A manuscript is a poor thing. It lacks a body and a face. It’s limp, drab and utterly uninspiring to look at. That is where book designers come in handy. They give the book a visual personality, an interior which is both beautiful and easy on the eye. They give it weight, heft and a much-needed spine and Nada Backovic from Nada Backovic Design is one of the best. I spoke to her about how she approaches her work.
With fiction covers, Nada says, ‘My job is working out how to translate the mood of the novel to create an appealing cover design. I liken it a little to a filmmaker, who is looking to evoke a reaction from his audience.’
It’s true that many covers for novels are not literal, in that they don’t mirror the plot exactly, but they carry within them the sense of the story; how it may feel for the reader. So, covers can be subtle, incredibly nuanced. While there is certainly a technical skill involved, making book covers is an art.
‘There aren’t any hard and fast rules that can dictate the outcome or success of a cover design,’ Nada says. ‘I think if I had to suggest a general rule, it would be clarity or simplicity. Less is more sometimes, and a cluttered cover may well get lost in a sea of other covers. A simpler one may stand out, perhaps.’
It’s true. There is a sea of books out there and for an unknown author, like me, the cover is vital. It’s what draws a reader in in that first instance when there is nothing else to go on. If the magic is right, that reader may reach out, take hold, and maybe, just maybe, turn the book over and read the blurb. Even this is a great achievement in a bookshop with shelves groaning with titles or in leviathan-like online booksellers, where stock, in digital formats at least, can be infinite.
In view of this, I asked Nada about her creative process and how she approaches the design of a new cover.
‘This blank phase is both exciting and daunting. It’s the phase where nothing is tangible yet. The process starts with lots and lots of research. I draw inspiration from all sorts of places and form a sort of a mood board which creates a launching pad from which to start designing. Sometimes, it’s clear what I want to create. Other times, I let the designs evolve through experimentation.’
It’s a job which can require pretty intense contact with authors who have little design experience. There is much to discuss and the design/writer language barrier to breach. I asked Nada how she translated a brief from the author into a cover.
‘Over time, I’ve learnt to elicit the right kind of information from clients which helps me understand what they are after. By getting in tune with the book itself, I can sense the mood and the genre and have the experience to translate that into visuals.’
Nada has worked in the business for over twenty years. Born and bred in London, she secured a job with Random House UK, after completing a BA (Hons) in graphic design at the London College of Communication. After emigrating to Australia, she was appointed as Design Manager at Allen & Unwin, before going on to work with other major publishers, including Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins Publishers, Melbourne University Press and Pan Macmillan, just to name a few. I asked her whether book covers had changed over that time.
When it comes to genre fiction, Nada says that the changes have been more subtle. With thrillers for example, the fundamental components have remained the same, but the designs are more current.
‘In book design, much like fashion, there is a constant recycling of ideas and I often draw inspiration from past designs, not so much book designs, but from art and design in general.’
She says, ‘General fiction has probably picked up the biggest changes and books have, in more recent years, felt less mass-market, more beautiful, looking like works of art in their own right.’
And just to borrow her artist’s eye, I couldn’t resist asking her for her favourite all-time cover design.
‘I’m fickle! I have new favourites all the time! It’s a few years old now but I really love the cover of The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. 
I love all things William Morris and I think the cover also subliminally reminds me of home. I grew up in West London along the Thames (William Morris and I would practically have been neighbours if I’d grown up in another era!) and the snaking serpent on the cover is reminiscent of the Thames snaking through London.’
And there is that nuance again, but it can’t be faked. It’s not like chemically producing a flavour or artificially concocting a scent. All that can be done is somehow capture the heart of book, using the expertise and design knowledge at hand.
The experience of a book and the decision to buy it in the first place is enriched by the care, the diligence and the far-seeing eye of the book designer. And the work of the author is boosted; hopefully elevated into the consciousness of those we hope to impress, the readers. That is no small thing. Many thanks, Nada.
You can connect with Nada and see more of her work on Instagram here and on her website.