Front cover artwork
Original illustration, typographic treatment or photographic composition, chosen to suit the genre and the price point.
Book design
Book cover design
A cover has about two seconds to work. It has to read as a thumbnail on a retail listing, hold up as a printed object in someone's hands, and tell a browsing reader what kind of book this is before they read a word of the description.
Overview
What this service covers
We design covers for fiction, non-fiction, children's titles and academic work. Every project starts with the manuscript rather than a template: genre conventions, comparable titles, the audience you are actually selling to, and the format the book will be printed in.
You see distinct concepts, not three tints of the same idea. Once you pick a direction, it is developed in full across front, spine and back, then built into files that match your printer's specification exactly.
What we provide
Everything included in the scope
Spine and back cover
Spine width calculated from your page count and paper stock, with blurb, author bio, barcode area and imprint logo set to sit correctly.
Ebook and audiobook versions
Square and portrait crops that stay legible at thumbnail size on every major retailer.
Print-ready output
PDF/X with bleed, trim marks and the colour profile your printer asked for, checked before it leaves the studio.
Promotional variants
Social banners, 3D mockups and a plain flat cover for press use and review sites.
Layered source files
Editable working files handed over at the end of the project, so nothing locks you to one supplier.
Process
How the work runs
01
Brief and manuscript
You send the text or a synopsis, trim size, page count, paper stock and any comparable covers.
02
Concepts
Two or three separate directions, presented flat with a short note on the thinking behind each.
03
Development
The chosen route is built out across the full wrap, with typography and hierarchy resolved.
04
Production files
Final artwork exported for print, ebook and promotion, with sources archived and sent to you.
Benefits
What you get out of it
Built for the shelf and the thumbnail
Every concept is reviewed at postage-stamp size before it goes any further.
Genre-aware typography
Type choices follow what readers in your category already recognise, then push from there.
Press-safe files
Bleed, trim, spine and resolution verified against your printer's template.
You keep the rights
Full ownership of the commissioned artwork transfers on final payment.
Portfolio
Related work from the studio
Placeholder artwork shown until approved client work is added.
Who it suits
Typical clients for this service
Briefs come from single projects and from teams commissioning at volume.
Independent and self-published authors
Trade publishers and imprints
Academic and professional publishers
Book packagers and agencies
Estates reissuing backlist titles
Questions
Before you brief us
Anything not answered here, ask directly and you will get a straight answer.
Ask a questionMost single covers run two to three weeks from brief to print-ready files, including revision rounds. Rush schedules are possible when the studio has capacity; ask before you commit to a print date.
Yes. A synopsis, character notes and the intended audience are usually enough to start concepts. A full manuscript helps, but is not required.
We leave a correctly sized clear area and drop in the barcode your printer or distributor issues. We do not purchase ISBNs on your behalf.
It happens rarely, but the quote includes a further concept round in that case. We would rather restart than develop a direction you are lukewarm about.
Ready to brief this project?
Send the details and a scope, schedule and fixed quote come back within one working day.