Cover Design: Why I Drive Myself Nuts

[MJ DeMarco]

So I'm trying to pick a cover ... here are the variations ... note this is several variations of the SAME DESIGN ... just with different colors, fonts, etc.

Please pick what you like the best.

Right now, I'm leaning toward 1A, 2C, and 5C. These are rough mocks and not print ready so don't bust on me for the resolution.

Some decisions ...

1) Use $ and € in the Fastlane? Yea? Nay? The $ (north america) and € (europe) are my markets, yet, I'm concerned that it gives the book the illusion that it has something to do with currency trading. (It doesn't)

2) Include my Lambo or not ... note, the Lambo has significance in the entire book -- the Fastlane was born out of a Lamborghini encounter when i was young, so the book starts by describing "the lamborghini prophecy" ... it sets the stage for the entire book so I though it would be significant enough to put on the cover. Also my target market is 16-34, young men so I thought it would be good to have.

3) Color of top/bottom bands/font styles/etc.


DESIGN 1A

DESIGN 1B

DESIGN 1C

DESIGN 1D

DESIGN 2A

DESIGN 2B

DESIGN 2C

DESIGN 2D

DESIGN 3A

DESIGN 3B

DESIGN 3C

DESIGN 4A

DESIGN 4B

DESIGN 4C

DESIGN 4D

DESIGN 5A

DESIGN 5B

DESIGN 5C

DESIGN 5D

DESIGN 6A

DESIGN 6B

DESIGN 6C

DESIGN 6D

 

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[Wimtbimtb]

I like the 5C

 

[Gymjunkie]

Out of these I'd go with 6C but if you payed for this then you can get better deals I think. None of these are incredibly awesome to me.

I wouldn't use monetary signs in the design too. I love simple text,the best for it is Helvetica (try get it)

Cheers

 

[biophase]

2D except the L's need to have a space in between them

I like the green text
I like the italics
Don't use $$$
Don't include the lambo (I would include a b&w photo of the lambo somewhere in the book, early chapters, so your readers can you have one)

Also, the exit sign foundation looks weak. Make the pole the same color as the maze and anchor it to the maze wall.

 

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[andviv]

4A in my opinion.

 

[andviv]

And I would keep the car... and would try to make it bigger if possible. OR try to give the impression it is moving. The current pic looks like it is not moving, so giving the impression of a speed car in motion would be more interesting for me.

 

[Steve K]

i like 6d
it was the one that my eyes stayed on the most...
not sure why but it just looks pleasant to me

the ones with the lambo don't look very attractive to me (didnt keep my attention)

 

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[biophase]

I think that the entire color scheme is rather bland. However, this may be the look that you want. You may not want it to look too selly or pushy in a get rich quick type of way.

IMO, the success of this book will have very little to do with the cover. It will be due to its content, this forum, personal finance and business blogs, reader feedback and word of mouth.

With that said, I can see people telling others to buy it. They will probably be told to look for the book with the Orange Lambo or Orange Sports Car on it so that may be a positive on including the car.

 

[kwerner]

2D except the L's need to have a space in between them

I like the green text
I like the italics
Don't use $$$
Don't include the lambo (I would include a b&w photo of the lambo somewhere in the book, early chapters, so your readers can you have one)

Also, the exit sign foundation looks weak. Make the pole the same color as the maze and anchor it to the maze wall.

I agree with this, except I DO like the use of the dollar sign in the name, just not the euro.

Green text with italics, fix the spacing, no Lambo, don't care for the design of the exit sign.

 

[kwerner]

You know, another idea I had...

Do you remember that commercial where the lady is sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, then all of a sudden she pushes a button or something that makes a highway appear that only she is able to drive on, bypassing the other traffic?

Maybe you could have a pic of people sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic all on a two lane highway, then have a pic of the exit sign pointing to the Fastlane highway.

 

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[Russ H]

MJ, I love ya, but I don't like any of the covers.

They don't "grab" me.

Here are a few covers that "grab" me (below).

Say what you want about David Bach, but I think he is the KING of great financial book titles. His titles alone sell his books-- they hit a chord.

Some tough love:

-Your graphics look too "cut and paste".

-The lambo looks like you just stuck in over the image of the maze.

-Font confusion-- distracts, doesn't help message

-Too cluttered. The KISS rule is great for covers.

I would never have said all the above if I thought you'd take it badly-- you know I want your book to crush it. I think it can. But you need a strong title, tagline, and cover design.

-Russ H.

 

[PaulRobert]

2B or 4B is appealing to my eye.

Before I looked at the covers I put myself in the position of someone in a bookstore that is broke, sick of his crap job, has an idea, and is ready to move on. What is the end though? The road looks like it leads to an infinite corporate maze. What is at the end or during on the Fastlane road?

What I do see, is the road (the fastlane) above the maze leading to images of your Lambo, luxury homes, investment properties, gold. Anything associated with wealth and luxury. Why and how will your book lead the reader to images on the cover?

Pictures are worth 1,000 words and sometimes the cover can portray this message to the potential reader- "OO I just have to have this book, this is the KEY!"- similar to the result when you picked up Rich Dad Poor Dad for the first time.

I hope I wasn't too harsh MJ. Whatever you choose will probably be a great choice. Good Luck!

 

[Russ H]

One way to evaluate a book cover:

Look at it from across the room (as if you were in a bookstore, or scanning a rack of books).

What "pops" out?

-Russ H.







.

