Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
Option 5:
Option 6:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
And Here They Are: Cover Options for GOD'S FINAL VICTORY
Below, you will find a number of cover options for the new book. John and I have narrowed it down to a couple of favorites, but I won't divulge them yet so as not to prejudice your assessments. Let me know your favorites. Here they are, in essentially random order (you can click on each to enlarge):
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
Option 5:
Option 6:
Option 1:
Option 2:
Option 3:
Option 4:
Option 5:
Option 6:
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FYI: The white frame around each image is not part of the proposed cover, but part of the manner in which images are presented given my blog scheme.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Option 2. The yellow and red really "pop" for the eye, and they put a positive spin on colors associated with fire.
ReplyDeleteOption 4 is a distant second and the others are not really that pleasant on the eye.
Option 4!
ReplyDelete#2 has a bit of a phallic issue. I like the peacefulness of #4 very much.
ReplyDeleteIf I were choosing to buy based on design alone, I would choose either option 1 or option 6. Option 4 seems so trite for books regarding God, especially in the case of ministerial books... at least in my experience.
ReplyDeleteI'll say #3. But there is none that I dislike, and so I think any that you go with will be great!
ReplyDeleteBurk, true. Flowers are quite pornographic. But I just came from a bookstore and there are a lot of books. A nice yellow (or green) jumps out and gives the impression of depth and quality ( admittedly in a superficial way, but hey, we're talking the about judging a book by its cover here). The others have a digital, pink-y, blue-y, appearance which lowers the sense of quality, I think.
ReplyDeleteBut I will read it, even if the cover is a pink flower! ;)
3 seems to say that every strand is united and held together by the centre, no matter how bent they are. I like that one.
ReplyDeleteVisually #4 is very pretty, but I think #3 associates better with the idea of unity in universalism, in the same sense that Arni mentions above. It's like all the pedals reaching for, or being attracted by, the center.
ReplyDeleteSo far no one has mentioned #6 (the dandelion puff). Is it uniquely unappealing to anyone, or just got left off because it wasn't a top choice? Any thoughts on the symbolic significance of that one (seeds carried by the wind, new life after the flower withers, the association with the children's game of blowing the seeds free while making a wish)?
ReplyDeleteSorry--Mike did mention #6. I'm conducting the same poll on Facebook, where every option has gotten a nod except 6.
ReplyDeleteI like 2 and 6. Well, I actually -like- 6 the best, but 2 is the only one I think I'd really notice in a bookstore. I wonder what 6 would look like with bolder colors.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick one (and I mean HAD to, because if I were you I would honestly look at some more options...really) it would be #1 because the color is appealing, BUT it immediately screamed phallic to me, as did a few of the others.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time stretching "flower" or "leaf" to fit your title, even after thinking on the symbolism ... the samples look more Christian bookstore-y or Audubon Society than Philosophy of Religion. In my opinion.
I agree with downfromtheledge above that none of the covers seems really appropriate. Is the flower theme somehow enforced by the editor?
ReplyDeleteBut, given the choice, I would go with one of 2, 4 or 6. Choice 1 seems rather flat, 3 strangely reminds me of worms (although the symbolism seen by some is real) and 5 makes me think of the alien at the end of one of the original Star Trek episode (with a cat and castle and all).
Of all the even-numbered ones, 2 has issues as mentioned above. So the choice would be between 4 and 6. I actually like the abstract pattern of rays shown by the dandelion – similar perhaps to what Arni sees in 3. So, final choice, 6.
Number 4 (the one with the leaves) I think is the most aesthetically pleasing, however I think number 6 fits more philosophically. When I think dandelion I think of dispersal, flying off in many direction, finding ground and growing. They don't have to go to the same place, but once landing in soil, they will grow. Seems appropriate for universalism, many paths to the God of Love.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input! Keep your thoughts coming.
ReplyDeleteOne point: As I understand it, the images on the sample covers are selected from a set of photos from which all book covers in Continuum's philosophy of religion series will be drawn. These images are actually the second set received after John and I nixed the first set.I think they are pretty representative of the kinds of things we've got to choose from.
#6 is great.
ReplyDeleteI like option 3. It looks more dynamic because the chrysanthemum also resembles a light burst.
