Spine Magazine Issue 2

book cover design magazine New & Noteworthy Authors: Friend or Foe? The London Book Fair Antiquing your designs

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It's been a long time coming, but I'm pleased to finally be able to bring you issue 2 of Spine Magazine. We've developed this issue to feature not just new and noteworthy covers, but articles and tutorials too. Enjoy!

Edited by Emma J Hardy

contents

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Fiction Showcase Non Fiction Showcase Authors: Friend or Foe? Books About Books Events Listings Antiquing Your Designs

fic·tion

/ˈfɪkʃ(ə)n/ 1

[mass noun] literature in the form of

prose, especially novels that describes

imaginary events and people.

Classic Graphic Novel Crime Fable Fairy tale Fantasy Folklore Historical Horror Humour Melodrama Metafiction Mystery Mythology Mythopoeia Sci-fi Western Romance Romp Satire Thriller Travellogue

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all my puny sorrows

A playful and simple cover, with a nice attention to

miriam toews detail; the delicate border contains the illustrative design by: elements effectively. studiohelen.co.uk publisher's description:

Miriam Toews's All My Puny Sorrows, at once tender and unquiet, offers a profound reflection on the limits of love, and the sometimes unimaginable challenges we experience when childhood becomes a new country of adult commitments and responsibilities.

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get in trouble stories

Although hand painted type seems to be all the rage right

kelly link now in book design, Murto has managed to keep it design by: fresh with bold colours and interesting overlays. alex murto publisher's description:

Hurricanes, astronauts, evil twins, bootleggers, Ouija boards, iguanas, The Wizard of Oz, superheroes, the Pyramids… These are just some of the talismans of an imagination as capacious and as full of wonder as that of any writer today. But as fantastical as these stories can be, they are always grounded by sly humor and an innate generosity of feeling for the frailty—and the hidden strengths—of human beings. In Get in Trouble, this one-of-a-kind talent expands the boundaries of what short fiction can do.

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lightning rods

The designer's bold decision to split the author name

helen dewitt up, pays off as a well executed concept that really comes

into its own when printed. publisher's description:

'All I want is to be a success. That's all I ask.' Failing salesman Joe has a dream - or rather an outrageous fantasy.

Because holed up in his trailer Joe comes up with a jaw-dropping plan that will stamp out sexual harassment in the workplace and make his fortune. Win-win? As he turns his life around, Lightning Rods takes us to the very top of corporate America.

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mrs engels

The uncoated paper stock used for this jacket compliments

gavin mccrea the simple design well, and makes it one of those books

you can't resist picking up to run your hands over. publisher's description:

In September 1870 a train leaves Manchester bound for London. On board is Lizzie Burns, a poor worker from the Irish slums, who is embarking on the journey that will change her forever. Sitting in the first-class carriage beside her lover, the wealthy mill-owner Frederick Engels, the vision of a life of peace and comfort takes shape before her eyes: finally, at nearly fifty, she is to be the lady of a house and the wife to a man. Perhaps now she can put the difficulties of the past behind her, and be happy?

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the buried giant

When multiple books are lined up as spine, face out, spine,

kazuo isshiguro the line of the mountain flows seamlessly – a genius

marketing move.

publisher's description:

The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years. They expect to face many hazards - some strange and other-worldly - but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another.

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the end of days

Text that interacts with illustration is always a win with

jenny erpenbeck editors and marketing – this is why. Bold and intriguing design by: this cover demands attention from its potential readers. erik rieselbach publisher's description:

From one of the most daring voices in European fiction, this is a story of the twentieth century traced through the various possible lives of one woman. She is a baby who barely survives beyond her first breath, and suffocates in the cradle. Or perhaps not? She lives to become as an adult and dies beloved. Or dies betrayed. Or perhaps not? Her memory is honoured. Or she is forgotten by everyone. Moving from a small Galician town at the turn of the century, through pre-war Vienna and Stalin's Moscow to present-day Berlin, Jenny Erpenbeck homes in on the moments when life follows a particular branch and 'fate' suddenly emerges from the sly interplay between history, character and pure chance.

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the mirror world of melody black

Spot gloss is utilised to perfection on this cover, which

gavin extence dances with light like a mirror ball when you pick it up. illustration by: The illustration is dynamic and the text laid out excellently. fumio watanabe publisher's description:

It all starts, as these things sometimes do, with a dead man.

