It’s that time of year again! Time to showcase the best book cover designs of the year. If you missed last year’s list, check it out here: The Best Book Cover Designs of 2010.
Once again, I’ve sorted through thousands of new books to find the gems for you. 2011 has turned out to be a pretty darn good year for book design. The themes of the year seem to be great art, understated typography, the return of white space, and unique materials/binding/packaging.
Enjoy!
At the request of my readers, I’ve tried to include the designer credits where possible. If you know who designed any of the unknowns, please drop me a line with the info.
Designer: Paul Sahre
Designer: Darren Booth
Designer: Catherine Casalino
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designers: Anne Winslow and Keith Hayes
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Alex Miles Younger
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Peter Mendelsund
Designer: Paul Sahre
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Suzanne Dean
Designer: Rob Grom
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Suet Yee Chong
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Helen Yentus
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Betsy Stromberg
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Paul Kepler
Art Director: Darren Haggar Designer: Tal Goretsky
Designer: Miriam Rosenbloom
Designer: Abby Weintraub
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Susan Miller
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Diane Hobbing
Designer: Michel Vrana
Designer: Paul Sahre
Designer: Unknown
Designer & Illustrator: Andrew Roberts
Illustrator: Joe McLaren Designer: Susanne Dean
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Unknown
Illustrator: Guy Shield Designer: WH Chong
Designer: Unknown
Designer: Natalya Balnova
Designer: Unknown
Art Director: Jennifer Lum Illustrator: Michael Cho
Designer: Chip Kidd
So there you have it. All the best of book cover design 2011 has to offer. So what are your thoughts?
Do you have a favorite? Are there any that aren’t on this list that you think should be? Sound off in the comments.
Could you tell me where these covers are chosen from and who chooses them please?
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
This list is compiled solely by myself, from a number of different sources, including Amazon, visits to my local bookstore, recommendations from others, and various book-related sites and blogs.
I had not seen the cover for “Perfect” before. It is wonderful. Do you have design credits for these covers?
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
No, unfortunately, I don’t. It would be far too time consuming to track them all down.
Thanks for bringing all of these together, some really great stuff. Even if they stop printing books they will still need designers for the cover of the PDF!
Twitter: boydlemon
says:
Very interesting. Thank you so much for doing this, Shaun.
Your choices are spot on. As a book designer I can tell that some were probably technically difficult, and some were simple to execute, but all of them exhibit a creative burst of excellence in design! Thanks for putting it together for the rest of us to enjoy.
Nice posting. I’ve done CD jackets but we recently had a bash at designing a book cover, needs a completely different mindset. Thanks for posting these covers.
Fantastic list, amazing covers (and picks!), but isn’t the August book upside down?
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
Yes and no. It’s designed to sit on the shelf that way. Pretty smart, I think.
Twitter: CreditDonkey
says:
Hi Shaun,
I don’t have any background in design but I can see that you have a great collection here.
My favorites are: The Innovator’s Cookbook, Oceana, The Visible Man, The Leftovers, and The Sisters Brothers. They just somehow made an impression on me.
A feast for the eyes, thanks for sharing. Happy Holidays!
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This is an excellent list!
I purchased Other Parts and When You Break A Knuckle, and I can say that these two books are absolutely awesome to read, aside from having one of the best covers out there.
I’d recommend other parts to anyone who loves cooking. I never knew how much money I could save and still get good quality meat… as long as you know how to cook it!
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I have a copy of the book “When She Woke Up” I bought it, because I love the cover and the novel itself. You surely have a beautiful collection of book cover Shaun.
Ruth Sayson recently posted..5 Fixed Blade Hunting Knives Everyone Should Own
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Great idea for a post and good selections too. Personally I don’t like the “Perfect” cover, just found it a little hard to read.
Michael recently posted..Gobble and Go, Adelaide
Hi Shaun,
I love the artwork on display here, I know the old phrase “you should never judge a book by it’s cover” is true, but we all do.