ReplyDelete-- Anna, who liked your other book and will probably buy this one anyway, especially if it's on Kindle
Before reading any of the comments my initial reaction was that I wasn't particularly fond of any of the covers. I couldn't tell if I'm just in a "blue" mood but options #1 and #3 were drawing my attention most though I liked #6 -- I absolutely detested #4 (something just doesn't seem right about it as a book cover).
ReplyDeleteStaring at them for a bit longer I think #6 takes my top spot just because I kept thinking about how wildly dandelions spread and grow and I kept associating that with how I think the love of God should be and we as Christians. Plus I have a fondness for a picture I took of my niece blowing dandelions.
To sum it up:
#6 gets my top choice and maybe #3. I vote to completely toss out #4 and the rest I'm a little "meh" about.
After reading the comments I agree with your comment here about the symbolism -- it fits more in line with what I was thinking.
Peace,
Luke
I think I would have to go for 1, 2 or 6. 1 has pleasant cool colors that goes well with philosophy, 4 is beautiful (I like how the light is reflected in the leaves), but may have the same problem as 2 (see below), 6 has warmth to it and a symbolic appeal. The contrasts of 2 is a bit too strong for a book cover for my taste, 3 is too chaotic and 5 reminds me a little too much of love hearts or pink unicorns. What would commercially be the best choice I’m not qualified to say.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everything have to turn out to be Christian?
ReplyDeleteEspecially as over 4 billion living-breathing-feeling human beings are not Christians, and NONE of the countless billions of living-breathing-feeling non-human sentient beings on this planet, and in the entire Cosmos (with all of its space-time paradoxes) too.
The trouble is that god's final "victory", and thus the birth of Univeralism occurred and began on November 3rd 1939 with the birth of this Radiant Being.
www.kneeoflistening.com
http://global.adidam/books/eternal-one.html
www.dabase.org/intro2.htm
www.adidam.org/teaching/aletheon
The Secrets of the Kingdom
www.beezone.com/up/secretsofkingdomofgod.html
Of course another problem with the title of your book and what you presume to say about universalism is that to talk about these matters with any real "authority" you would have to be Consciously aware of every minute fraction of space-time, and all of the paradoxes of space-time, past, present, and future.
ReplyDeleteYou would also have to be completely and profoundly familiar with the entire Great Tradition of humankind, the contents of which are now freely available to anyone with an internet connection.
Which is to say that you would necessarily have to transcend your inherited Western and Christian cultural provincialism.
I'm glad you're not going for the sun-poking-through-clouds theme again - that's really overdone in Christian books.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts:
#1 - the colour scheme is too emotionally cold for a theme that should ultimately feel comforting and hopeful
#2 - Nice, warm, graceful image, albeit one that reminds me of my cat's erect penis. Just saying.
#3 - Again, the colour scheme is too emotionally cold for a theme that should ultimately feel comforting and hopeful
#4 - Decent enough image, but doesn't really have any key element that draws the eye. A couple of leaves just don't do justice to the theme of "victory" at all to me. Also, my immediate reaction when seeing it is that it must be a book about environmentalism, which (although environmentalism in itself is great) distracts from your intended message.
#5 - More unusual and interesting than your average flower picture, so I like it. But having a cover that is so saturated with baby pink kind of makes it hard to take the book seriously, since our culture has engrained in us that most things covered in baby pink are frivolous (barbie, baby clothes, lingerie etc.) Also the phallic nature of the image mixed with the abundance of pink kind of sends a funny signal too (I know I probably sound juvenile or sex-obsessed, but really I'm not; the stamen is a sexual organ after all, and that's exactly what it looks like).
#6 - Probably my favourite. It's less unusual and original than some of the others, which is a drawback, but it has a more dynamic colour range than most of the others, and a strong focal point. Also, it has the strongest and most immediate symbolism, at least for me: a dandelion is not only a beautiful, geometrically elegant and delicate object, but its soon-to-be windborne seeds convey concepts of travel, adventure, transition, transcendence, purpose, and the cycle of life.
I would have to say 3, for the reasons given by other people. 6 is also fine.
ReplyDelete#1 looks classy and I didn't immediately think "flower."
ReplyDelete#2 stands out a lot
Not a big fan of the others.
I like the top the best. The blue and white is a good touch. I never associated God with violently vivid colors. That or green.
ReplyDelete