As long as books remain as they’ve been, they’ll most often be sold by their cover. As things change the way of the Kindle, iPhone, and various online venues, however, the purpose served by a book’s cover now changes focus to the digital realm, and increasingly books are purchased based on recommendation engines or peer reviews, with a nod to a small thumbnail of the book cover as an afterthought. If we look at the evolution of album cover design, to cassette case design, to CD cover design to online presence design we see the common thread of personal branding evolves as our consumption evolves… so is true for books.

Something to consider for the digitization of book cover design is that it must coexist with the interfaces used to read — be it the Kindle or the iPhone or a web page. This means that it cannot be just about aesthetics and message, but also about functionality. Your website may be stunning, but if it’s unusable that doesn’t matter.

As someone interested in how design evolution parallels technological evolution, I look forward to seeing how book design changes given new technologies, but in the meantime, we can all revel in the following sites that catalog beautiful book cover design.

• http://thebookdesigners.blogspot.com
• http://www.casualoptimist.com
• http://nytimesbooks.blogspot.com
• http://bookcoversanonymous.blogspot.com
• http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com

There’s little better than visiting my local Powells to revel in the rows and rows of featured titles just to see the cover designs and textures. Hats off to those who invest smartly in their book cover design as no quick-and-dirty, cheap-as-chips cover design job ever leaves you with something that beckons from the shelf.

Related posts:

1. Selling your book online
2. Harnessing modern media: audio & video promotion for books and authors
3. Ask a Reviewer: Do’s and Don’ts from Professional Book Reviewers
4. 8 Communities for Book Lovers
5. Getting your book reviewed