He was a neighbour, not someone Abby knew well, but still, finding a body when you only came over to borrow a tin of tomatoes, that comes as a bit of a shock. At least, it should. And now she can't shake the feeling that if she hadn't gone into Simon's flat, if she'd had her normal Wednesday night instead, then none of what happened next would have happened. And she would never have met Melody Black‌

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the shore

A stunning illustration let the designer keep the rest

sara taylor simple, but don't be deceived; the text layout would have

been a tricky one to solve – but done beautifully here. publisher's description:

The Shore. A collection of small islands sticking out from the coast of Virginia into the Atlantic Ocean that has been home to generations of fierce and resilient women.

Sanctuary to some but nightmare to others, it’s a place they’ve inhabited, fled, and returned to for hundreds of years. From a brave girl’s determination to protect her younger sister as methamphetamine ravages their family, to a lesson in summoning storm clouds to help end a drought, these women struggle against domestic violence, savage wilderness, and the corrosive effects of poverty and addiction to secure a sense of well-being for themselves and for those they love.

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the wake

Illustrator and designer have come together here to

paul kingsnorth create an intriguing cover that leaves you wanting design by: mecob to learn more. The type has been nicely textured to illustration by: compliment the paper stock and illustration style. alan rogerson publisher's description:

A post-apocalyptic novel set a thousand years ago, The Wake tells the story of Buccmaster of Holland, a free farmer of Lincolnshire, owner of three oxgangs, a man clinging to the Old Gods as the world changes drastically around him. After losing his sons at the Battle of Hastings and his wife and home to the invading Normans, Buccmaster begins to gather together a band of 'grene men', who take up arms to resist their brutal invaders.

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wolf in white van

What must have been weeks of fiddling to get this cover

john darnielle perfect, has certainly paid off. A not entirely new concept, design by: has been reinvigorated here and the result is stunning. tim goodman publisher's description:

Welcome to Trace Italian, a game of strategy and survival!

You may now make your first move. A terrible event leaves Sean Phillips disfigured when he is only seventeen.

In the weeks that follow he creates an adventure game he calls the 'Trace Italian', where players awake in an apocalyptic America and make their way to safety across an irradiated landscape, decision by difficult decision.

The years pass and Sean lives a quiet life enriched by the growing popularity of his games. But when a pair of teenage sweethearts try to seek the Trace in the real world their actions prove fatal, and everything changes.

non·fic·tion

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/ˌnänˈfiksh(ə)n/

[mass noun] prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history.

Biography Autobiography Essay Narrative Speech Textbook Reference book Monograph Instructional Scientific Art & Design Historical Politics Social Science Medicine Business Computing Mathematics Marketing Finance Linguistics

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a–z of letterpress

Kitching's signature style can be spotted a mile off with

alan kitching this simple but effective cover design. The uncoated paper

and slightly embossed letter are a nice nod to its content. publisher's description:

A must for letterpress enthusiasts and graphic designers, this is a covetable showcase of Alan Kitching’s fount collection. Each page has been carefully created by Alan Kitching in collaboration with Angus Hyland, making this book a work of typographic art in its own right.

Presented as an A to Z, the individual letters are divided by full alphabets, giving the reader access to a large range of founts to reference in their own work.

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communal luxury

A smart move to use a wallpaper pattern by William

kristin ross Morris, and an even nicer move to have the type being design by: swallowed up by it all. christopher lin publisher's description:

The Commune is back on the agenda. From Madrid to Istanbul, from Cairo to New York, people are reappropriating public and private spaces, reorienting them toward a new function in common. A return to the great nineteenth-century insurrection that most fully instantiated urban insurrection may well be due.

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male circumcision in japan

This clever design is bound to get the men squirming

genaro castro-vazquez and women giggling. Simple but beautifully executed. design by: paileen currie publisher's description:

Castro-Vazquez analyzes the structural factors and meanings embedded in male circumcision showing the social imagery and growing anxieties concerning changes in gender regimes and sexual mores in Japanese society Introducing the viewpoints of a group Japanese men and women to highlight the significance of penile hygiene to prevent disease, this book casts doubt on the relevance of male circumcision and contests the idea that women prefer the circumcised penis.

