This book has been on my reading list for a while, and I do think that the cover has something to do with it. I found myself drawn in by the swirling constellations of stars behind the dark silhouette of the lighthouse. The lighter part of the sky at the top of the page is what catches the viewer’s eye first—it reminds me of a portal opening toward another time, or a moon hiding behind clouds. From there, the eye is drawn down the length of the lighthouse by the evenly-spaced type. The designer did an excellent job picking two different fonts—one for the title and one for the rest of the content on the page. My only quibble is with the “The” at the top, which strikes me as a bit unevenly positioned relative to the lighthouse. The only issue is that there doesn’t seem to be a good way to move it down without messing with the rest of the type, and the title is perfectly positioned to fit the lighthouse’s shape.
I personally do not mind that the author’s name is in a different color than the title, though I do wonder what informed that particular design choice. If the title and author’s name were the same color, it is possible that viewers would be less inclined to follow the text all the way to the bottom—I’m not sure. If I were the designer, I would want to make the author’s name a bit smaller, but it seems that keeping the author’s name the same size as (or bigger than) the title is a trend in publishing as many authors work on building up their “brand.”
All in all, this is a magical cover. I love that the lighthouse is slightly transparent to allow the stars to shine through it; this makes the lighthouse seem less imposing and more dreamlike. I feel that the cover gives the impression of a lone individual wishing, hoping, and dreaming, and that is quite fitting for a book that is unfortunately about poor decisions and dashed hopes. Once I get around to reading this book, I’ll have to write a review!
*Oh, and it’s also worth mentioning that this cover would look good in a variety of blue shades. I know this because I looked at a few different versions of this cover in slightly different shades of blue on google images.
” the evenly-spaced type.” — yes… so pleasing that the negative space of the lighthouse leaves room for those words. It does not feel cluttered at all. Just CENTERED. It’s easy to read and it suggests the centrality of the lighthouse as a figure/trope.
I agree about “the” — why is it in italics? That’s more my problem than alignment. There is no logic to that. And rather than suggesting it “fade” into the background, it really brings it forward to my eye.
I think the color difference in type is just a way to visually divide the page. To also cue us in that “different information” is being presented. A different font might do the same thing… but they chose to go with color, instead.
It’s a beautiful design. There’s also something about that starlight echoing the color of the author’s name that moves the eye around on the page in a great way.