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I decided to reorganize my Pinterest boards after the first of the year. However, when I log on to Pinterest, it’s like walking into a bookstore. I could spend hours browsing. There is no limit to the number of Boards I could create as sub-boards to “Home Décor”, “Food”, or “Cozy Places to Read”. Most recently I have created a board I labeled, “Vignettes”. I have learned something recently about vignettes. They can teach me something about designing book covers.
My sister made this comment on her Pinterest pin after I made a note on her vignette and pinned it to my board, “Occasionally my vignettes catch my eye in an unexpected way. I could see my fireplace burning, thru my bedroom window to the yard. I traced it back to this mirror. These are the things I do at night. LOL.”
I sat looking at my own pitiful vignettes. My husband usually drops his keys or his “gimmie” cap down in the middle of them, but I have failed as a designer and my most recent vignette taught me something about designing book covers. This is a good thing because I plan to design more and it is better to learn sooner than later.
I thought bead board would symbolize times past and an old house for my Sabine Trilogy, so I used a different color of board for each book. I’m not dissatisfied with the front cover. A graphic designer, I am sure could do a better job, but it’s baby steps here. The issue is the spine. Peruse the Pinterest boards and you will find many beautiful vignettes with books. The spine is the dominant feature. Spines should be uncluttered. The bead board lines on my spines are not attractive. They do not form an attractive vignette. If my books are set around in a room, at least the spines should be usable for a vignette, if not read. My next mission will be to redesign these book covers. I did a little better with my most recent book, Opal’s Story, the spine is a solid color. It contributes a cleaner line to a set of books in a vignette.
The most pleasing vignettes, in my opinion, are those using old books. They have much simpler covers than the newer ones we are drawn to purchase. The old Jules Verne books have the most appealing, plain backgrounds, a few scroll embellishments in gold filigree, and a captivating font in gold. Designing covers is focused on marketing, getting someone to stop scrolling and click on a cover they are drawn to on the internet. That will be my challenge, to design a cover and spine that will be attractive in an internet thumbnail and in a coffee table vignette. For today, I am thinking in vignettes and globally. Sheesh.
Ideas and advice are welcome. I have stacks of books everywhere. After I organize my Pinterest boards, I’m going to study the vignette board and look at how to use trays, foliage and candles to improve my less busy book spines. Maybe someone will purchase the books to use their attractive spines in a vignette.