My favorite is The Zombie Autopsies :D
Jay recently posted..Protected: Bonus Downloads
Great Book cover designs, the designs are unique. When it comes in choosing a book to read, I actually don’t particular the designs I actually more particular the titles and the interesting contents of that book.
I got Murakami’s 1Q84 and was just actually just about to suggest adding it to the list when … there it was, last in your picks ;-) A flat JPG doesn’t do it justice though, one has to actually see the actual jacket in order to appreciate it’s design. Nice list I love looking at book cover and have to admit that I’m very guilty of judging books by it’s cover as most of my books are bought that way.
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
I agree completely. The materials are half of what makes this a great jacket. The same is true of a few others as well. That’s why the physical book is here to stay. Pixels sometimes just don’t cut it.
Shaun Hensher recently posted..Graphic Design Toronto
Nice book covers but which one is the best read??
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[...] year. Flavorwire put together a selection, and so did Publishers Weekly. However, this one from Hensher Creative is especially comprehensive, even if they’ve included at least one that predates 2011 (Paul [...]
[...] of book designs that are rated highly in terms of excellent design from 2011, which can be found at Hensher Creative. Well worth a look, especially for new and innovative [...]
Funny, my wife has a copy of ‘Odd Bits’, I think it definitely deserves to be on your list. Thanks for sharing.
I like the innovator’s cookbook design. The image tricks your eyes that you are a looking at a three dimensional image and tells many of the things you can expect inside. I also like the compass image. It’s like the first one i mentioned.
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Other Parts is one of the best books published after 2010.
I never knew how much money I could save when you use parts of the animal that are normally seen as “bad”. However, the proof is in the book, if you know how to cook it, there is no problem!
That crinkled paper effect on Quitter is a huge conversation starter in my house. The book sits on my coffee table, where we do a lot of informal meetings with my clients.
The idea of a lawyer having a book called quitter is a fun thing to explain.
Twitter: RealtorJennifer
says:
Superb list! “Perfect” would have to be one of my favorites from your list. I had not seen your 2010 list either. That’s quite a good list as well.
Cheers!
Jennifer MacKay recently posted..Panama City Beach | Duplex for sale
Wow its Really amazing collection. Superb list. Odd bits is little bit odd ;). Thanks for sharing this.
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one word to say: perfect! these book covers only may consider masterpieces!
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Twitter: LuxWaterfront
says:
You’ve picked some really interesting choices. I like them. I know I shouldn’t but I often judge a book by its cover when selecting one to read.
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Titles are the ones who pull the reader into the book and covers are just ornaments. But yes, they are some great cover in the list well to comment it.
“I like the last on left” simple.
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
I disagree. Book covers are a great deal more than ornaments. The cover sets the mood for the book and creates an emotional expectation in the viewer. A good book cover contains meaningful symbolism and can give the viewer an immediate sense of what it will be like to read the book.
Shaun Hensher recently posted..Graphic Design Portfolio
No. How many times I saw book covers where nothing and I mean nothing associate with content of the book.
Sorry, to many times. So just another good design. And it should be and I love it.
designers not credited makes this an incomplete post but, several of the selections are nice.
Twitter: henshercreative
says:
You’re absolutely right. I wanted to have design credits, but I just didn’t have the time to track that information down.
Shaun Hensher recently posted..The Creative Process
That’s really huge and nice collection ..Thanks for sharing
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Hi Shaun
I have just stumbled upon this list and was thrilled to see a cover I designed for Text Publishing (A Love Letter from a Stray Moon) and also one by my colleague WH Chong (August).
Thanks
What a great list of the cover. Thanks for this and i like the Miriam Rosenbloom design, awesome management of text and it covers the lot of information in there.
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Twitter: a2astudio
says:
Great work. Made the comps for more than half the jackets shown. Seeing the ideas helps sell the ideas.