Recognizing the Artist

Emergency Contact: Design: Lizzy Bromley Illustration: Ohgigue
Who's That Girl: Design: Aurora Parlagreco Art: Jose Berrio
Hot Dog Girl: Illustration: Jeff Ostberg
To Kill A Kingdom: Design: Liz Dresner
You Asked For Perfect: Philip Pascuzzo
The Way You Make Me Feel: Design: Elizabeth H. Clark
A Very Large Expanse of Sea: Art: Rodrigo Corral Design

I was admiring the dust jacket on one of the books I'd recently bought when I realized that I had no clue who made it. I found my answer in tiny font on the back flap in the bottom corner under the author bio. While the author who poured their soul into the pages and created the book should be front and center, there's room to give props to the people who provided the art.
Cover artists are really the unsung heroes of books and book sales. The quality of the cover can have the potential to make or break a book before the buyer even thinks about checking out the words. If I haven't already heard about a book, it's a cover that gets me to pick up the book to see if it could be interesting. Sometimes, even if I'm not totally sold by the flap copy, I'll buy it anyway because the cover makes me happy.
Covers, especially in YA, are usually carefully crafted to give the reader an idea of what the story is without even touching it. When they're done right, covers leave me in awe of their ability to capture the essence of the book, including the tone, mood, and characters, in one piece of art. They tell a story with genuine emotion that the artist really has no personal attachment to.
It's pretty amazing that all that work gets reduced to a single name in tiny print. As I work to become a more aware, thoughtful reader, part of that journey for me is including the artists in my conscious consideration. I'll be crediting the cover artist under the book photos in my posts, and, if the cover had an influence on my reading/buying experience (or if it's just gorgeous), I'll be talking about it in the new Cover Corner part of my reviews. Visual art in particular seems to be sort of an unsung pursuit these days, and I want to make it a point to honor the hard work that goes in to creating these small pieces of artwork that I use to decorate my room.

Other Discussions...
Is YA For Me? Here
Social Media Sells Books: Here
Trigger Warnings Show Empathy: Here

Links of Interest:
Her Royal Highness: Review Here
If I'm Being Honest: Review Here
Guest Post with Claire Bartlett: Here
Izzy + Tristan: Review Here

Comments

  1. Great post! I am basically a gushing fan girl of my book's designer, Joyce White. A contemporary/realistic story with a paranormal-leaning title (CURSED, Charlesbridge Teen, June 25, 2019) was a tough nut to crack, but she didn't quit until she found the perfect cover. You're 100% correct that the right design makes a huge difference!

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