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smoke gets in your eyes

The beautiful typorgraphy on this cover really compliments

caitlin doughty the tone of the photograph. This cover is delicate but design by: demands your attention. peter adlington publisher's description:

From her very first day at Westwind Cremation & Burial, twenty-three-year-old Caitlin Doughty threw herself into the gruesome daily tasks of her curious new profession.

From caring for bodies of all shapes and sizes, picking up corpses from the hospital morgue, sweeping ashes from the cremation machines (sometimes onto her clothes) and learning to deal with mourning families, Caitlin comes face-to-face with the very thing we go to great lengths to avoid thinking about - death.

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the iceberg

This uncoated and foiled cover is at its best in print.

marion coutts That said, the digital version still shows off the nicely

thought out typography. publisher's description:

In 2008 the art critic Tom Lubbock was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The tumour was located in the area controlling speech and language, and would eventually rob him of the ability to speak. He died early in 2011.

Marion Coutts was his wife. In short bursts of beautiful, textured prose, Coutts describes the eighteen months leading up to her partner's death. This book is an account of a family unit, man, woman, young child, under assault, and how the three of them fought to keep it intact.

Written with extraordinary narrative force and power, The Iceberg is almost shocking in its rawness.

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the shepherd's life

The stunning choice of imagery transports you straight

james rebanks into this book's world.

publisher's description:

Some people's lives are entirely their own creations.

James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.

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the utopia of rules

A concept that could have been quite hard to execute

david graeber with clear hierarchy and legibility has been successfully design by: carried out. christopher king publisher's description:

Leaping from economic theory to the hidden meanings behind James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Batman, The Utopia of Rules is at once a powerful work of social theory and an entertaining reckoning with popular culture. An essential book for our times that is destined to start a million conversations about the institutions that rule our lives, and the better, freer world we should imagine for ourselves.

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violence

richard bessel design by: lewis csizmazia

A perfect example of less is more.

publisher's description:

Both historically questioning and intensely evocative of the most vicious and brutal violence enacted by mankind, this book shows how the place of violence in the modern world presents a number of paradoxes and how it is an inescapable theme in human history.

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wild swimming walks

The Beautiful and eyecatching illustration is what really

margaret dickinson makes this cover stand out from its competitors who design by: sue gent mostly use photographs. illustration: james lewis publisher's description:

Join the famous swimming ladies of Hampstead on their favourite countryside walks across southern and eastern England. These wild swimming walks - all accessible by train - lead to secret lakes, river meadows and sandy seaside beaches. Wild Swimming Walks is the perfect guide for city escapes without the car this summer. With walks from a few miles to a full day out, this book is ideal for families and the more serious adventurer too.

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defining islamic statehood

I love the beautifully precise bespoke geometric pattern

imam feisal abdul rauf designed for this cover, which looks great at real size design by: and really stands out as a thumbnail too. alice tomlinson publisher's description:

Harnessing the expertise of leading Sunni and Shia academics, Defining Islamic Statehood searches for answers through dialogue, and seeks to define how an Islamic state forms and functions. It examines how Islamic principles bear on a nation's governance, jurisprudence, culture and policies, and measures how Muslim-majority countries meet the definition by analyzing how they deal with the aspects of modern life.

49 authors:

friend or foe?

keeping the author on side,without compromising your design integrity

here's your cover

(designer)

i fucking hate that colour

(author)

If you have an interest in book cover design, by now you may well have stumbled across Kindle Cover Disasters, links to which have been doing the rounds on social media sites as well as serious newspapers like the Guardian. The premise of the blog is simple: to display the absolute worst book cover designs currently on the kindle store. Whilst my fellow book design colleagues and I enjoyed having a good giggle at the poor author's/designer's expense, we did also find a few where someone would pipe up and say, 'Hey, that looks like that one you did a few months ago! Remember how the author completely hijacked that one?'. Unfortunately, when it comes to book design, authors can be their own worst enemy.

It's completely understandable for an author to want to have a really active role in their book cover design – they've spent months, or more like years in most cases, crafting their book and the cover is what consumers are going to see first. But regrettably, there are so many mistakes that authors (and particularly self published authors that don't have access to a good quality designer) make.

