Five eminent book designers make their choices for the year’s best covers.
Click on the thumbnails to read more about their picks.
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- 99018
- This book is everywhere. It's in newspapers, it's in people's hands on the subway and in coffee shops, and it's plastered and postered all over downtown Toronto. Usually, this kind of overexposure robs anything of its magic. The magic here is in what this cover is not. It is not dripping in fake nostalgia, Photoshopped historic imagery, or bogus let-me-hold-your-hand-through-this CanLit clichés. The cover dispenses with the expected sepia-toned rhapsodizing, and instead offers, simply and confidently, a thoroughly modern and impenetrable brick wall (even if, in this case, the bricks are trees) that says to the viewer, You'll just have to pick me up in order to figure it all out. <i>“ David A. Gee, freelance designer</i>
- The Orenda by Joseph Boyden, designed by Lisa Jager (Hamish Hamilton Canada)
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- 99017
- I have a bit of a soft spot for designs that mimic other media, and this cover really delivers in that department. It walks a fine line, on one hand threatening to distract viewers with an overload of text; on the other, reproducing a realistic 1980s report card, complete with course codes, an address, and even dot matrix printer strips. The use of the teacher's comments area to bring the focus back to the title and author is subtle but effective, and balances the amount of text elsewhere in the image. Also great is the way the subject names are out of alignment with their background fields. These little details emphasize the designer's commitment to the concept. <i>“ Kate Hargreaves, Biblioasis</i>
- Needs Improvement by Jon Paul Fiorentino, designed by Evan Munday with Jon Paul Fiorentino (Coach House Books)
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- 99016
- Set aside the less-is-more visual strength. Ignore the deft handling of typography (yet feel free to assume someone less confident than Gee might have felt the need to remind readers that a book in the fiction section might actually be A NOVEL). What pins this cover to the best of wall? The double-take of an innocent engagement ring grafted onto those all-too-guilty scissors. One could speculate that the consistently clever (and resourceful) Gee may have pressganged his wife's jewellery into service, thereby upping the bespoke nature of the work and saving the publisher some image fees. But the scissors (and the medieval hellhole they came from) remain gritty intrigue writ very large. <i>“ CS Richardson, vice-president and creative director, Penguin Random House Canada</i>
- Infidelity by Stacey May Fowles, designed by David A. Gee (ECW Press)
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- 99015
- I like this cover for its contrast and contradictions. The patterned background has the nostalgic feel of a family photo album, enhanced by the clean, no-frills typography. The illustration evokes <i>Fun with Dick and Jane</i>: a more innocent time of happy, unaffected children and idyllic nuclear families. Considering the book's title, the design raises a question: are families ever as simple and uncomplicated as all this would suggest? As if in response, lurking at the heart of this cover is an inky black cancerous mass, its tendrils outstretched (and yet the child plays on, seemingly unaware). Possible foreshadowing, or a comment on this specific family's dynamics? Either way, it's arresting, unsettling, and highly effective. <i>“ Teresa Bubela, Orca Book Publishers</i>
- Every Happy Family by Dede Crane, designed by Tania Craan (Coteau Books)
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- 99014
- Just to get the obvious out of the way: the decision to bind together these two interconnected works is admirable. This double volume demonstrates an ideal pairing of writer and illustrator. Kulak's quiet drawings fit perfectly with Hannah's introspective one-person plays. I instantly formed an attachment to the lonely man and woman on front and back. The type is handled with the same understated elegance, and the objects surrounding them resemble a kind of minimalist set design. The covers may first appear visually simple, but on closer inspection you'll find they are layered with compelling detail. I can't decide which play to read first: I just keep flipping the book back and forth delightedly. <i>“ Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design</i>
- The Cave Painter/ The Woodcutter by Don Hannah, designed by Jeff Kulak (Playwrights Canada Press)
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