illustration - kaspian shore

These illustrations by Kaspian Shore look to me like a series of book
covers (think of The Vampire Diaries series).  Each is a different
character, or a few characters slowly changing in this mixed up
science fiction/fantasy world.  I'm intrigued - and provoked to try
and dream up who they might be..  Hope you are too.

Be moved.  Onward and upward.

book covers - amazon's top 10

For your consideration: the book covers for Amazon.com's
top 10 science fiction & fantasy books of 2012, based on sales. 
Looking at these through the lens of the recent book cover 
design post, they play to many of the "good design" theories
mentioned such as combination theory, maximization, ju jitsu
theory, though most use encapsulation theory, where the image
and typeface are unified and easy to understand at a glance.
Would you buy any of these based solely on the cover?

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

book covers - twenty theories on successful designs

For those of you curious about book cover design - whether it
be in regards to your future novel dreams or your current
self-published project, and so on - here's a great intro to what
can make a good book cover.

1. Face theory - 
Research suggests that human beings spend 48.6% of their lives
decoding facial communication, so a big draw for a potential
book buyer will be the familiarity of a face.

2. Association theory -
Human beings make a connection with a given stimulus that
leads to how they respond to something they see. The image on
the cover of Luca Turin's The Little Book of Perfumes uses the
familiar image of a perfume bottle to help the reader respond to
the idea that the book is about scent.

from unexpected places - movie poster design

These minimalist movie posters sum up key moods and plot points
in a single simple image.  What silhouette and color palatte would
belong to your story?  (Via DesignInspiration.net)