Cover Poll, Part 2

[rowyn]

The "three figures dancing" was more popular than any of my other choices from the previous poll on the cover for A Rational Arrangement, so I've been working on that one. I fixed the ratio* first, and added a bit of the heretofore unseen dancers on the right and left, and made a few adjustments to the figures. I also fiddled a lot with the

Comments

[ankewehner]

I'd go with the bottom one, but move the title up a little... and use a font without the double lines for the author name so it could be a little smaller so it didn't nearly touch the hem of the dress. Or maybe move the illustration/background up a bit along with the title.

*looks at them all again* I think the reason why I prefer the last one is because it's the only one which doesn't have "A Rational" nested behind the "A" of "Arragnement". That kind of nesting that makes the first word of the second line the first thin my eyes are drawn to confuses me.

[rowyn]

I really should've put a "do not nest title words" option into the poll. Rats. Thank you for letting me know!

I'm leaning towards the Harrington typeface myself (second of the images), but may switch it to the style of the fourth, with author name on the bottom. And pull the image up a bit, so there's more blank space at the bottom and less at the top.

[ankewehner]

Yeah, when I ignore the nesting issue, I'd say Harrington looks more "romancey" than Chisel D, but more easily readable than Amazone.

[haikujaguar]

It doesn't matter much to me where the author name is; what does matter is that there's something in those spaces. Covers have real estate, and designers tend to drop elements into each part of it, and with text there's usually a top and bottom unless the major graphical element's at the top, and then you get middle and bottom (etc). It's not unusual to have multiple fonts on the same cover, and to have lots of little finicky bits of text on it that aren't clear unless you make the cover larger (which all the e-tailers expect you to do or they wouldn't require you to upload covers that are 4000 pixels tall).

I would browse through the historical and fantasy romance sections and see what the prevailing trends are for font, art, and marketing text before making a cover. You might want to do the same if you're concerned about it looking coverish?

Poll comments

[vik_thor]

Definitely non-nested if you go with one of the first 2 typefaces.
I think I like the Chisel D typeface for the title the most, and the nesting isn't as severe. I like how your name looks in the Harrington, but not sure how it would look paired with the Chisel D.
Another thing, Rational and Arrangement look more equal in Chisel D, which I like.

[terrycloth]

I think Harrington is the most appealing typeface, but Amazone suits the story better?

[catlinye_maker]

I prefer the Chisel D (and the bottom cover) because it echoes the architectural background and sets off the softer, more flowing figures. At the time of this writing I note that all the covers have equal partisans, which is amusing if not useful.