Could you help me choose a cover for Chief Culture Officer?
Cover 1
Cover 2:
Cover 3:
Thanks for your help.
Please feel free to live comments and suggestions.
Could you help me choose a cover for Chief Culture Officer?
Cover 1
Cover 2:
Cover 3:
Thanks for your help.
Please feel free to live comments and suggestions.
Grant,
I’m in the minority. I selected 3 because 1.) you’ve used yellow before and 2.) it seemed like a pleasant mix of “Cliff’s Notes” and “Corporate Cultural Anthropology or Dummies”
As for the words on the cover, I’d try for a bit of mystery by leading with a huge font “CCO” and the subtitle – How a Chief Culture Office can create a Living, Breathing, Corporation.” BTW, is this a co-creation exercise?
Paul, yes, cocreational and informational. Very good and illuminating
comments. Thanks, Grant
Definitely #2 … the contrast between the blue and the title area draws my eye to the title … unlike the others.
And … I can’t wait to see the book.
Here I am sitting with my dog eared copy of Organizing Genius and lamenting that one carryover from the dotcom boom is the “culture = a foosball table” equation. I’m really looking forward to what you have to say (as I do with all your books.)
Before I can tell you which cover is best, Grant, I need to know who your target audience is and what message you are trying to send to them!
🙂
I think that the type treatment of two is most elegant of the three, while the circle shapes of one feel closest to the idea of the book, conceptually. I think that the neoligism is probably the most important thing here. What is a “Chief Culture Officer?” and can the answer be subtly, yet efficiently, communicated on the cover?
I like number 1 best, by a fair margin. While I’m a big fan of retro looks, it doesn’t seem to me that #2 fits with the sort of things you write about here. #3 is too bland. I think that Rob is in correct in his assessment of #1. But if you follow Mark’s advice and toss them all and try again, that wouldn’t be the worst outcome either….
Saw this and was reminded of #2 a bit – the workbook aesthetic from a different angle
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2009/09/london_design_g.php
I voted for #2 in part because of the blue colour. But also because of the typewriter font. Funnily enough, this said to me that the ideas in this book are personal, provisional, new, classic, immediate and a host of other hard to pin down but positive connotations.
smyles 🙂
I liked #1 one the best with it’s light & airy nature. However, the second comes across more business-like, and probably would be the one I would buy.
Although, why is your name MCcRACKEN in #2, vs McCRACKEN? typo or intentional?
Cover one because:
Two has a musty old fashioned look about it that implies that culture is conservative and anti-progressive and it’s perched awkwardly on modern looking background that implies that old and new are an ill fit not a logical progression.
and Three has the subhead written in a squished up narrow font squeezed over to one side in a way that looks like not everything is given equal respect, or the space it needs to be optimally effective. If the cover is a metaphore for the corporation it’s not a good message.
Also, with a name like McCracken, do you really want to go with egg colours ?
Hence Cover One, which is nice.
can we submit our own covers? i think you should then put them up for voting. i’m sorry but i didn’t find any of the three covers very interesting. i’m sure we can do better.
Rebecca, thanks, the typo is just one of those beta things, I think. I
hope. Grant
Kedar, we are on a ferociously tight deadline, that we are still thinking
about covers when the pub date is now only [quick calculation] 75 days away
tells you how tight. Next book! thanks for the offer, Grant
Smyles, wow, if only! Thanks, Grant
I have to agree, none of these really capture the spirit of the concept. #1 is far too airy, and the other two don’t really communicate anything; they seem like exercises in self-conscious antiquery (Typewriter fonts? Who still uses typewriters?) and Moleskine-lite styling, respectively.
The concept of a CCO is about having a cultural _observer_ inside the organization Рsomeone who takes notes, an anthropologist, not merely a trend-watcher but someone engaged with culture in all its aspects. We know what a CEO looks like (or we have a visual clich̩; fat guy in a suit in a wood-panelled office); what does a CCO look like? I think you need to define this visual clich̩ to help people get it.
