A minimalist cover is not an empty cover. It is a cover that survives being 120 pixels wide in a search result, which is where most readers will meet it. One strong idea, one legible title, no decoration that turns to mud at thumbnail size — that is the whole discipline.
What you receive
- Front, spine and back laid out for a 6×9 paperback wrap, with the ebook front-only version supplied separately.
- True vector artwork: shapes and type that scale to a 3-metre poster without a single blurred edge.
- Retina-ready exports: 1600×2560 JPEG for KDP, 1600×2400 for the other stores, and a square crop for audio.
- Editable source files so a future reprint, a series number or a price change does not mean starting again.
- Thumbnail test: we hand you the cover at 120 px beside the current category bestsellers so you can see whether it holds.
How the design is made
- Brief. Title, subtitle, author, genre, three covers you admire and three you hate — the dislikes usually say more.
- Two directions. Two genuinely different concepts, not one concept in two colours.
- Refinement. One direction taken forward through two rounds of amends on type, spacing and colour.
- Delivery. All exports, the source files and a short note on which fonts were used and where to license them.
Where minimalism wins
Business, self-help, literary fiction, poetry and memoir all benefit from restraint: the reader is being asked to trust the author, not to be entertained by the packaging. It is also the only style that reliably survives the grey-on-white thumbnail of a store search page, because contrast and a single clear word carry further than a busy illustration at that size.
Series and bulk work
The Professional tier covers three covers — usually a series where the template is built once and applied consistently, which is cheaper per book and looks deliberate on a shelf. Bulk covers ten, which is the right choice for a backlist relaunch or a publisher testing several pen names.
Files, fonts and future reprints
Every cover is delivered with its source file — layers named, text still editable, colours on a documented palette. That matters more than it sounds: a reprint with a new imprint logo, a box set that needs a matching spine, or a translation that needs a longer title are all twenty-minute jobs on a properly built file, and full rebuilds on a flattened one. Fonts are licensed for commercial use and the licence details are included so nothing in your book is quietly infringing. If you later move to a print edition, the vector artwork scales to the wrap without being redrawn.
Pricing
| Tier | Scope | Price | Was | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 cover | $20 | $30 | |
| Professional | 3 covers | $60 | $75 | |
| Bulk / Authority | 10 covers | $200 | $200 |
Frequent questions
Can you match an existing series look?
Yes. Send the earlier covers and the new book inherits the grid, type hierarchy and colour logic without copying the artwork.
Do I own the files?
Entirely. Full rights, editable sources, no watermark and no licence fee on future print runs.
How long does it take?
Three to four working days for one cover, including both concepts and the amends. Rush delivery is available on request.
Brief a minimalist cover — title, genre and blurb are enough to start.