• US$290

• 57 designs

• 13 designers

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Book Cover Design Brief

Title: Christmastime 1943
Author: Linda Mahkovec
I need a book cover for the latest book in my Christmastime series (Book 4 - I also want to redo the first three books.) The series takes place in WWII NYC - Book 4 in 1943. The themes are love, home and hearth, family, nostalgia. The mood I want the cover to evoke is charm, warmth, coziness, but nothing too sugary. The background of war is always present, and there is sadness and loss - but the endings are uplifting. In the first three books I used b/w photos of brownstones and Central Park - a sort of a window into the past, yet places that are still there today. I like the sense of realism that the photos add, but I am open to new designs. I want to evoke the charm and warmth of a traditional Christmas. I would like some source of a golden light - a streetlight, a lit window in a brownstone, a wreath against a lit window (not sun/sunset), something at end of day/evening perhaps. I like traditional Christmas colors of red and green but nothing too bright - soft, evocative, romantic, subtle.
My pen name is Agnes Irene - my books are available on Kindle to get a sense of the feel I'm going for. (I uploaded a few book covers, the rest I couldn't get to upload.)

Target Market(s)

Women - ages 25 and up (esp. ages 40-60) Educated, interested in family, home, beauty, goodness

Industry/Entity Type

Book Publisher

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Font styles to use

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Look and feel

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Requirements

Must have

• A cozy, inviting, traditional feel. This is a Christmas series that takes place in NYC during the WWII years. A vintage feel - soft (though traditional) Christmas colors - a touch of bright red (berries, ribbons, holly) would be nice. Same for green (pine boughs, wreaths) .... A feel of intimacy. I want some source of a golden light (something like a lit window in a brownstone, a candle in a window, a street light, a wreath against a lit window). I want the "message" to be - human warmth against the darkness. A wintertime feel, snow, snow fall, frost flowers, bare trees, ... My idea is to have each year (1940-1945) be a different color (see the Agnes Irene books). I want to have the colors green, red, blue repeated, in different shades to reflect the mood of the war years: so 1940 (pre-war) was a soft muted green, 1941 a deep burgundy, 1942 a deep blue. 1943 would be a deep green. Then lighter shades for 1944 and 1945. I'm envisioning a boxed set of sic books and would like color to play a role on how the display looks.
• Fonts - a pretty, simple script style but one that is easy to read
• One last thing - though I want a traditional look, I also want a "look" that will be easily recognizable/linked thematically in design to my other books - kind of what I have already (although I am going to be getting new covers for most of my books. NOTE - I will be publishing my books under my own name: LINDA MAHKOVEC, not Agnes Irene. I want the focus to be in this order: image, then title, then my name

Nice to have

• Ideally, I would like an old b/w/sepia photograph (see my books for the feel I'm trying to evoke - under the pen name of Agnes Irene on Amazon) of a brownstone, Central Park, street light - something from the past but that is still there today. The photo would add a sense of realism, while still being vintage/nostalgic. Also, my current books have a jagged/soft-edges "frame/window" - like looking back into the past.

Should not have

• No people, no bright colors or sharp edges, no Christian images (the book is entirely secular), no broad scenes (I want an intimate feel). No cars, cityscapes, or anything that would "date" the books. Though it's set in 1943, I want the reader to be able to "step into" the world, so it should still fee accessible. That's why I prefer Central Park, brownstones, building details such as a window, street lights, ... No odd angles (see my book Christmastime 1940 for an ex. - the photo angle looks off to me, not inviting - the 1941 book is closer to what I'm looking for - welcoming, inviting, alluring)
• No yellow, orange, turquoise -

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Files

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