Welcome to this week's Trending Thursday! In these posts, I pick out a YA trend and we discuss.
A lot of readers don't seem like covers that show the face of a character. I'm guessing this is because we like to imagine the way the characters look, and that face in the photo rarely matches the one in our imagination.
A few weeks back, I talked about one way to get around the problem -- just lop off the heads on the covers.
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But some readers seemed to find that creepy. Fortunately, there are other solutions. Show the character from behind:
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Obscure their face with hair.
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Use the "Shattered Face" technique (I have a board of these on Pinterest.)
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Here are some more recent covers -- click on them to get to Goodreads -- that use multiple masking techniques:
Obscure the face with text
Obsure the face with text AND hair
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There's also the whole Silhouette Technique that's used to mask a character's appearance- but I think that might need a post all its own, because there are multiple types -- the Silhouette Thriller cover, the Silhouette Romance cover and more.
What do you think of these? I'm loving the creativity of some of these newer covers. I'm happy that we can have other solutions besides chopping off the characters' heads!
Clever is right! Lately, I've been drawn to books with minimalist covers. Typography is huge for me as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jen.
Typography! I'm working on a trend post on that right now :)
DeleteI really dislike faces on covers that haven't been manipulated in some way, so I'm definitely happy with this trend! Not a fan of the face obscuring by hair though...it just looks really messy :/
ReplyDeleteYeah, reminds me of my mom begging me to get the hair out of my face!
DeleteThe cut off head sort of creeps me. I agree with Nara about the faces on books...I enjoy leaving it up to my own vision while reading.
ReplyDeleteI really like the "obscure faces with hair" ones. These are all a nice change :)
ReplyDeleteI really, really love all these covers! But on the other side, I also like the covers with full faces, thing is, I don't have a big imagination, so I need a "real" girl to picture in my head.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the Shattered Face technique, as you called it, is my favorite, they're gorgeous!
Tihs is pretty interesting. I never really realized how many books have their heads chopped off lol I like the 'shattered face' look a lot for some reason and the 'obscure face with hair' one. Great post!
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
You know, I didn't realize how many books have these type of covers.
ReplyDeleteLol! Love these, Jen! I like the face being on the cover for sure and some of the newer covers are rather interesting. The hair one kind of bugs me - probably because who likes their hair in their face???
ReplyDeleteI like them all. I don't think I put that much thought into it before now :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great topic! I think the hair in the face is creepier than lopping off the heads, personally!
ReplyDeleteLopping off heads on covers can sometimes work for me, but I definitely prefer the showing the back of the head or obscuring the face with hair. I don't know why exactly, but I find those sorts of covers to be so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what other new trends you've come up with! Yes, I've noticed this trend too- it seems to be very popular! I've also noticed the Half Face trend- like in The Iron Fey and Vampire Diaries cover. They're pretty fun to hold up against your face though.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, there seems to be less of pretty white girls in prom dresses that in no way relates to the book! ;)
I like cover like this. I like to see all the different types of fonts they use for the titles. :)
ReplyDeleteI never thought about this, but you are so right. All of the covers I do not like have faces on them.
ReplyDeleteI love the creativity of these, but they all sort of creep me out. The headless ones for obvious reasons, then shots from behind look like stalking, and the hair covers look like they're ghostly or possessed or something. Don't get me started on the shattered faces. *shivers* Maybe I've been watching too many scary shows and movies lately, but I am freaked out by all of these! :-)
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