This month, Deborah Bradseth at Tugboat Design turns her talents to reimagining the cover of the coming-of-age novel After and Before: The Story of Hatley Chambers, by indie author Glenn Seerup.
Design Note #1: The layout for the title on the original cover worked well, so I kept a similar dramatic style, adjusting it only slightly.
Design Note #2: The new image and color scheme sets a dark, moody tone, giving the reader an ominous feeling that fits with the overall story.
Design Note #3: The original cover, although it was just typography, sparked curiosity—but the redesign adds a human element that readers can relate to better.
Design Note #4: I used a soft yellow for some of the text to make it stand out. But in a way that didn’t prevent the hands from remaining the cover’s focal point.
