A well-designed cover draws interest to your publication. In the case of e-books it may be the only thing a prospective reader sees when deciding to make a purchase. Most would agree that a good design is essential when it comes to books for the mass market, but some think scholarly publications are exempt from this requirement. They are not. The cover has to make the reader want to pick it up, regardless of the educational tone of the subject. I work with the client to realize a book’s potential. The following pages display some of my creative work. — mary jane gavenda designer of well-crafted books
the cover tells the story
Human and Animal Bond titles A particular challenge of the title pictured below left was creating a cover to depict animal cruelty that was compelling without turning off prospective readers. The cover suggests the imminent danger of a dog peeking behind a door while not depicting any outright violence. The dog’s wary eye leads the reader to the title.
adult biography with children’s companion
Spacewalker The task here was to design both versions that maintained the same look. Because this was a genre with a lot of competition (i.e., astronaut biographies), the book’s title needed to stand out. I also retouched the photography to eliminate much of the clutter (logos, equipment details, etc.) that would detract from the title and the subject.
conceptual covers
Making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear Sometimes you just get no materials that are cover worthy. Often these types of covers become my favorites because there was so little to work with initially. With this project, the artwork consisted of sherd collections. I upsized the art and added smoke to show the original function of the object. A grunge background was added to add the industrial flavor.
. . . Part two I was determined to not make the cover as spartan in its artwork as the inside layout! I created a montage of typical Greek foods of the era discussed in text to make an attractive presentation of a dry scientific topic.
Book Series
Ancient Art & Architecture in Context Sometimes the best design lesson is just to stay out of your own way and let the subject shine on its own. These covers simply show the beauty of the subject matter.
Winner of the PROSE Award for best Anthropology/Archaeology title
guidebook series
Archaeological Site and Museum Guides An example of carrying a cover theme throughout an entire series. Each cover displays an overview of the site and also an artifact found within it. The books have both English and Greek editions.
commemorative book
125th Anniversary of Purdue Bands What great fun to produce! I was given a large box full of photos and ephemera with the manu足script and free rein to shape it into a coffee table-worthy scrapbook. The goal of the design was to make it nostalgic and lively. The landscape trim size was selected to fit the nature of the photography, which included many sprawling marching band formations.
memoir
Kommos: A Minoan Harbor Town The book’s colors are meant to evoke the sunny Mediterranean in this archaeological memoir of Crete, Greece. The flower depicted on front is from a fresco found by the author and used as a design motif throughout.
testimonials
I love working with authors and “book people.” I listen closely to what they want to say with their volume then execute something that will satisfy or exceed both of our expectations. Here are some nice things said about me.
Mary Jane has an extraordinary eye and native artistic talent with a flair for color and supreme technical acumen. One of her projects, Histories of Peirene, won the PROSE Award for best archaeology/anthropology book and also helped its author secure tenure. Mary Jane’s work was always done on-time and with both professionalism and friendliness. I was regularly presented with options from which to choose for covers and sample layouts, and the choices were often difficult because the work was so good. Her instincts are easy to trust, and it was enough to provide basic guidelines and instructions, and then letting her run with the ideas. I was never disappointed. — andrew reinhard, director of publications, american numismatic society (formerly publications director, ascsa)
Mary Jane created a number of wonderful book covers for Purdue University Press, including one for the bestselling “Spacewalker.” She was always reliable, speedy, and extremely professional with a great blend of design skill and sensitivity to the text. I would not hesitate to recommend her to any other publisher or author. — charles watkinson, director of university of michigan press (formerly director of purdue university press)
Mary Jane Gavenda did the covers for two of my books, “Heartbeat of the University” and “Spacewalker,” which I wrote with astronaut Jerry Ross. She also did the cover for a children’s book about Ross. The covers speak for themselves. They are outstanding and they have contributed a lot to successful sales. I have watched people as they pick up the book, examine the cover and are drawn inside. She is wonderful to work with, very creative, meets deadlines. You actually can tell a lot about a book by it’s cover! I would not only recommend Mary Jane to everyone, I also hope she does the covers for all my future books. — john norberg, author
Just a quick note to say that I received tenure this week. Without the book, I doubt I’d be in such a good place, so I just want to thank you again for making Histories of Peirene more than just a “tenure book” and something that I’ll always be truly proud of. My mother said she’s never seen anything so beautiful, and loved everything about layout, and chapter heading pages, to the endpapers! Wanted to know all about the process, and who was behind the design. You have a fan. Thank you for helping to make a mother proud! — betsey robinson, author
contact me
Mary Jane Gavenda 13 Effingham Road Yardley, PA 19067 Tel: 215.428.1628 Email: mjgave@verizon.net www.linkedin.com/in/wellcrafteddesign to view pdf samples of book interiors, go to: www.issuu.com/mjgave/stacks