More often than not, if the author is dictating the design, the book will look terrible. Book cover Designers are trained industry professionals, so it can be pretty frustrating when an author comes along and tries to micro-manage this part of the process. That said, the author is the one who knows their book best, so they shouldn't be cut out of the cover design process completely. What the author and designer should be striving for is a balance built on trust; the author needs to trust that the designer knows what they're doing, and the designer needs to trust that the author will play a positive role in the book cover creation process.

But just how important is the book cover when it comes to getting books off the shelves and into the hands of readers anyway? Through anecdotal discussion with those around me, everyone agrees it's pretty damn important.

Despite that, it seems that there is little statistical evidence out there (publishing houses may have their own marketing teams who conduct this kind of research but don't publish it to the public) which attempts to quantify just how important a cover is to sales. A small study conducted

by Book Trust Reading Habits Survey, concluded from a sample size of 1,500 respondents across the England, that 40% of people select their books based on the covers

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or blurbs. It's a shame that covers and blurbs have been lumped together like this, but at least we can see that in this group of people surveyed, the cover is significantly influential in the decision to buy a book.

So if we know that covers are important, why should we let authors, with no professionals background in design have a say? Different publishing houses have different rules, and allow different levels of involvement for their authors, but with the rise of self-publishing, author designed/led books are becoming more and more prominent. The perceived threat of self-publishing on traditional publishing houses means that authors often have a new hand to play: if I don't get the cover I want, then I'll pull my book and self-publish it.

It's a strong defense, and authors knows it, so unfortunately this tactic often works.

Publishers regularly agree to make a terrible design decision that will affect sales, just to keep the author happy.

What can we do to ensure that the authors are pleased and proud of their book cover, whilst maintaining the design and marketing teams' expertise? One way might be to ensure there is extremely clear communication from the start. So the author knows exactly what their role in this part of the process is.

Despite what the author may say, their job is not to try and get their husband's cousin's friend, who is currently studying a Fine Arts degree, their big break and use their design because it 'perfectly summarises the book's content' even though to everyone else it clearly looks like a student who knows nothing about book design did it. No, the author's role should be to ensure that the design team fully understand the aims of the book, and create a visually appealing and authentic cover. Then it should be left to the publishers to argue over, because lets be honest, marketing, design, sales and editorial have a hard enough time trying to agree without adding an author to the mix.

Too often, designs are completely derailed by an author, resulting in a less than satisfactory cover for everyone involved. Paul Buckley, Creative Director of Penguin US touched upon this in a Q&A for Print's Guide to Book Jacket Design:

In addition to the brief, it can be a good idea to have a sort of manifesto for the authors and designers to agree to. In my 'perfect world' manifesto, I'd have this:

“on the author side, you can have authors whose work you just love, but they just don’t enjoy your aesthetic and force you into a cover you are not proud of.”

•

When this happens it's a total failure on everyone's part. To try and avoid this, many designers swear by a clear and concise conversation, with a clear and concise brief.

When talking at the 2015 London Book Fair Karen Healey Wallace, self-published author of The Perfect Capital, said: the design of your book will only ever be as good as your design brief'.

If you've written your brief well enough, then the odds are the designer will be able to find a creative solution that fits the aims of the books without compromising on aesthetic value.

So what makes a good design brief? Each publishing house or freelance designer will have their own tailor made one to suit both the kind of work that they publish, and their process. But from my experience so far, I would say that for me, these three points are must-have questions for the author: • • •

Sticking to three keywords, what are the main themes of your book?

If you had to choose just one object that represented the core theme, what do you think that would be?

Show three examples of covers that you think got it right and three examples where you think they got it wrong

•

•

That the author's suggestions will be considered, but not necessarily followed That the author will be shown a shortlist of covers that they may help the design and marketing team choose from, but this is not an opportunity to make changes to the existing designs That the design team will carefully read the authors brief, and fulfil their duty to ensure the cover matches the content and aims of the book

Doing these things might not stop nightmare cover wars from breaking out between authors and designers, but it may well help the cases where bad communication at the start has unfortunately resulted in a cover that no-one involved likes. emma j hardy

book cover designer

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books about books

We've selected a range of books that all

our top five together, we think cover a range of topics

within book design & publishing history.

