What do you think of this cover?

[Dreams For My Son]

I hope you all will be kind enough to share your honest assessment about this cover.

Thanks in advance.

[Dreams For My Son]

Sorry, it looks like it needs to be resized. I might need help here.

[Gale Haut]

Here you go:

[Dreams For My Son]

Thanks. I will delete the bigger one.

[Dreams For My Son]

Apparently, nobody wants to comment.

[Cella]

Hi there!

Welcome to AW! I'll go ahead and offer my opinions, but please keep in mind that I don't have any kind of background in design, or anything.

Originally Posted by Gale Haut

Here you go:

First off, I like the color scheme. I think that the title could be a bit bigger, as there is a lot of empty space.

The kid is adorable, but think that some kind of action shot might draw the reader in a bit more. Even if he were coloring, climbing...engaged in something.

Also, I don't think you can have Spiderman or anything other trademarked (if that's the right word?) icon displayed.

Anyway, it looks like an interesting book and I wish you the best with it!

[Dreams For My Son]

Thank you Cella. Appreciate your input.

[veinglory]

I think the overal design is pretty good, but I would suggest not putting title words on a slant and using a lower case M for 'my'. I would also suggest not making President such a big option. When your son grows up that is a daunting expectation to measure up, against unless you are part of a family that has the kind of influence necessary to make that a realistic possibility.

[Dreams For My Son]

Thanks for your input. Not even close to a family that can influence politics. What do you think about the Spiderman's use in this case? The kid just happened to wear that outfit at the time when the picture is taken.

Originally Posted by veinglory

I think the overal design is pretty good, but I would suggest not putting title words on a slant and using a lower case M for 'my'. I would also suggest not making President such a big option. When your son grows up that is a daunting expectation to measure up, against unless you are part of a family that has the kind of influence necessary to make that a realistic possibility.

[veinglory]

It could well be a problem as I notice reality TV shows always blur out branded t-shirts.

[katci13]

I like the overall design of it, but where is your name? Perhaps if you changed the certificate to have your name on it (and in a larger font). And I think that a picture of a kid with a big smile on his face would be better. The kid is really not smiling, he doesn't look very happy. The certificate is nice, but I don't think it needs to be there or that the kid's name should be on it.
I think you can use Spiderman with permission. I don't know how you get it. It'll be easier to take a new picture with a more neutral shirt on. And I think the cover needs a new picture anyway.

But I like the title and background and all the career options on the front. I know president is a big job, but it's a tad big. The size isn't a big deal as much as placement. I think if it was closer to the bottom of the page it would look more balanced.

[Dreams For My Son]

Okay...I will stay clear.

[Dreams For My Son]

Thank you very much. I will make sure he smiles in the next picture

Originally Posted by katci13

I like the overall design of it, but where is your name? Perhaps if you changed the certificate to have your name on it (and in a larger font). And I think that a picture of a kid with a big smile on his face would be better. The kid is really not smiling, he doesn't look very happy. The certificate is nice, but I don't think it needs to be there or that the kid's name should be on it.
I think you can use Spiderman with permission. I don't know how you get it. It'll be easier to take a new picture with a more neutral shirt on. And I think the cover needs a new picture anyway.

But I like the title and background and all the career options on the front. I know president is a big job, but it's a tad big. The size isn't a big deal as much as placement. I think if it was closer to the bottom of the page it would look more balanced.

[Rachel Udin]

1. Spider-man will be an issue. You'll have to pay licensing fees to use the logo. You can use Photoshop to block it out.
2. Not thrilled on the border, especially since it creates a tangency. If you decide to keep the border, then the line on the certificate should be higher away from the border.

Nice job on the fade, the color scheme (Make sure your son wears similar, non-copyrighted/trademarked logo/image with the same colors...)

I'm not a fan of the random bold in the subtitle. Capitalize A.

I don't mind the words at a slant so much though... just don't make the slant too strong, say 45 degrees. 'cause that'll make the reader's eye fall off.

[Dreams For My Son]

Thank you. All your suggestions will be conveyed to the artist.

Originally Posted by Rachel Udin

1. Spider-man will be an issue. You'll have to pay licensing fees to use the logo. You can use Photoshop to block it out.
2. Not thrilled on the border, especially since it creates a tangency. If you decide to keep the border, then the line on the certificate should be higher away from the border.

Nice job on the fade, the color scheme (Make sure your son wears similar, non-copyrighted/trademarked logo/image with the same colors...)

I'm not a fan of the random bold in the subtitle. Capitalize A.

I don't mind the words at a slant so much though... just don't make the slant too strong, say 45 degrees. 'cause that'll make the reader's eye fall off.

[ElJeffe]

The general layout strikes me as good, and I like the concept. The picture of the boy looks weird and kind of floaty. I would probably like it more if it was more candid and less posed. Possibly fade it a little, as well, because it could be the contrast that's throwing me.

I like the idea of the fade on the words in the background, but it seems... off somehow. As it is, the balance strikes me a bit off with the boy off to the side. Not sure how I would fix that bit. Maybe up the contrast on the faded words? I also think they should be light but not completely invisible on the upper part of the cover.

I think you're on the right track, though.

[kenebaker]

I would suggest that some of the text in the title needs to be a little bit bigger. The reason is that - when you are shopping at the Kindle store, book covers are displayed as tiny icons. If there are elements that do not show up when it's a small picture, then someone might pass it over for something that is a little more legible. If you zoom out with your browser, you can see what I mean - the 'for' and the 'my' are harder to read. I would make it slightly larger. You can also see how this would look on someone's phone if they were browsing an online bookstore - see if they can see it easily. I have read that some images / setups don't translate as well when reduced. Good luck.

[SunnyE]

I'll give my input as well. I like the background image with the career options, and personally see nothing wrong with "President" being large. Any more so than any other occupation. For a lot of families, that would be an amazing thing to see their kiddo achieve that goal, whether it seems a likely one or not when they are young. Frankly, you just never know what your kids are going to accomplish.

The area with the title is problematic for me. It looks too bland, probably because it's just the plain white background there. You don't want it too busy, either, but you could alter it somewhere in between. I agree with others that maybe just making it bigger to fit in some of the empty space would help. You should consider making "My" lowercase to match "for." Looks more balanced that way. If you don't want to do that, you could make the font on it the same size as the other words.

You would absolutely run into trouble with the Spiderman shirt. It needs to be cropped out, or changed altogether. Not worth the trouble of leaving it as is.

I also agree about the boy in the picture. He's a cutie, but he looks like he's just ready to take the darn picture and not actually happy. Best probably if you could get a shot of him laughing. People respond instantly to a laughing child. Not sure if you'd be interested, but maybe even a shot with different hats around him, like a policeman's, fireman's, airline pilot's, etc, a stethoscope, laptop, you know, things we associate with different occupations. If not, something that looks more candid (even if it's not) and exciting would help.

Hope that helps some!

[Dreams For My Son]

Thank you everyone. Once again, your inputs are very important.

[AWriterBlocked]

Lots of potential ... I have no problem with the size of the word: President. (Isn't that the problem with critiques? You get conflicting opinions. LOL) But the font and direction of "my" and "for" didn't move. Plus, there seems to be a lot of white space between the word "Son" and the top of your son's head.