How do book covers become iconic?
For publishers at least, an iconic cover is advantageous
If you Google “iconic book covers”, you’ll come across lists upon lists of famous covers that arguably, and in many cases rightfully, are iconic.
The Little Prince. The Great Gatsby. Fahrenheit 451. The Handmaid’s Tale. Jurassic Park. If you’ve heard of or seen these titles and their book covers before, then each of these book titles will surely evoke some kind of image in your mind.
But to say something is “iconic”, and not simply as a force of habit adopted from the internet, is subjective. Taste is specific to each person. People can have similar tastes and interests to such high degrees that marketers can approximate how to present something to appeal to audiences.
But, like any form of branding, book covers aren’t simply meant to signal to audiences what is familiar about a story they’ve never encountered before. They must also signal what is unique/different about it. What makes the story within, the story. Marketing materials balance appealing to audiences with communicating value, whether in the form of an idea, message, product, brand, or book cover.
But what makes an iconic book cover different from a beautiful book cover?
An iconic book cover is a distinct visual representation of the story that captures its essence in the simplest , clearest way possible with story-relevant, meaningful signs that entered mainstream consciousness*
Great book covers are visually appealing while meaningfully relevant to the stories they represent. Yet, not all great covers are recognised beyond the book community and can be recalled even without much exposure to it.
*Iconic covers will, of course, vary between societies and what is most recognised by the general public at a given time.
For the sake of this newsletter (and my sanity), I’m just gonna look at English titles. Let’s take a look at the books I listed above and list the most memorable and story-relevant parts of the covers (note—your top-of-mind recollection may differ depending on what edition you saw or remember best):
The Little Prince = a little boy on an asteroid staring out into space
The Great Gatsby = The eyes above a carnival
Fahrenheit 451 = a man made of paper is lit on fire, with books at his feet
The Handmaid’s Tale = the side, full body profile of a woman in a red dress and a white cap^
Jurassic Park = a T-rex skeleton
What about more contemporary examples?
Twilight = a pair of pale arms cupping a red apple
The Hunger Games = a mockingbird holding an arrow in its beak
The Hate U Give = a black girl obscured by the large sign she holds, containing the title
A Little Life = a man squashing his eyes shut, resting his cheek against the back of a hand, his expression blurring the line between euphoric pleasure or pain (the famous Orgasmic Man photo, taken by the late Peter Hujar)
^I found this blog post on the various THT book covers that have been released!
Is an iconic cover necessary for a book’s success?
This is a marketing and sales question. Publishing is, after all, a business.
I’d say: no.
Again, what makes a cover “iconic”—enduringly memorable and unqiue, even for non-readers—is subjective.
It’s important to have a good cover, one that fairly aligns with genre expectations while sets up reader’s expectations for what is different about a specific book and that visually effective (which made include looking aesthetically pleasing). Certain styles of book covers tend to be paired with certain genres, which means some genres may be “more inclined” to look more timeless and become “iconic.” But then again, any book cover of any genre can look iconic.
Having or creating an iconic book cover is not necessary but it can certainly help.
It’s a business, after all.
How to tell if a cover is going to be iconic or memorable for the public?
Genuinely? Hard to say. So many factors have to be considered. The quality and impactfulness of the story within, the book’s marketing budget, the design itself, the external environment it was released in. Save for budget, I think the other three factors I just mentioned are probably the most critical.
A good design attracts attention from the right audience.
A good story reveals how the cover supports the book and is stimulating and pleasurable enough to warrant positive judgment, word-of-mouth, and rereads. In the long term, a good story’s reputation would allow it to be adopted and read by even more people, allowing it to gain popularity, enter public consciousness, and stay there.
The social and political environment when a book is released might influence people’s perception and interests in topics related to the book, which would affect their desire to pick up the book, find it as they are searching for other things, or spread the word about it.
Whew! Book marketing doesn’t sound easy, when you break it down like this. If you’re a reader, just kick back, relax, and comment all you like about the book covers you see. If you’re a book cover illustrator or designer, maybe these are elements you’ve considered while creating the book cover.
Anyways, are there any covers you think would or should be immortalised in mainstream consciousness? What makes a cover “iconic” to you? Let me know what you think.
Until next time!
Psst—I’d check out LitHub’s 2021 best covers if I were you. Some of the covers features truly are iconic-worthy.
Book cover credits (according to the featured editions)
The Little Prince (Harcourt)
Cover illustrator: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Great Gatsby (Charles Scribner’s Sons)
Cover illustrator: Francis Cugat
Fahrenheit 451 (Simon & Schuster)
Cover illustrator: Joseph Mugnaini
The Handmaid’s Tale (Vintage Books)
Cover designer: Suzanne Dean
Cover illustrator: Noma Bar
See the interview Noma did about designing THE TESTAMENTS, THT’s sequel
Jurassic Park (Alfred A. Knopf)
Cover designer & illustrator: Chip Kidd
Twilight (Little, Brown and Company)
Cover designer: Gail Doobinin
Cover photographer: Roger Hagadone
The Hunger Games (Scholastic)
Cover designer & illustrator: Tim O’Brien
The Hate U Give (HarperCollins)
Cover designer: Jenna Stempel-Lobell
Cover illustrator: Debra Cartwright
Check out Jenna’s interview on the cover!
A Little Life (Doubleday)
Cover designer: Cardon Webb
Cover photographer: Peter Hujar