ÉmigrÉs A fascinating look at the impact on the anna nyburg British illustrated publishing industry of

émigrés from Germany and Austria in the first half of the twentieth century, looking in particular at the art publishing houses of Phaidon Press and Thames & Hudson.

the growth of First published in 1954 by Sylvan Press, the book jacket Charles Rosner presents an important charles rosner early survey and reference work on the art

of dust jacket design.

new directions As a vital field of scholarship, book history in book history has now reached a stage of maturity where series its early work can be reassessed and built

upon. That is the goal of New Directions in Book History.

cover This is book is the story of Mendelsund and peter mendelsund his love affair with books. Amongst the

many recognizable covers he has created are those for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; collections of the works of Joyce, Kafka and Dostoevsky; Peter Carey; Martin Amis and more.

by its cover First ever survey on central subject of ned drew American design history. This book contains paul sternberger 200 beautiful full colour images. Famous

practitioners are represented from all eras of American design.

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events

1

/ɪˈvɛnt/ [noun] prose writing that is based on a thing that happens or takes place, especially one of importance

Emily Martin, American Book Artist, will discuss with emily martin her own book work and 27th may 6pm present a survey of artists st brides foundation from the Guild and the Center for the Book. She will show selections from the collaborative postcard project that will be on exhibit at St. Brides. a finger in many pies:

the pantone project & more

The annual exhibition of the latest work by Fellows design bindings and Licentiates of Designer 26th may – 6th june Bookbinders. All of the st brides foundation work is previously unseen and will be for sale. These are books by the leading practitioners in the field of contemporary binding. covered:

contemporary

event review:

the london book fair

book collecting

Sophie Schneideman

27th may 6pm has been an antiquarian senate house book-dealer for 23 years.

She will talk about the English Private Press movement and the joys of collecting the beautiful books it produced. The seminar will focus on the Kelmscott, Ashendene & Doves Presses, through Golden Cockerel and then on to how the movement has developed in more recent times and the merits of collecting the fine press books of today.

the principles of successful book and book cover design

57 london book fair:

As a relative newcomer to the world of publishing, I was

the principles of a London Book Fair virgin. So you can imagine my delight successful book and when I got the opportunity to attend this year. With book cover design

just one afternoon off work to go and explore the delights that comes with over 25,000 publishing professionals all under one roof, there was one talk that I was particularly keen to attend: The Principles of Successful Book and Book Cover Design. Taking the form of a panel seminar, this event aimed to act as a guide from industry experts on the process of creating a cover.

Hachette’s Brand Development Director, Damian Horner, HarperCollins’ Creative Director Martin Topping, Macmillan Sales Director Stuart Dwyer and Author Karen Healey Wallace formed the all-star cast for this panel. Each took about five to ten minutes to run through their process and advice.

Macmillan's Stuart Dwyer kicked off the seminar, talking in detail about the importance of a good cover for getting reviewers to take it on. He told an anecdotes of an author who approached him with a great novel but wrapped in a terrible cover. The author's book was rejected by reviewers purely on its design. But all was not lost, they recommended a professional designer and after the redesign the book did extremely well. Coming from the sales side, he had a lot of valuable insight into what happens once the cover leaves the designer's hands, which is something I think book designers should strive to educate themselves in.

Learning which of your designs do well, and which do badly can only help in your future service to the author and publisher.

Up next was HarperCollins' Martin Topping, who showed us the life of a book cover from start to finish. From the discussion of whether the book would be typographic; illustrated; sourced image or commissioned photography, right through to the twenty or so different type treatments that a book may receive. He let us in on their 'shelf test' tricks, where they'll print a mock up of the covers they're considering and place them on shelves which reflect the conditions of where the book will end up. For example, books that are going to be sold in a supermarket need to work under fluorescent light and face out.

image curtesy of london book fair

From Hatchette, Damien Horner took us through his rules of a book cover. He touched upon the sometimes difficult decision to break away from a books 'membership'

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“If

your title is bad, your design has to work much harder to compensate for it � (or genre) and step into the 'lust factor' where you just try and grab anyone and everyone's attention based on having a visually stunning book. We learned of their 'blink test', in which you give someone two seconds to look at a cover before taking it away and asking them what they thought the book was about. If they don't have a clue, your cover probably needs a rethink. Most importantly, he discussed the necessity of a good title, 'If your title is bad, your design has to work much harder to compensate for it'.