Is it someone like the Architect from the Matrix movies, watching thousands of TV screens simultaneously? Is it a 19th-century naturalist with glass cases and cabinets full of specimens of pop-culture artifacts? Or a person with a notepad on a busy Manhattan street? Or none of these things?
(If I may suggest a fantastic book jacket designer: Michel Vrana of Black Eye Design in Montreal. http://www.blackeyedesign.com)
AJ, thanks for a very intelligent rendering of the design objective.
Personally, I like the Victorian naturalist metaphor, and I think there is
something of that in Cover 2. But we shall see what the publisher decides.
Finally, the ball is in their court. Thanks again. And thanks for the ref.
to MV. Next time? Best, Grant
I’m with Alan and subsequent comments in choosing #1. It’s my least un-favourite. #2 is too gimmicky, and as Daniel said “heavy-handed” which doesn’t seem to fit with words like “living” and “breathing”. #1 is the only one that created any curiosity for me with it’s concept/graphic.
Which one best reflects the subject matter and targets the intended audience is a question for author and editor. To me they say: business audience, latest “it” book on how to manage and make money, etc.
Hope our comments are helpful!
Alex, very helpful (and well put). Thanks! Grant
I chose #1 because it seemed the most professional of the three. I would have selected #2 if not for the fonts which really hurt the eyes and make it hard to read – especially with the all capitals. One gets the feeling that two different themes were driving #2 in the creative department. First is the effort to co-opt the look of a Moleskine (with the colored cover and the rounded edges) which does speak to the creative side of capturing insights. However, this is overwhelmed by the look of a “secretive” WWII era briefing (the brown paper label with large font and the typewritten statement) where the cover is only missing a red stamp that declares “Top Secret”. If they had gone further with the Moleskine look you might have had something great.
Alain, very well said. I take your point, but field notes seemed right
anthropologically. I wonder if “top secret” might have sold some copies.
Thanks. Grant
#2 evokes a notebook, field notes — seems actionable, that’s why I’d pick it.
I would buy #1. More information AND cleaner looking.
#2 is definitely the strongest, and doesn’t look like most marketing / business books, where as #1 and #3 do. And also, I like the reference to the field guide notebook that, you know, an anthropologist would use.
Ray, yeah, my sentimental favorite, but not, as you say, maybe not the way
to find the largest group of readers. thx, grant
Hi Grant
I voted #2.
Concept #1: I like the dots/C but the font is letting it down… it’s a very contemporary topic but the typeface is old Parisian or old Broadway.
Concept #3: The yellow is striking but the cover is not communicating anything to me, and it has some top/bottom balance problems.
Concept #2: This one says field notebook / battered Moleskin to me. It has great colour and texture and the fonts are contemporary and Rudyard Kipling at the same time. It’ll look great on a bookstore shelf. There’s a typo in your name though.
Grant,
I think that (with all respect) you’re being let down by your book designers. It all feels very conservative and predictable, given what’s possible, and what’s out there…
e.g.
http://www.whynotassociates.com/en/bookdesign.php
e.g.
http://www.uba.uva.nl/special_collections/object.cfm/E159E3E5-3ECD-4D1E-9FBF0ED1FFB47FFA/8296A57E-1321-B0BE-683F934CA68F4684
Clearly #3 is a non-starter. #1 is a tad too reminiscent of Seth’s Tribes cover. #2 has a nice combination of color and font that says, “this is not just a book, but an owner’s manual and workbook.”
76 comments already and I just got here, so apologies if my comments have already been made.
ask your designer to twist colours, so that #1 looks stronger/bolder.
the knock-through white type is too weak, but the bubbles-idea fits quite well and the arrangement is very nice – although it could use a bit more power.
so maybe the bubbles on a dark background (maybe a smaller circle with bigger bubbles?) plus CCO and your name of #2. the sublines font choice in #2 does not make any sense, like henri suggested. a plain font would work better.
looking forward to the book!
a silent reader and designer from germany.
