FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Hilariously bad book covers | History Defined

We’ve all heard that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. We probably first heard the idiom pretty early on in life—from adults trying to teach us that we shouldn’t judge the worth or value of something (most likely people) by appearance alone. And sure, that’s an important lesson—perhaps especially when it comes to people. But whether we like to admit it or not, we form plenty of opinions based on the things we see.

Sometimes, all it takes is a few seconds. It’s why we’re also told that first impressions count— and why designers and marketers put so much thought into everything from packaging and branding to colors, fonts, and images. They know that “consumers buy with their eyes first,” and appearances can influence what catches our attention and what we choose.

And yes, the same applies to literal books and their covers.

Technically speaking, a dictionary will tell you a book is just a set of pages—blank, illustrated, written, or printed—bound between a front and back cover. But just as we know that books are more than just sets of pages, a book’s cover is more than just a protective layer designed to hold those pages together. Sure, that was a purpose they served for hundreds of years. But they weren’t necessarily purely utilitarian, either.

As the Illustration History project notes, book bindings could also serve as a “decorative tribute to their cultural authority,” with luxury medieval manuscripts featuring materials such as gold, silver, and jewels. Over time, though, that decorative role evolved considerably, as new materials and printing techniques opened up new possibilities.

But a book’s cover is also more than decoration. A cover is a strategic choice, one that can help communicate what a book is about, signal who it’s for, and, perhaps most importantly, convince someone to pick it up in the first place. And research backs this up. A 2023 poll of 2,000 Americans found that 57% had bought or read a book based purely on its cover. Interestingly, 96% of those who did say the book largely met their expectations—suggesting that judging a book by its cover doesn’t always lead us astray.

But this cuts both ways. The same poll found that 80% of respondents had avoided a book entirely because of how it looked. In other words, a bad cover doesn’t just fail to sell a book—it can actively talk people out of buying it.

And with more than 4 million books carrying ISBNs published in the U.S. in 2025 (a 32.5% increase from 2024), according to Bowker data reported by Jim Milliot writing for Publishers Weekly, a cover has to do a whole lot more than simply look nice. It needs to make someone stop scrolling, pause at the shelf, or reach for the book in the first place.

That’s why a well-designed book cover is a powerful marketing tool. As Alexander von Ness, a book cover designer at Nessgraphica, writes, a strong cover communicates the essence and tone of a story while appealing to the emotions and expectations of its intended audience. Its visual language can also immediately signal a book’s genre, whether through the dark imagery associated with a thriller, the whimsical aesthetic of a romance, or the polished look of a nonfiction title.

Ultimately, von Ness says, “It’s a silent promise to the reader: this book is worth your time.”

But achieving that isn’t easy. There’s an art to creating the right cover, von Ness explains. “It requires a deep understanding of design principles, color theory, typography, and, most importantly, the story itself. A successful cover designer must translate the narrative into a visual language that resonates with readers.”

But perhaps the trickiest part is finding the right balance between creativity and marketability—creating something distinctive enough to catch the eye while still giving the book a design that feels right for its story, appeals to its intended audience, and can stand the test of time.