Sci-fi romance cover feedback

kindratiah

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Although I may actually use this cover if I decide to self-publish this story somewhere, I'm currently making it as an example piece as I build the graphic design side of my portfolio. I'm interested to know if this would get you interested in the story or in me as a cover designer, and if not- why? I normally do fully illustrated work, and I'm only just now getting into working with stock photography.
kissofichorcover.jpg
 
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starrystorm

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YES! Although I'm not a huge fan of re-tellings, this caught my eye as you being a cover artist, and who knows, I might pick it up too. :) I love the color combinations and the layers (?) of pictures. I like the city in the background and the title style.

I'm not sure if you wanted critiques, but here's a few minor things I saw:

I'm not sure what the big blueberry-ish thing in the middle is. Sorry. Is it part of the flower? Is that from the myth? If it is from the myth, forget I asked.
Also, it looks like she's holding something, but I can't tell what.


But none of those things would stop me from picking it up to see what it's about.
 

mrsmig

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I like the blue color, but if that's supposed to be a pomegranate (per the myth), it's reading more like a blue onion/turnip or, as starrystorm observed, like a blueberry.

It also fails my shrink test - meaning that when it's reduced to the typical thumbnail size you see on sales sites like Amazon, it's hard to read the cover. You might want to think about bumping up the contrast between background and lettering.
 

kevinwaynewilliams

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It's pretty, but doesn't convey the sf side of the story strongly. I would pass it by presuming that it was purely romance.
 

kindratiah

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It's pretty, but doesn't convey the sf side of the story strongly. I would pass it by presuming that it was purely romance.

That's probably for the best. Although it is high-concept sci-fi, I doubt it'll appeal to people not interested in romance. I figured the whole inverted city might tip off the sci-fi side, but I can see how that might be seen as a design choice rather than a literal depiction of setting.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone :) Critique is indeed what I'm looking for and very much appreciated. I can definitely see now how there'd be some readability issues at thumbnail level, and I wouldn't have guessed that pomegranate might not look like a pomegranate when shaded blue. I suppose I'm gonna have to go with an image of a split-open fruit to really read as what it's supposed to be without having it be iconic pomegranate color.
 
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Loke1997

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1) I think there's definitely not enough contrast between the lettering and the background, so I think it would melt into the bookshelf. And it definitely wouldn't be legible in thumbnail size.

2) I think the above subtitle text is too narrow, so it's difficult for me to read, even on my computer screen. (And I don't require glasses).

3) As others have said, it looks like she's holding a blueberry to her heart. This strikes me as odd, but it looks nice.

4) The design around the blueberry is very elegant. I like that a lot. I also like what you've done with the woman.

The design would certainly get me interested in you as a graphic designer, because it shows you know what you're doing. But I think the typography needs work.

That being said, it looks professional. I don't think this is the kind of book I would read, because it looks like too edgy / romance for me. But I do get a scifi / cyberpunk vibe, definitely. That might be amplified if you did something electric / neon with the central blueberry.
 
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Masel

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Do you need the girl in there at all? There is so much going on. The flower, scroll design, fruit, and city are interesting. We've all seen blonde white girls who's face is partially cut off on covers before. Emphasize the pomegranate (showing it's insides is a good idea) and the city. That has more to do with THIS story.
 

SarahJane

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I agree with what others have said about the pomegranate. I think opening it up/showing the seeds is a good idea.

I would suggest changing the colour of the font. A nice pop of contrast rather than all shades of blue would make it easier to read when its thumbnail size too.
 

kindratiah

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Do you need the girl in there at all? There is so much going on. The flower, scroll design, fruit, and city are interesting. We've all seen blonde white girls who's face is partially cut off on covers before. Emphasize the pomegranate (showing it's insides is a good idea) and the city. That has more to do with THIS story.

Well, that's a good point- although it's been proven that people do tend to gravitate towards and pay more attention to images that feature human faces. If I do keep the image of the girl, I'll probably replace it with an illustrated one, especially as the MC isn't even white. She's kinda orangey-pink due to her race being engineered to be more resistant to surface radiation, then once she dies and is reanimated by a sentient "virus," she becomes more of a deathly pale-blue color.

Again, everyone...thanks for your feedback. I'm really glad I posted this for critique. It seriously wouldn't have occurred to me that the pomegranate doesn't look like a pomegranate and I'm not sure how. I guess that's part of being too close to one's own work :p
 

WeaselFire

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Not really a design comment but...

Does the "Hades and Persephone Reimagined" line help or hurt your audience appeal? I know the mythology of Hades and Persephone and the changing of seasons, as well as the variations of the story, but would random readers in the store? Does this only appeal to the fans of the various comic books and fan fiction covered by the premise? Could a wider audience be found by moving that tagline to the back of the book and the blurb, where the myth could be briefly described to those unfamiliar with it?

And pomegranates aren't blue. :)

Jeff
 
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veinglory

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You need to also look at it in thumbnail--I think you will lose the female figure there and for me she is a key element.
 

kindratiah

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Not really a design comment but...

Does the "Hades and Persephone Reimagined" line help or hurt your audience appeal? I know the mythology of Hades and Persephone and the changing of seasons, as well as the variations of the story, but would random readers in the store? Does this only appeal to the fans of the various comic books and fan fiction covered by the premise? Could a wider audience be found by moving that tagline to the back of the book and the blurb, where the myth could be briefly described to those unfamiliar with it?

And pomegranates aren't blue. :)

Jeff

Yep, I actually do know that pomegranates aren't blue XD Everything having a blue cast on the cover is a design conceit referential to the sentient virus in the book which gives things a bluish cast when it infects them. With the different color it`s not reading as a pomegranate as much, though, so I'll probably replace the that version with a split-open one that will read more as what it's supposed to be while still being blue.

I've also done my market research and loooots of avid readers in the demographic I'm aiming this at are crazy about fairy tale and mythology retellings, particularly ones involving Hades and Persephone, so I see the tagline as more likely to help me catch readers than drive them away.
 
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