Welcome to Book Cover Design Mistakes, a new series of posts on Shelfbuzz which help identify common mistakes of amateur book designers. In Part 5 of this series, we’ll shine the spotlight of shame on to covers with too many images. This is a simple mistake, yet a common one. The author/designer comes to the conclusion that if one image is good, multiple images must be better.
For example:

The next cover, Labyrinth, wants us to know the story has fighting, loving, and castles—so all of those elements are slapped on the cover.







Bottom Line: most professionally-designed book covers use a strong central image and don’t clutter the design with extraneous elements.
Book Cover Design Mistakes Series
- Mistake #1: Odd Size
- Mistake #2: Overused Typefaces
- Mistake #3: Poor Portraits
- Mistake #4: Typographical Errors
- Mistake #5: Lack of Focus
- Mistake #6: Using Stock Images Without Modification
- List of Common Cover Design Mistakes
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