 

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[snowbank]

MJ,

I'm with Gymjunkie and Russ- I think the cover can be better. I don't know much about design, just that it didn't stick out any to me. If I saw it in a store I'd pick up the ones with a lambo on it just because I've always wanted a lambo, but otherwise I'm guessing I'd pass it over if I was scanning over a bunch of books.

As far as whether or not to have a lambo on it- on one side you'd get people who might not have picked it up to pick it up, on the other it does increase the "what are they trying to sell" factor if people don't know what's inside. So I'm split on that.

random related story: when I was a kid I remember trying to convince my dad that it was a good idea to write a 'get rich' book because people would buy it if I had a lambo on the cover. they'd want to know why an 12 year old had a lambo and how they could get one too. he said I should hold off until I actually got rich and got my own lambo and so I went back to brainstorming.

 

[snowbank]

Russ' design def. would stick out for me and I would pick that book up.

Fwiw, I went on a reading spree last year and I thought Gary Vaynerchuk's book design drastically stood out over all of the other books I read.

 

[GlobalWealth]

I have to agree with Russ here. Too much clutter. I think of all the books I have bought and the most basic covers show class and exude credibilty. Too much flash reminds me of RK. Now I have bought and read a few RK books too, but non-glossy basic covers tells me you are the real deal.

 

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[snowbank]

You know, another idea I had...

Do you remember that commercial where the lady is sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, then all of a sudden she pushes a button or something that makes a highway appear that only she is able to drive on, bypassing the other traffic?

Maybe you could have a pic of people sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic all on a two lane highway, then have a pic of the exit sign pointing to the Fastlane highway.

I don't know how hard this would be to make the design look good but I like this idea. Maybe make all the cars the same-small, boring cars in black and white, then bright orange lambo getting off at that exit. Possibly with a black cover. Black would make the orange stand out a lot.

 

[Sparlin]

My vote would be 4 A with the word Millionaire in the Dark Green.

Honestly IMHO, the graphics don't impress me much. I kind of envisioned looking at the back end of a traffic jam with 4 rows of brake lights and hundreds of jammed up vehicles. This would be contrasted by an express lane (middle left) that is separated by concrete partitions and a lambo blasting past (rear view, elevated from approximately 30 feet) that has NO other traffic in the lane and a Green D.O.T. sign that reads Millionaire Fastlane .

I hope this description makes sense.

I found this picture to give you an idea, but it doesn't reflect what I described above. I would have no traffic in the center lane except the lambo, perhaps only 1 or 2 lanes in the express area, and cut out the opposing traffic and include the D.O.T. sign.

Edit:

I just found this second pic. This is close to what I had in mind, only partition the diamond lane and change the sign. You could clean it up quite a bit but I think this gives you the idea. I don't know anything about professional marketing. This is just my 2 cents.

 

[BurnBright]

4A is my favorite. I think the 4 hour workweek author went to the book store and observed people as they browsed the financial section of the book store to see what books people reached for. You could also print up fake covers and bring them to the book store and see how they look on the shelf with the competition. I also agree with Biophase that sales may have more to do with recommendations and word of mouth then with how the cover looks. I think even RK hooked up with Amway to sell his book at first.(First time I heard of him was after being dragged to a meeting by my sister)

 

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[Phantom309]

I really like the typeface you picked in 4A, I like the use of the dollar sign, not crazy about the euro that much, although I can see where it can function in your europe market. I think the Lambo should stay one because it's a badass ride(and i've been dieing to ask if lambo's come with cup holders, but I'll just wait till I get mine to find out) and two a Lambo screams wealth. My only suggestion would be to love the maze in the background maybe go with luxury home, and a yacht or something that would appeal to the readers desires. That's just my 2 cents though.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

similar to the result when you picked up Rich Dad Poor Dad for the first time

I picked up RDPD based on a recommendation ... RDPD probably had the worst covers in all of history.

-Your graphics look too "cut and paste".

Probably because I did these myself -- I'm an amateur. I wanted to have something to give to the designer to go off of. These aren't finals but a starting point on a concept. I agree that it needs to get simpler which is why I'm leaning toward no-Lambo and no-currency symbols ... the challenge I'm having with the designer is to have them convey "speed" and "wealth" without overly complicating.

Thanks+ to everyone who is responding. Looks like the 4 typeset might be a winner.

 

[Rawr]

I think this is a great example of getting amazing feedback. Love the honesty in this thread.



My take:

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Here's another, but I totally axed this one.

Thought it was too garish, ugly, you name it.

View attachment 1661

Guys please, the title isn't changing. STOP.

Ill upload some other concepts that I didn't particularly care for.

 

[kwerner]

Rawr - That's GREAT!

I LOVE the black & white background, contrasted with the orange Lambo - it just POPS! I would definitely pick up this book, but I think it may need to have something more "financial" to it as well, otherwise it could be perceived as a book about cars.

Speed++

 

[andviv]

Rawr, I like it... maybe having the highway and car a little bit more sideway, not completely straight up, but more going up-right in the picture... but yeah, great idea. It does stand out!

 

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[PaulRobert]

I picked up RDPD based on a recommendation ... RDPD probably had the worst covers in all of history.

Agreed. I was not clear on what I wrote and what I was thinking. There has to be something on the cover that makes it pop. When I read the phrase " What the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!" I was hooked. Your subtitle is great, now just the perfect cover is the missing piece.

 

[JayKim]

I like 4A the best .Maybe add a sky scenery to the background above the maze?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Some others I didn't like either ...

 

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[PaulRobert]

I played around with Photoshop a bit and created these 2...

Maybe this will spark some new thoughts?

 

[Russ H]

Another version. I'm not a graphic artist, but you can get the idea.

-Russ H.


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