Book Covers as Gateways to Literature

Abstract

Having had the primary function of protecting the core, the book cover started to communicate the content of the book after the Industrial Revolution. So, by that time, the design started to be considered, since the cover was assumed to be responsible for the reader’s first impression about the book, and it became the main tool used by publishers to boost sales. We can thus say that book covers have evolved from a simple utilitarian object to a highly visual and conceptual means of communication, which acts as a communicational bridge between the richness of a text and the real physical world. In this context, graphic design assumes a fundamental role in concisely translating a complex reality. In this article, we aim to address the historical evolution of book covers, to understand their design process and to reinforce its importance in graphic design curricula. To achieve this, we will analyse projects developed by students answering to an exercise that proposed the creation of book covers for classic literature works.