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"Lessons on Gifts and Giving" Book Cover Art

George Thompson | Greenville, KY

I loved working on this book cover art, another in a series of Christian book cover design. I created it for Western Kentucky pastor and author George E. Thompson. George is one of the first humans I remember knowing. My parents often took me to his home as a youth, and I attended preschool with his daughter in my small Kentucky hometown. Being his book cover designer really brought our relationship full circle.

Lessons on Gifts and Giving compiles a series of brief thoughts about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament books of the Holy Bible describe these gifts in great detail. At the time George commissioned me, I was not doing as much print work as I would have liked. Plus, my family are voracious readers, enjoying a variety of topics. Because of these particular reasons, it was truly a privilege for me to create this religious guide’s artwork.

Book cover art – front cover fonts and colors

George gave me a lot of creative freedom for this project. I took a few steps back to ponder how I could properly depict such awe inspiring subject matter. First, I used one of my favorite color combinations, which is blue, orange, and yellow. The bright colors set against the dark background creates a stark contrast. This specific contrast brings the weight and power to the design, which the book’s theme called for.

Also, I jumped at the chance to use one of the many ribbon style fonts that were trendy at the time. This was an appropriate setting, considering that the focal images centered around gift packages. I also made use of the equally trendy Museo Slab font. It spells out the rest of the text content featured in the book’s layout. I set the main titles on the cover over parallel orange ribbon shapes, which rise upward at an angle. This effect makes the ribbons stand out even more. They have a positive, uplifting feel of forward motion.

Focal image and filter effects for Christian book cover design

Completing the front design, a dark and mysterious figure appears in the cover’s background. This mystery man represents the Holy Spirit. The Bible characterizes the Spirit as a comforter, as well as a guide to believers in Christ. The image of Him holding the glowing golden gift package really sums up the main idea of this book’s topic.

I began by selecting the perfect royalty free stock photo for the focal image. In its initial form, it depicted a businessman who is holding a shiny gold gift package. By using the Adobe Photoshop app, I then desaturated it. I followed up by cut the package out from the photo. Next, I separated it into its own layer, situated in the cover’s foreground. I recolored and darkened the background figure blue. After that, I faded him into the black background in order to cement its intriguing appeal.

Graphic design effects and filters

Wrapping up the design for this tome’s front cover, I should discuss the effects used in the focal image. Let me clarify that I do not typically make use of very many Photoshop filters in my work. It is easy to overdo effects. Sometimes graphic artists make the mistake of throwing them in haphazardly. Because of this, their work can suffer. This is easy to do, even for seasoned pros. However, I felt that the halftone and glow effects were the appropriate finishing touches. They completed the design in order to convey the spiritual theme of this book.

The ethereal Photoshop filters come together in order to make the glowing golden package pop out. I drove home the spiritual theme on the book’s cover, while still retaining a clean and modern feel.

Book cover art – back cover story

The quaint wrapped gift boxes on the back cover also reflect the book’s warm and inviting feel. Humble plaid and butcher paper patterns cover the presents. Each of them is wrapped with a tasteful blue ribbon. I faded them into the pale yellow solid background so they would not compete with the text.

The synopsis, as well as the paragraph describing the author’s credentials, are also featured on the back cover. These passages invite both believers and nonbelievers alike to learn about God’s many great gifts to us.

In conclusion, this Christian book cover design was a great opportunity to use my gifts. Specifically, I am referring to creating the perfect graphic design solutions for my clients. I am happy any chance that I get to both honor God with that gift and help a friend with their own passion project at the same time.

Head over to Amazon and pick up your paperback copy of “Lessons on Gifts and Giving”.

Need a cover design? Let me design yours

You have finished the long and arduous process of writing the perfect manuscript. After that, you went through the steps of painstakingly editing that content. Finally, your literary labor of love has been completed. Every chapter and every page is now finished. Hold up, you can’t take your book to press just yet! Now you need the right cover design, and it needs to be done precisely to spec by a professional book cover designer. You have completed the hard part, so why not let me make your book cover art easy? I possess the education and experience, as well as the eye for detail to get the job done.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and contact me today.

"Lessons on Strengthening the Church" book cover graphic design

George Thompson | Greenville, KY

Here is another book cover graphic design for my old friend George. The author has also been a pastor here in Kentucky for many years. This is a short guide he wrote for growing and strengthening church congregations. As such, I chose to go the literal route with this cover design. Come along with me to the next stop in my journey as a Christian book cover artist.

Christian book cover artist – graphic design story

George liked my idea of juxtaposing a weightlifter along with a shining stained glass window overhead. I simplified the stock photo of the athlete lifting weights to a sepia tone. This makes it a subtle image without completely losing it in the black background, since the stained glass window and the title itself are the main elements. I faded the image of the bench press behind the description on the back of the jacket so the text in front of it is legible.

The title on the front cover has a red grunge frame similar to a rubber stamp. I used the LHF Pilsner Script for the words “Lessons On” for a weighty, vintage feel. “Strengthening the Church” is fittingly set in a strong serif block font. The red and white title pop on the stark black background.

His publisher has very exact standards for formatting. Since that is not his forte, the author requested my help. George entrusted me with the finished format of his original manuscript. I also arranged its indexes to the publisher’s specifications. Buy the book in paperback on Amazon. See also my design for George’s “Lessons on the Lord’s Prayer” cover design.

Hire me for your own book cover graphic design

I truly enjoyed working on this art since physical fitness and spiritual fitness are important to me. I also enjoy visualizing concepts that I am not as familiar with. In some cases you actually can judge a book by its cover!

No matter what your subject matter, I can help you make your work look its best for potential readers. Contact me today.

Youth camp logo design for Marked events

Marked Youth Camp / Southern Illinois

I made this youth camp logo design for a United Methodist Church sponsored camp based in Illinois.  It was an update of their existing logo, which made use of block lettering and a grunge “splatter” element. The Youth Pastor called me to reimagine it with a more modern look and feel.

Youth Camp Logo Design Story

First, I chose the weighty Rockwell Bold font, which was very popular at this time. A font that strong is impossible to ignore, especially with a high contrast design such as this. Then, I filled the letter “A” in red.  This represents how Christians are set apart (“marked”) for the Lord’s service. Many of my favorite logo designs leave out the bridge in the capital letter “A”. I felt that this also helps this design stand out in addition to the color variant.

The client encouraged me to use some swirling vine elements, but to make sure they were “not too feminine”. This gives the design some flair, but is not too over the top. I added a thick black stroke outline around the elements to give it plenty of weight and contrast. Tilting the logo upward also helps to catch the eye. Gradient and embossing effects on the letter “A”, as well as the black background, help give it a high end feel.

The last elements I included were some subtle grunge cracks around the edges of the text, plus a splatter in the background to give it an edge. Finally, I drafted several variations of the concept for different purposes, such as those in which the grunge elements were not appropriate. This kind of versatility is important to clients who may need to appeal to different audiences for funding, for instance.

Let me create your group or church’s youth camp logo design

Does your church or youth camp need a fresh look? Rebranding could be the key to attract new parishioners or campers. I have extensive experience with religious content, as well as decades in the field of high end logo design. Contact me today to get started.