My informal study of book covers has prompted a question: is there some rule of graphic design that claims a causal relationship between sales and images of roads stretching from the foreground to a vanishing point in the background?
OK. This one’s pretty much obligatory.
But this just seems like double-dipping.
The artist behind author Black Crouch’s books especially favors the road motif.
Except sometimes it’s a boat’s wake.
To take a wild shot at it, the rationale behind cover designs like those above looks like an attempt to visually draw the reader into the book. An open road leading into the unknown is also a powerful symbol of storytelling itself.
Off-topic: Nyphron Rising by Michael J. Sullivan doesn’t have a road on the cover.
But I love it anyway because it’s a perfect synthesis of The Unforgettable Fire
And The Joshua Tree.
