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Colors in covers

Swordfry

Troubadour
Is there any research or data on which colors on book covers sell the most books (physical and ebooks)? I ask this because I have read some interesting articles about reoccurring themes in movie posters, one of which being the repeated use of orange and blue in the posters. There is just something about the use of those two colors in movie posters that just catches the eye. Is it the same for book covers? Just curious really, would like to see some data and maybe employ this in my own publishing strategy.
 
I can't say for certain but I suspect that blue and orange are used together as they frequently are in comics.
Blues (greens, grays, and purples) are supposed to make (the object) appear colder / farther away or to drop away from focus altogether while reds (oranges & yellows) are supposed to draw focus to the item/text.

(Thus with this theory) if you want to draw attention to the title/text it should be in the red/orange/yellow family while the background image should be blue/purple/gray tones.

But this is of course not necessarily the case. Personally, I tend to gravitate towards covers that use more minimalism - often with a bright background and simple black/white text (or the reverse - black background w white/silver/colored text).

Oh! - I learned in a CogSci course that (Native English readers) have a tendency to forget information that appears in the bottom right corner while they retain the information at the top left most easily. So aside from standard convention it might be a good idea to choose anything but the bottom right corner for your title/text.

You present a good point though. I would love to see if anyone has published any research on this.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I saw that article about most movie posters being orange and blue, too.

TheCatholicCrow made some good points about why the colors are used. It helps the artist to control the path your eyes follow through the poster. In some cases they even test and monitor eye tracking before launching the poster to the public.

But there's one really big difference between book covers and movie posters. Book Covers are often viewed as thumbnails, or even smaller, teeny tiny sizes. Movie Posters are usually displayed at full size, and even when they're not, they have the backing of other advertising to support them. For that reason I'd be surprised if they follow the same orange and blue pattern. It's a very subtle technique, while smaller images require a more straight forward approach.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
There is some academic research that when it comes to text, dark Blue/Blue-Violet words on a pale Yellow paper or background are the easiest to read.
For posters if you are going back to the 20s-30-40s, it could also be that the inks needed for Orange and Blue were stronger, longer lasting or cheaper to print [I know that for some reason Green ink was more expensive...] and since then we've "learnt" what a film poster looks like...
 

Laurence

Inkling
Many fantasy books are based on the four elements, meaning that they are often a combination of black and orange, black and white, black and blue or black and green.

See the latest Kingkiller Chronicle covers for some nice ideas:
name-of-the-wind-cover-195x300.jpg
thewisemansfear.jpg
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
I have some favorite book covers in mind. One is bright gold-yellow and has a sort of darker gold compass sort of superimposed on it. A figure in dark clothing is running toward the reader, looking over his shoulder. it's very dramatic.

I also have two book covers in the same series that I love, one is called Pattern, and I forget the other. Anyways, they're mostly black with highlights of color. One is violet, the other red. The red one is much more striking.

If you want to know more about how colors set each other off, check out heraldry colors. Basically, your colors were divided into categorized and the categories decided which could lie next to each other, because if you placed, say, a green field down and put a blue horse on it, at any sort of distance, the horse would disappear and it would look like a dark blob. This is true of thumbnails, as well. If you want something visible that's teeny (because not all readers have great eyesight), consider simple, contrasting images. a bright background and a dark figure, a dark cover and a highlighted corner that pops with color. A dark cover that reveals a symbol or tree-type image in the center in a muted pale color but the title is in bright white. Stuff that is easy to see small. The actual cover need not be the same image at the thumbnail, but if you hit on something interesting, keep it, right?

I'm considering two cover options. One of them I posted up here in the cover art section, a bright wall with a dramatically dark window and a dark figure standing in front of it. The shadows were what I liked about the image. The other concept was a paper sort of curled on a table, with blood marring it. I think the second option would be easier to "see" as a thumbnail, but though the details of the first would be hard to make out in small size, it would be easy to identify what the image is. I think that is a major part of the decision. If a figure blends into the background, in thumbnail, a reader won't probably be able to discern what it is.
 

Tom

Istar
I'm always drawn to dark covers with a bright central image. The colors usually contrast well, such as a black/dark gray background with a gold object, or dark blue with silver, and sometimes have a subtle pattern woven into the shadow, like twining vines or Celtic knots.
 
I'm always drawn to dark covers with a bright central image. The colors usually contrast well, such as a black/dark gray background with a gold object, or dark blue with silver, and sometimes have a subtle pattern woven into the shadow, like twining vines or Celtic knots.

Yeah I think that's because they use a dark vignette to drag your eye to the center of the book cover. Like a portal into another world, it works particularly well with fantasy.

You must also take into account where are your books being sold. I've heard it said that Americans love to see a character on a cover, while Europeans like atmosphere and silhouettes.

As for color theory, always remember less is more. If you want a really bright color then you need to dull all the others.


Movie-Poster-Similarities-2.jpg



Also blue and purples are used to invoke feelings of magic, purity and passion. While Reds and orange are for danger, strength and action.

You can see the difference between these books below and those movie posters above.

Yellow is for joy and energy, while green is for balance,energy and growth. Using yellow and green together often feels sickening as its like and overload of energy.

White is for purity, goodness and innocence. Washing out colors often makes a cover feel dream like.

Black is for power, evil and mystery. Darkening covers often makes characters on them feel like they are trapped.

YA3.jpg


When looking at covers try to understand what you are feeling from the colors chosen.

book-cover-archive.jpg

covers-updated2.png


Also nothing will sell better then having a cover that honestly represents your book, and presents it to the right audience.

(all images are from a quick google search.)
 

Tom

Istar
You must also take into account where are your books being sold. I've heard it said that Americans love to see a character on a cover, while Europeans like atmosphere and silhouettes.

I guess my tastes in book covers are European, then?

Or maybe it's just because I'm a visual person. I don't like having an image of one of the characters on the cover, because the photo/drawing is someone else's perception of the character. I enjoy constructing my own image of the character in my head as I read their descriptions--it's engaging and sort of fun, like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Being provided with an image ruins it.
 

Ronald T.

Troubadour
Here's something I've found interesting and quite helpful.

Joel Friedlander has a website called THE BOOK DESIGNER. On that site, he offers a particularly helpful segment. It is his fantastic offering of information where you can learn almost everything about book covers, particularly e-books. But most of the information can be applied to any book cover.

It's called "Monthly e-Book Cover Design Awards".

I hope this is helpful. Check it out.
 
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