By Thomas McGee

Most designers invest a huge chunk of time studying colors, fonts, layouts, images, and how they all work together to make a quality piece. Designers also examine other books in the market to:

• see what the current trends are
• learn what makes a good cover design
• evaluate what catches a book buyer’s attention

It’s always in an author’s best interest to seriously consider the designer’s concepts and ideas, and to trust his or her judgment.

With this in mind, I’d like to share 10 common requests authors make that make graphic designers revolt:

1. “For the image on my cover let’s use a sunset or a rainbow.”
2. “Please change the font to “Papyrus” or “Times New Roman.”
3. “On the cover I want to see a man lifting his hands to the sky, looking towards a cross faded into the sky.”
4. “My favorite color is purple, so please change the color of the trees to a shade of purple.”
5. “I showed the cover comp you sent me to my friend and we both think you should make all the elements on the cover smaller.”
6. “Take the title and move it 1/16th of an inch down.”
7. “Please make my cover look like {insert name here}’s cover.”
8. “My friend knows how to use Photoshop and I’ve asked him to come up with the concept to use for the cover.”
9. “Please use this drawing in the design.”
10. “I want the cover to appeal to men and women, but please be sure to include a lavender image somewhere in the design.”

Thomas McGee is a graphic designer at WinePress. His job includes: cover design, Web design, advertising design, and assisting with WinePress’ partner company, Notation Marketing Group. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys volunteering at his local Christian bookstore, The Salt Shaker.