book design inspiration IV — covers

for designing a book cover that features the writing of 7th and 8th graders, i researched young adult books. i kept in mind the large audience (kids, parents, teachers, librarians). i also looked for graphics/colors/etc. that were neutral in terms of gender.

these first four use bold, gender-neutral color and may appeal to junior-high students with their simple, cartoon-like imagery. the design makes good use of white space and the text is placed on the covers in creative ways.

i like the next two for the use of grids, and for highlighting the books' diverse people and experiences. i think this concept reflects storyshop's concept—celebrating an array of talented young writers with varied styles and approaches to life.

i chose the next one not because of its subject matter or use of feminine color, but because the design is so literal. one idea to incorporate this into the storyshop design would be to show an actual laptop/desktop (because i'm pretty sure that's what students write on these days) with the cover's text on the display.

these two have great layouts. i also like how the images go out of the frame.

i think a using silhouettes might be a good idea for the storyshop design, particularly for gender-neutrality and race-neutrality. i think it's extremely important to convey that these writings communicate the universal young-adult experience, and that the audience is able to relate to that experience, no matter what his or her background.