Dear Readers,
i know how these posts go. i tell you i'm about to unveil the full book jacket for BUTTER, and you scroll straight past anything i write here to the picture. so let me save you the strain of scrolling and just say, TA DA!!!
CLICK THE PICTURE FOR A LARGER LOOK!
guys, i am over the moon about this jacket. i love the butter yellow of the inside flaps, the little pop of color on the back and the tiny butter dishes on the spine. as i've said before
in this vlog, i think the spine may be the most important part.
so who designed this awesome thing anyway?! well, her name is Regina Roff, associate designer at Bloomsbury Children's Books, and she generously agreed to give an interview here on the blog today!
Welcome, Regina!
Where do you begin when starting a cover design, and how
does the process evolve from there?
Cover design doesn't always begin in the same way for every
project, but ideally (at least for me) I get the pitch of the book from the
editor, decide I want to tackle it, read the manuscript, come up with an idea,
execute and refine the idea, and then BOOM, book cover. :)
How many concepts did you go through for BUTTER, or did
you have a specific vision at the start?
BUTTER was a challenge because any book having to do with
food can easily go into the 'food memoir' imagery territory. A lot of the
initial brainstorming ideas from the team were too food-centric and didn't have
the edge that BUTTER needed. I really wanted to do something type driven, at
first, to keep it modern and interesting and not get hung up on the food
aspect. I actually only went through 2 concepts: 1 type driven and the final
that we ended up with. It was one of those serendipity moments where one photo
search led to another which led to another which led to the idea.
I love all the little details on the jacket for BUTTER,
such as the measurements just like you would see on a stick of butter wrapper.
When do those details come into the design process?
For me, those details happen when the editor gives me the
flap copy, a little later in the process. Before the measurements ended up on
the jacket, I had a whole 'nutritional facts' design on the back with the
reviews in the space where the ingredients go. It was decided that was a little
to humorous for the book, so I brainstormed a bit more and thought that the
measurements would be an interesting and minimal design element that could tie
everything together visually without overloading on the butter dish. It made me
think about the additive process of Butter's food list and there was something
macabre to me about the idea of literally 'cutting butter'.
How did you get into cover design? I imagine you have to
be a book lover.
I am a total, absolute, crazy book person! Even before I
could even read, I loved books. There was something magical to me that books
had whole worlds living inside of them. I was always artistic and loved to
paint and draw, so when I wasn't reading, I was usually painting. I went to
college to pursue a degree in illustration and while I was there I fell into
book design from taking my illustrations and putting them into layouts for
presentations. I realized I loved making the layouts just as much as making the
art, so I shifted gears and went headfirst into trying to start a design
career. I managed to get my first design job a few months after graduation and
have been loving it ever since.
How many people have input into a cover, and how does
that impact the final product?
A LOT of people have cover input and that can really shape
how a cover evolves. First and foremost is the opinion of our fabulous art
director, Donna Mark. I go to her with my ideas before presenting them to the
editors. The editors have a huge say in the book covers and generally decide if
the cover ideas are aligned with how they want the book to be positioned. In
addition to the editors, the sales and marketing team also look at the cover
and decide if the look is good and fits into where the book should be
positioned in the market. Finally, the book buyers have the final yes/no as to
whether they'll take the book and oftentimes a good cover means a bigger buy.
Never say that you don't judge a book by its cover! At any point if one of
those parties decides the cover isn't working, it gets thrown back to the
designers to rework. It's a really collaborative process and sometimes covers
evolve quite a bit during the process of moving it through all the necessary
channels. For BUTTER, it was simple: aside from teeny tweaks like kerning
letters and author name fonts, BUTTER was loved by all!
What's your favorite part of the BUTTER cover? (my fave
is the spine. love the tiny butter dishes, and i always say the spine is almost
more important than the front!)
The front cover is my favorite part because I feel like the
cover is a little like telling the story in a visual poem. BUTTER is simple and
graphic, so it's like a visual haiku and I love that about this cover. You
don't get bogged down in imagery, it's direct and engaging. Also, it's not a
sad girl in a big dress (which, while beautiful and definitely has its place on
the shelf, is a trend I'm getting tired of)!! You're absolutely right about the
spine though, it can sometimes be more important, especially if you're not
shelved face-front. I'm glad you like the spine so much!
Thanks for letting me talk about working on BUTTER. I had a
great time reading it and a great time designing it!
Thanks, Regina, for stopping by the blog and for this fabulous cover. I am so thrilled!!
You can find Regina Roff online at
reginaroff.com and on Twitter:
@reginaroff
