Graphic Journey Blog

Season's greetings

To all who stopped by to read my views and news over the past year. Thank you. May you have a joyful time with family, friends and lovers. X Graphic Journey

The cover designer's dread: "We have some notes".

Below:  Dec. 9, 2022 New York Times
NYT journalist, Matt Dorfman in the accompanying piece on 'The NYT Best Book Covers 2022' said:

" Most often, any personal stylistic expressions in their work are swallowed up in service to the multiple masters — editors, marketing directors, sales teams — who sign off on a book’s cover. There is also the matter of adhering to any one publisher’s dos and don’ts, which can inform mandates about typography, color palettes and production flourishes like embossing or metallic inks. For people employed in a theoretically creative pursuit, designers’ talents are often defined by how effortlessly they can make themselves disappear to serve the book".

Cutting to the chase Dorfman means a shedload of suggestions and interference from those in the publishing industry who think they know better than the poor designer. After that onslaught, they are left to absorb all that crap and attempt to produce something of merit. I think this group of covers demonstrates that they are fighting a losing battle. How sad things have got.