Whether it’s fantasy, mystery, or romance novels, book cover design has taken quite the turn in the publishing industry as of late. As explained by 99designs’s article,  9 captivating book cover design trends for 2022, trends have become a big part of social media (especially since the pandemic began) and here at SparkPress and She Writes Press, we’re proud to say our beautifully designed book covers have taken part in trends every year. 

Here are a few titles we have falling in line with trends taking 2022 by storm. 

Dystopian Style

Dystopian novels have been trending for quite some time now, and the covers that illustrate nature with a futuristic–albeit odd twist–have long since been a clear representation of the sci-fi genre. Strobes of light, technology, or depictions of crumbling cities are only a few details often added to the cover of a dystopian novel. 

We’ll be seeing this trend in 2022 on the cover of Sentient by Gary Durbin, but we’ve been seeing design dystopia on our covers for years. For example, A Place Called Zamora by LB Gschwandtner came out in 2020. 

The Brutalist 

The covers of this trend come off as strong as the word “brutalist abyss” does with the use of monotone colors (black and white, red, green, and so on), geometric shapes, hard lines, and contrasts and patterns that stand out. The brutalist style on the cover of a book can make it seem cold and eerie to draw the reader into the story they may not know too much about at first glance. 

We saw this trend at SparkPress in 2021 on the covers of Murmuration by Sid Balman Jr. and The Sorting Room by Michael Rose, while widely different covers, contain vital details with stark colors and patterns to draw the eye. 

Loud and Colorful

This trend is referred to as “loud maximalism,” which focuses on the power of rich colors such as neon or pastels and images containing people, art, or photography. Mixing in the intensity of playfulness, color, and beautiful designs on a cover makes the book pop out on the bookshelf in stores. 

SparkPress saw this trend in 2020 with Malcolm and Me by Robin Farmer. We’ll continue to see it at our sister press, She Writes Press, with American Blues by Polly Hamilton Hilsabeck. Both have the loud maximalism element with bright colors and intriguing imagery.

Escapism Illustrations

The escapism trend was created to transcend readers into their imagination using colorful covers and sharp contrasts that can be applied to any literary genre. Still, as a rule of thumb, escapism must contain a sense of mystery. A clear representation of escapism would be Alane Adams’s Witches of Orkney series. This middle-grade series uses bright colors and illustrations to give the reader a sense of adventure and curiosity. More recently, we’ve seen this on Ski Weekend by Rektok Ross, presenting a mysterious, foreboding atmosphere with bright blues, whites, and darker tones in the background.

Contemporary and Artistic

Intriguing covers in a contemporary style aims to entice readers and prepare them for the shock of a new concept to throw themselves into the story entirely. The purpose of a modern concept on covers such as contemporary romance novels, use combinations to entice readers. Examples of these combinations can be out-of-focus imagery or color. 

While this is not a trend we’ve seen on SparkPress covers yet, She Writes Press is on-trend here. We’ll be seeing this on Anastasia Zadeik’s Blurred Fates and in Where Time Begins by Sasha Paulsen this spring. On both, we see strong contrasts between textures, colors, and art.