There has been a lot of discussion lately about spec work; which seems to come in waves for some odd reason. My opinion on spec work has changed from when I was a wee little student to now, an emerging professional designer.

For those out of the loop, I want to define spec work. I’ll also tackle the pros/cons and my position. I also have a list of resources for and against spec work at the bottom of the post and feel free to share your opinion and resources in the comments.

Essentially, spec work is a project(s) that a designer creates in anticipation of being compensated but not guaranteed. A common example is a logo contest. A “client” posts a project via an outlet needing a logo. The client will award $400 to the best logo from a pool of participating “designers.”

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The design of a book cover is very important in the sales of a book. Today, I take a look at the top fifteen New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list from this week. After observing these designs, I’ve realized three things that are important in designing a cover for such great writers and stories:

1. A reader goes to a book store knowing which book they want to purchase. Therefore, the title must be apparent and readable.
2. A reader goes to the book store to browse for a particular author. So, the author’s name must be recognized but also the style of the author’s books should be portrayed in the cover either through point-of-view photography/imagery, color, or typefaces.
3. Someone is browsing in a bookstore and see the cover, attracted to it, and associates it with the quality of the book and author.

Now let’s take a look at the book covers from the top 15 New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers list from January 8, 2010. I provided links to the Amazon page for each book so you can read more about it, but don’t worry. I didn’t use those “referral” links where I would receive money for purchasing the book. I encourage you to check out your local independent bookstore for these or other books.

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