Book Cover Preference

[ESPcomposites]

I really didn't know where else to ask this question, but since engineers are the final audience, I can't think of a better place.

As a working engineering, which would you prefer in a book cover?

Option 1: Faux leather with foil stamping. Just the title, author, and perhaps a simple image would appear on the cover, much like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Str...1405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312791095&sr=8-1

Option 2: Or a "typical" book with a high resolution image and modern design?

Personally, I like the simple book with faux leather. It looks more professional and just has the necessary content. I find other covers too busy and a modern image today is a dated image tomorrow. But I want to please the reader first so I might change that opinion.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Uhm... it's a book. It's purpose is to contain information that I find useful and/or entertaining. It's not a sports car. If I have to pay more money for the information container because the author thought it would look "more professional" as a gold-embossed, faux leather wrap, I take a lesser view of the author. The design should be enough to help me separate it from all of the other info containers on my shelf at a quick glance, but there's no need to do anything other than choose an appropriate collage of pictures/colors. If you want to make the book look like a piece of art, make it an art book, not an engineering text.

Just my $0.02, so take it with a grain of salt...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[zdas04]

Looking at my bookshelf, nearly 2/3 of the text books I've retained over the years have non-graphics covers. I never noticed this before, but it is interesting. I recall that a significant majority of my undergraduate books (maybe 3/4) had graphic covers and at least 1/2 of my books from graduate school had graphics on the covers, but the books that have survived in my collection and are on my bookshelf tend to not have graphics on the cover. Maybe the authors put more effort into the content than the cover?

This is a very non-scientific study since old text books make up one 8 foot shelf out of 10 such shelves in my office, and the book that I pull out the most often from that shelf has extensive graphics on the cover, but I was surprised at how many non-graphic books were on the shelf. I heard somewhere that you can't tell a book by it's cover, maybe that isn't true for technical references. Both Mark's and Perry's have non-graphics covers, but the SPE Petroleum Engineers Handbook is gaudy. I have a book that competes with Marks (not very effectively) from CRC that has graphics, and a couple of outstanding CRC handbooks with faux-leather covers.

David

 

[ESPcomposites]

David,

The author is not likely designing the cover. That is done by the publisher. If the publisher thought it would sell better with artwork, it would probably be there. It is more likely that the publisher though it would be better to go with a non graphic cover (unless it is quite old).

Like you, I tend to think of undergraduate books as having a lot of graphics. Working engineers tend to prefer a simpler cover.

Anyway, the selling price is fixed and I absorb any cost difference, so it has no affect to the purchaser. That said, I want to give the purchaser the best product possible. The cost is not dramatically different.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[SomptingGuy]

The cover is irrelevant for all scientific/engineering books I've ever bought.

A snappy picture may cause me to hone in on a pop science book though.

- Steve

 

[TheTick]

Hard-cover books stay open better when you lay one on a table. Much better when you need your hands for writing, drawing, typing, etc.

 

[YoungTurk]

I'd prefer option one sitting on my shelf, all else being equal.

However, nothing in my small work collection looks like that. Everything has the typical glossy/graphic. I assume this is because that is the standard (cheap) option when printing.

Given the choice between option one and option two, with the price of option one being higher as a result, I'd take option two. I always take the cheapest option which gets the job done.

If doing a graphic cover, I'd suggest avoiding any "wtf is that?" pictures. Too many technical course texts with crazy cover graphics cause me to wonder if the text can be clear and concise when there is a stylized-modern-technical-doodad with bright colors on the cover.

When does the book come out?

 

[ctopher]

Never judge a book by its cover.
If it's a study book, I prefer hard cover. For working books I prefer soft cover.
I don't care what graphics are on the cover, as long as it indicates clearly what's inside.
Also, the option to order it in PDF format is a big plus.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP5.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[IRstuff]

Hmmm. Seems like people have forgotten that older books used to have the graphics on the book JACKET, which included the description of the contents, and other information, because it was probably too expensive to print that material on the cover itself.