Martin, thanks for the comment, and the link. What an exhibit! The design
process has been long and complicated. Some day over a beer! Best, Grant
Marc, Thanks. The new spelling of McCracken started as a typo, but now I’m
kind of liking it. Grnat
Till, excellent advice, thanks! I will see if i can get on the table.
Grant
Rick, thanks, the moleskin plus field manual plus field notes does seem to
resonate. Grant
I don’t like any of them. Why is Chief in bigger font than Culture?
Grant
Sorry — neither the text nor the graphics explain the subject of this book. I’ve read your work and used it in my teaching, so I know you have interesting things to say, but I can’t discern much from the covers you show here. — Karen Z.
There’s something nice and hand-booky about the blue in #2: it pays off on the “how to” quality of the subtitle, suggesting actionability, that one will be taking notes and generally making USE of the information inside.
Cover 1 illustrate the concept and is elegant. Now I feel that this cover could be lost among many other elegant covers in a bookstore. I think it needs to differentiate much more.
Brad, thanks, my feelings exactly. Best, Grant
Perhaps a weird addition, but why not have it be:
malcolm gladwell presents or Jim Collins presents..
Kinda like Spielberg production or Tarantino presents..
Again I suggest this is not saying you are not a great writer in your own rightMr Mccracken, but we talked about reaching beyond the people who read the blog already.
Might be a bit of a slight of hand, but worth some consideration…
Petar. Oh, I should be so lucky. I would be deeply grateful for their
approval and very lucky indeed!
I agree….#1 says “living breathing” more than the other two.
The presentation of cover 1 is disadvantaged by the fact that it is a mainly white surface presented against the white background of this webpage. White (airiness, openness, fresh thinking) is the strength of this cover, and the dots underscore this.
If the book’s brand personality needs more macho qualities, you could consider using a darker shade of gray or perhaps black. The words chief culture officer could potentially be in red to counteract the lower readability of white type against dark backgrounds, and to generally add some urgency or dramatic effect to the book as a call to action.
I agree with Henri, the use of old style typewriter font in the subtitle of cover 2 feels like a cop-out, a throwback to something ancient to ground the book in something historical or indie grit. A bit too late 80s/early 90s as a typographic device in my branding view.
However, and assuming there is still opportunity to tweak the design, I’m wondering if a more corporate (maybe 50s corporate?) font might be appropriate, as you are suggesting a new corporate function that would presumably be a permanent one.
Patrick Pearce
Patrick, thanks! Grant
I like how no. 2 represents some kind of buried, top secret file that some how became erased from the organization’s memory. I’m also partial to the color blue.
First, I’m really looking forward to reading this book. 🙂
I vote for the first of the three covers. The design is simple, clean, and captures the feeling of collectivity inherent in the digital age we all live in.
The yellow version looks too much like Jon Steel’s “Perfect Pitch.”
Those are my two cents.
Jeanne, thanks, it looks like cover 1 is winning. Best, Grant
i align myself with mark and alan as well: #1 might be the closest, but only for creative-types who can understand a (bad) visual pun. #2 is visually strong in a traffic sign sort of way. #3 is, well, whatever.
the cover of your book needs to talk about the ideas in your book. something that communicates organization, fluidity, and shared understanding. a bloke who makes the chaos sensible in the midst of confusing signals. a lens, even. the options you’ve been given are more like a sophomore design student’s experiments with modernist typography. i think you deserve better.
you need a cover sot of like this one: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/Thealsopeople.jpg
Arvind, excellent metaphors! Thx, Grant
Why not a street sign post for the corner of Broad Street & Wall Street with a pair of “chief culture” brand tennis shoes, laces tied together, thrown over and hang dangling below the sign marking the hood, marking the territory as the place where we play a pick-up shirts & skins game of gift culture quants versus the treasury quants?
Excellent!
I’m late to the conversation, but I’d agree that none of them quite capture the spirit (not having read the book, of course). Odd that all three covers emphasize the word ‘CHIEF’ rather than ‘CULTURE’ (in type size and treatment).
I’d like number 3 better if it didn’t have the intense yellow. But perhaps that sells books.
Best of luck!