo-based covers. Grab a napkin, it will get messy!

Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of "Sushi Book" Photo-based cookbook design idea on the example of "Genius Recipes" Photo-based cookbook design idea on the example of John Coletta's "Risotto & Beyond"
Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of Dustin Harder's "the Simply Vegan Cookbook"  Photo-based cookbook cover design ideas on the example of Stacie E. Cook and David M Milligan's "Biig Book of Side Dishes"  Photo-based cookbook cover design idea on the example of Sara Haas's "Taco! Taco! Taco!"

Bordered cookbook cover

We’re going to unfold some secrets of an all-time-favorite cookbook and recipe covers technique. The idea is simple: all you have to do is place the large title in the middle and surround it with the stunning food images. The end result should have food graphics bordering the text, thus the name. 

  • It’s best to use neutral background colors for the title space. As a result, you can go all bright and colorful on the actual food images. This technique will allow you to have enough contrast and create a pleasant aesthetic balance in the cover design.
  • We’d recommend using bold and robust typography for your title and experimenting with the additional text on the front cover. It might also be a good idea to mix the font colors a bit. Don’t get carried away, though: two contrasting font shades are more than enough.
  • The sky is your limit. You can use photos or illustrations of already-made dishes or their ingredients. It all depends on what cuisine and diet you’re representing. If your recipes are based on vegan & vegetarian food choices, images of uncooked components will make more sense. However, if you’re representing some authentic cuisine, like Asian or Middle-Eastern, you’ll have better chances of piquing your readers’ interest by showcasing mouth-watering exotic dishes.

How about some design inspirations? Here are some finger-licking bordered cookbook covers.

Bordered design for cookbook covers on the example of Gail and Raul Piazza's "Recipes for Repair" Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of "The Soup Book" Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of Molly Krebs's "Eat More Plants"
Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of Julie Andrews's "The Simple Soups" Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of "Double Awesome Chinese Food" Photo-based design for cookbook covers on the example of "The School Year Survival Cookbook"

Celebrity cookbook cover

As the name suggests, this culinary book design idea is not exclusively about what is cooking, but rather who is. In this case, the unique selling point of the cookbook switches to the celebrity behind it. Is it a movie star, a well-known chef, or an industry expert? Let’s find out. 

  • Obviously, the front cover will feature the celebrity in question, so most probably, you’re going to go with a photo design. An excellent trick is to use green, orange, and yellow pastel shades since they tend to stir up a hunger. Besides, these colors are among the most popular in kitchen interior design. We want your cookbook and recipes cover design to look realistic, remember? So why not try to transfer the reader into a familiar environment?
  • Opt for simple typography not to steal the attention from the main hook of the cover design, your celebrity. Coolvetica or Brilon fonts will help you grace the cover design.
  • Don’t fall down the common trap of thinking that it’s enough just to get a picture of the celebrity on your cookbook cover. Not really. Make sure that everything in your images shouts about food as well. Feature the person cooking, holding the ingredients, wearing a chef’s hat, stirring the dish, etc. 

Check out these awesome celebrity covers and try not to act starstruck!

Celebrity on a cookbook covers on the example of Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Fun with Food" Celebrity on a cookbook covers on the example of Giada De Laurentis's "Weeknights with Giada" Celebrity on a cookbook covers on the example of Stanley Tucci's "The Tucci Table"
Celebrity on a cookbook covers on the example of Kristin Caballari "True Roots" Celebrity on a cookbook covers on the example of Rocco Dispirito "Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet" Cookbook cover design idea with celeebrity on the example of Zac Posen's "Cooking with Zac"

Text-oriented cookbook cover

Now, we’re talking. This is what we call using the power of a written word. All you have to do is turn the content into the main visual aid of your cookbook and recipes cover design. It’ll be best to stick to a minimalist design not to overwhelm potential readers.

  • You might want to pick two dominant colors and experiment slightly with their shades, textures, and gradients. Stay away from grey, brown, purple, and blue. They tend to suppress appetite. Instead, see what can be done with turquoise, yellow, green, orange, and red combinations.
  • Pay as much attention as possible to the typography if you’re going with a text-oriented book cover design. You might want to test decorative typography for your title and subtitle to attract the readers’ attention at the very first glance. For the rest of the text, the evergreen simplicity is a go-to.
  • Let’s get this straight. You’re either not going to use any images whatsoever or implement some tiny ones (illustrations or vector-based) to avoid the risk of being misunderstood. Keep in mind that fruit and vegetable pictures look much better on a small scale than meat, stews, and other prepared dishes.

Let’s try to read between the lines while admiring the outstanding text-oriented cookbook covers.

Text-oriented cookbook cover design on the example of Irma and Marion Rombauers'"Joy of Cooking" Text-oriented cookbook cover design idea on the example of Mikkel Karstad's "Cook Natural Flavours from Nordic Kitchen" Text-oriented cookbook cover design on the example of Dara Goldstein's "Fire + Ice "
Text-oriented cookbook cover design on the example of Wendy Rowe's "Eat Beautiful" Text-oriented cookbook cover design on the example of Ivan Okrin and Crhis Ying's "Japanese Recipes form a Chef, Father..." Cookbook cover ideas

Conceptual cookbook covers

The conceptual design style is absolutely fabulous if your culinary book covers a certain niche. Let’s say cocktails, keto diet, cupcakes or macaroons only, and so on. A good idea is to implement a modern and stylish design to make the cover look up-to-date.

  • The choice of colors is directly related to the topic you cover. Desserts recipes will work better with pastel or chick-lit color schemes, while party food will require darker tints and shades to represent the mood.
  • One of the best ideas would be to use an illustrated book cover design. It’ll help to evoke the right emotions and set a perfect tone. Make sure the design is well-balanced, cool, and rich. Use your imagination and win over your readers.
  • Illustrated typography might be exactly what you’re looking for. Custom illustrated fonts give a unique touch to your cookbook and recipe cover design. Besides, it’s a growing trend in the industry, which will help your book cover look fresh and voguish. 

Keep your finger on the pulse and take a closer look at the conceptual designs. 

Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of "Creative Cooking" Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of Laura Barlett and Hannah Sinclair's"The Carb Party Diet" Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of Laura Mason's "The Picninc Cookbook"
Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of Mrs Drink's "Hello! 101 Margarita Recipes" Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of Zoe and Andy Harcombes' "The Recipe book" Conceptualcookbook cover design on the example of Mary Lee Taylor's "Cookbook for Young Moderns"

Wrapping up

You are now one step closer to the delicious cookbook & recipes cover design that will win over every foody’s heart.

Bon Appetit!

Which cookbook cover design idea impressed you the most? What else would you like to learn? Drop all of your questions in the comments section below, and we’ll be right back with you.

 

 

 

Join our newsletter and get 20% off your order
You'll get only useful tips and be the first to know about special deals and discounts
*you can choose more than one option
Anastasia
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

On a tight budget?

Check out what we offer for just $10-$35

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x