Her stunning book boasts exposed binding and a perfectly balanced typographic cover.

Her secret? Write a good brief. She talked about how even though she never needed to handover the three page document to the designer in the end, it helped her to fully understand what she was looking for and what she wanted from her designer. I would always recommend handing the brief over, she is a fantastic success story for the argument that self-published books don't have to be ugly.

Last, but certainly not least, self-published author Karen Healey Wallace took the floor to teach us the importance of standing out from the crowd. Her independently published book, The Perfect Capital, was shortlisted for both Best Editorial Design at the Design Week Awards and Best British Book at the British Book Design and Production Awards, so she really knows what she's talking about.

Overall, the talk was highly insightful and motivating. It seemed that the audience was mostly made up of authors, so hopefully they learned some important lessons. Although we should take a moment to feel somewhat sorry for the poor speakers who got swarmed at the end by authors wanting critiques of their cover designs... I hope they got away in one piece.

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“The first thing about my antiquing process, is that you essentially ruin paper”

“The first thing about my antiquing process is that you essentially ruin paper,” says Swyler. “So, I use a lot of rasps and sandpaper and nail files, and anything that’s going to scratch.

Because antiquing involves paper taking on a stain.”

After wearing down material, Swyler exposes it to a black tea or coffee bath to give it a sepia-like tone: “I make a tea bath for cards, or for anything I have an entire sheet of. You want about two teabags per six to eight ounces of really hot water. You can paint the edges of a book with a brush.”

Air drying can take several hours. If a quicker method of drying is needed, Swyler recommends using a hair dryer or scrapbooking heat gun. Drying can also take place in an oven on its lowest setting for about ten minutes; use caution.

tutorial:

antiquing

your design eric wilder

In late June, The Book Of Speculation by Erika Swyler (St. Martin’s Press) will be hitting US bookshelves. Featured prominently in the story is an antique book chronicling strange and mysterious occurrences of a traveling carnival in the 1700s. For her original pitch, Swyler created her manuscripts to resemble the book, including illustrations and pages she aged by hand with non-digital means.

She also posted several images to her Tumblr (erikaswyler.tumblr.com) of hand-distressed tarot cards she created as a promotional item.

Swyler created her technique for antiquing on her own.

If you are considering an aged look for a design, read on to see two examples I tried. The first shows hand-distressing a set of tarot cards in the manner described by Swyler. The second is applying a similar treatment to the image of a cover design.

63 example one tarot cards

A deck of tarot cards can be commonly found at a bookstore. It is preferable to work with a deck of low gloss. If the paper has a thick laminate to it, you will have to work it over more to absorb the stain.

To texture the cards I opted for two sanding sponges, one fine and one course. You can typically find these in the paint supply section of your hardware store. You can also use nail files, sandpaper and rasps depending on how much distressing you would like to achieve.

I wanted to remove a light amount of ink.

The cushion of the sanding sponges help prevent aggressive erosion.

Safety first! Make sure to wear a particulate respirator. Sanding creates dust, so you must limit the amount you breathe in.

I sanded down the cards, lightly buffing to the surface. I gave the cards more wear where I envisioned they would receive greater handling, particularly the corners.

Following the sanding, I soaked the cards in black tea. I used a cookie sheet as a container.

I let the cards sit overnight, about seven hours.

When I removed the cards from the tea bath, I discovered that the water had separated the plies of the cards. I placed them back together before setting them on a dryer rack.

The cards remained on the drying rack for the duration of the day, about 8 hours.

The results of the process were a set of tarot cards that appear to have a great deal of history behind them.

image curtesy of erica swyler

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example two: book cover

For this next demonstration I created a mock cover featuring a vintage glamor photo. I output the image on card stock, using a laser printer. Here again, light scuffing was achieved with the use of sanding sponges.

After that, the image was soaked in black tea for about two hours. The paper was a much lighter stock than the tarot cards, so it needed less time to absorb the stain.

Drying the image was done with the use of the oven. I set the image on the same drying rack, and set the oven at 180째 F. It was dry within minutes.

I scanned the tea-stained image and set the type for the final cover design. Now the photo has a bit more mystery behind it.

“I scanned the tea-stained image and set the type for the final cover design. Now the photo has a bit more mystery behind it.�

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