{"id":"6083","date":"2020-12-09T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/?p=6083"},"modified":"2020-12-07T06:33:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T14:33:27","slug":"self-help-book-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/self-help-book-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"Which One Won? A &#8216;mess&#8217; of a self-help book cover"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A self-help book cover should hint at the message tucked within its pages.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A book about relationships might show a couple on the cover, for example. But what about a motivational book about cleaning up life&#8217;s messes? How messy should the cover look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a aria-label=\"One author took to PickFu (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/books\/book-covers\/based-on-the-cover-which-book-would-you-rather-buy-T6L4NI1S\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"ek-link\">One author took to PickFu<\/a> to answer this question by testing two covers for a book titled, <em>From Mess to Master: 9 Steps to Overcome Failure, Crush Fear and Defy Your Limits With Inspiring Stories of Successful People<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Both designs feature a jumble of letters on the top part of the cover. In Option A, the word <em>Mess<\/em> is crooked and set in orange font to match the rest of the title. In Option B, the word <em>Mess<\/em> is in white font against a bold black splash of background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"970\" height=\"695\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover-970x695.jpeg\" alt=\"self-help book cover\" data-id=\"6084\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=6084\" class=\"wp-image-6084\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover-970x695.jpeg 970w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover-418x300.jpeg 418w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover-768x551.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-a-messy-cover.jpeg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"970\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1-970x689.jpeg\" alt=\"self-help book cover\" data-id=\"6086\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1.jpeg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=6086\" class=\"wp-image-6086 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1-970x689.jpeg 970w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1-423x300.jpeg 423w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1-768x545.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/option-b-messy-cover-1.jpeg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you guess which one won?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:200px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And the winner is&#8230;Option B! With a score of 70 to Option A&#8217;s 30, PickFu respondents clearly favored the second option. Here&#8217;s why.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"messy-but-not-too-messy\">Messy, but not too messy<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Several respondents disliked the crookedness of the letter <em>E<\/em> in Option A. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;[Option] A is more distracting with the letter out of place and doesn&#8217;t look as appealing,&#8221; wrote one male. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another male agreed, adding, &#8220;I don&#8217;t like the hanging letter in [Option] A.&#8221; A female wrote, &#8220;I don&#8217;t like the text displacement in &#8216;mess&#8217; on A.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though only one letter is out of place, the effect is slightly jarring. The word <em>Mess<\/em> stands out and not in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"better-contrast-with-dark-background\">Better contrast with dark background <\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Nineteen of the 35 respondents who voted for Option B mentioned that the contrast in colors on the cover makes the book stand out and the title easier to read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I felt like the highlight over the word &#8216;mess&#8217; really stands out and gives the book cover more contrast from all the white,&#8221; said one person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I like option B the best because I like the black streaky splotch that is behind the word <em>mess<\/em>. It highlights the word <em>Mess<\/em> and has a more aesthetic look compared to the simple lettering of option B,&#8221; said another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being easier to read, Option B&#8217;s cover still evokes a mess \u2014 but in a good way, said respondents. &#8220;I like that the word <em>mes<\/em>s also looks [dirty],&#8221; wrote one respondent, noting that it&#8217;s &#8220;a clever way to make the cover even more enticing.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The black background with white font&#8230;really makes it stick out more and contrast more with the word <em>Master<\/em>,&#8221; said another. &#8220;It makes me think that there is a drastic change between the two, and this book can give me information necessary to do so.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-takeaway-colors-on-the-cover\">Key takeaway: colors on the cover  <\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Contrasting colors on the cover not only make the title font stand out, they give readers a clear picture of what your self-help book is all about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more on PickFu&#8217;s site about how to get <a aria-label=\"feedback on your book's cover, title, and more (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/book-title-cover-testing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">feedback on your book&#8217;s cover, title, and more<\/a>. And if you&#8217;re still in the brainstorming stage, read our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickfu.com\/blog\/how-to-structure-a-self-help-book\/\" class=\"ek-link\">how to structure a self-help book<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A self-help book cover should hint at the message tucked within its pages. A book about relationships might show a couple on the cover, for example. But what about a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":""},"author":"9","featured_media":"6087","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":"","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":"","_editorskit_reading_time":"0","_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":"","_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":["21","15"],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Which One Won? A &#039;mess&#039; of a self-help book cover - The PickFu blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A self-help book about cleaning up life&#039;s messes should have a messy cover...right? 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