I've noticed a sharp increase in covers with plates on them. I myself have two in the last couple of years and for the same publisher no less. Here is one of them...
Will Write for Food focuses on the art of food writing. When I received the brief to work on the paperback edition, my first thought was to go a bit more conceptual and playful since the title has a lightheartedness to it. The hardcover was effective, but it showcased the requisite plate which I was hoping to avoid for the paperback.
My first round of comps have more of an illustrative styling to them. Graphic & bold, with a little humor thrown in:
At first the comps were fairly well received. The top comp was the chosen one to revise and pursue. Overall the vector illustration wasn't quite working for people in-house though and maybe it was too busy? However, I was told they liked that the cover looked like a guidebook, but still had an elegant feel to it.
After revising the comp multiple times by incorporating actual photos of the fork and pencil, this cover comp was finally discarded.
So, we began a new round of comps where the direction was more straightforward: not so much about the writing, but all about the food, and elegant food at that, appealing to a general audience of foodies.
Taking this direction, here are two comps that came out of this round:
From this round, the final was chosen. Yes, a plate, but what a great vehicle for holding the type. The plate works every time...