Newer books don't come with book jackets any more, so most of the stuff that used to be on the book jacket winds up on the cover itself. The switch started in the 60s to 70s, but there were still lots of books with plain covers.

While faux leather might be appealing on a journal or notebook or a literature book, I don't have a single engineering book with that type of cover. Nor, do I, I think, have many new books without printed material on the covers. Most of the new books that might have less adorned covers are those that are particularly well known, e.g., CRC Handbook, American Practical Navigator, etc.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[SLTA]

Keep it simple, is my favorite. Make sure the side is easily readable on a shelf, from a bit of a distance.

 

[drawoh]

ESPcomposites,

If it is a technical reference, I do not much care what the cover looks like.

Consider that the book will sit on a working bookshelf for quite a long time. My copy of Product Design for Manufacture and Assembly by Boothroyd, Dewhurst and Knight, acquired in 2004, clearly has faded under UV light. Most of my college books from 30+ years ago, are less faded, albeit, beat up from me reading them.

JHG

 

[ESPcomposites]

Thanks for the input everyone. It seems there really isn't a high preference either way. Both options are hard bound, just to be clear.

Here are samples I am kicking around. The left one is in faux leather, with matte silver and blue foil stamping. The right is a typical printed image with a glossy cover. The nice thing about the right is the flexibility. But the left has a more "classic" style and may be perceived as more professional, which is the target audience (as opposed to undergrad students).

http://www.espcomposites.com/both.pdf

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[cvg]

most of my "books" are pdf. Those few that I feel compelled to have printed on paper are in 3-ring binders. A few others have paper jackets with nice graphics, the paper is ripping. My 8th edition of AISC Steel Construction Manual is printed on bible paper with soft leather and gold embossing, but no graphics. It has served me well since 1983. I love that book, but it has been replaced by a newer edition. I have several others with real or faux leather and gold or sivler embossed. The type of cover, graphics and embossing has no impact on how much I like my books. I didn't choose them by looking at the covers.

 

[IRstuff]

My further two cents worth. I think that faux leather is pretentious. The connotation is that it thinks it's high literature, as opposed to a working man's tome. The foil doesn't seem to me to be a robust sort of thing that can tolerate a lot of handling.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[Qshake]

Brian - On a first look basis, I really liked the right (blue background) cover. Given your title I'd definitely check through the material no matter what the cover looked like. Just a stress kinda fella, I guess.

Regards,
Qshake

Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.

 

[casseopeia]

I don't have a preference for graphics or no graphics on the cover, but I like for books to have a very readable title on the spine. For your example, I like the one on the right better.

"Gorgeous hair is the best revenge." Ivana Trump

 

[ctopher]

I like either, but the font on the left is easier to read.

Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP5.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[ESPcomposites]

Thanks for the input. I don't think I can go too wrong either way, but I now have some additional considerations to improve the design.

The two different concepts are not exclusive. That is, the font can be interchanged, etc. The main distinction is that the color scheme is limited for the faux leather. The potential advantage is a more professional book. The potential disadvantage is overkill and some may say it is inappropriate for an engineering book.

The other thing, and maybe its just me (probably), but I always thought dark colored books seemed more intimidating than lighter colored books. I want to invite the reader (composites is already an intimidating subject to many).


Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[IRstuff]

I agree with a light spine with dark text for readability. Some of my older books, originally with gold ink on dark binding, eventually got the printing worn off, and cannot be readily identified at a distance any more. In fact some of those books are so bad off that you have open up to the title page to figure out what the title is.

Since you these books to well-used, you should consider whether the durability of the foil stamping is up to snuff. While some books' stampings do seem to have held up well, none of my books with ink-printed covers are illegible.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[Ron]

As ESP noted, the publisher typically decides on the cover design and content. The photo or graphic on the front should complement the content.

I like the retro, plain covers....Terzaghi and Peck, Sowers, Neville, Yoder and Witczak...etc.

Different publishers have different approaches....Wiley uses the simple. Pearson uses graphics and photos. The content of the books can be equally good..but check them out, whether simple or ornate.