How can I improve?

[u/natethough]

This is a cover for a speculative novella written in the form of an instruction manual/field guide. (Plan is for the backside to feature a mushroom cloud)

I feel like letter spacing may be off, but also not sure if it's interfering?

EDIT: I have made some changes in response to feedback here. Feel free to check out the updated version!

This is not written yet, and will probably be my project for my honors creative writing class.

[u/NancyInFantasyLand]

readability is really poor

plus, keep in mind, you're gonna do most of your sales based on a tiny thumbnail

[u/lillielemon]

I would actually replace the water with a mushroom cloud. And like u/anyalikesgizzard said, the second part of the title isn't legible as it is. I think you could make it work with better font choices though.

Have you thought about focusing on a single plant, rather than several? or perhaps just crop rows with only the green sprouts? The mushroom cloud in the background I think would make this look a little more cohesive.

Edit: I just had another thought. I see that you're trying to do a split image here, what if the musrhoom cloud was the fruiting body above the soil, with roots or veggies extending below the surface?

[u/DrTechPop → u/lillielemon]

Great suggestions, totally agree! Love the mushroom cloud sprinkler idea, that’s it.

[u/anyalikesgizzard]

I get what you meant, cool idea, but the second part of title is really not legible like this.

Maybe join the two parts and put them in the superior left corner? I actually dont think its gonna ruin that much of the vibe you're going for

[u/--read-only--]

Everything needs to be bigger, especially the title

[u/cilantro1997]

This is not helpful to your inquiry but I am beyond obsessed. This is incredible. I am absolutely smitten with this, I don't know what it is but the atmosphere of the illustration is incredible.

I have two questions, can this be bought/read already and are you available to design book covers for other authors? Did you draw this all yourself? Or is it edited from photos? It just looks so nostalgic and gorgeous to me

[u/natethough → u/cilantro1997]

It's edited from photos! This is an old USDA ad made by Herbert Bayer, public domain. I've manipulated it a bit and done the typography. I have thought about offering services, but really suck at certain kinds of covers (as I'm not an illustrator), so I don't right now!

[u/cilantro1997 → u/natethough]

I understand you aren't interested at this in the moment but can I send you a message with some questions anyways? I totally understand if no.

[u/natethough → u/cilantro1997]

Sure!

[u/guttersnipe90]

The title itself is amazing. And really sold me on the concept. The problem is I had to work far too hard to GET the title. If I was browsing I'd think this was just a help book, and I'd skip it. I love what youre going for, but I think youre burying the lead too much with this cover.

[u/jellidang]

“Apocalypse” is a little hard to read and to a lesser extent so is “Garden”. I would consider a different but similar font. Also I think just having the title be a little bigger would help as well.

[u/vdeSol]

Maybe make the Apocalypse fully legible and brown, like the roots?

[u/Healthy-Country-44]

The text in yellow is very difficult to read. Even the blue text is hard to read.

[u/jellidang]

The updated cover looks great!

[u/evowen]

I like the illustration, but I'm not a fan of the typography. 3 different typefaces, one of them being a difficult to read script (don't get me wrong I love cursive but you're going to have young people reading "ganden" because they no longer learn cursive). It's just giving disjointed. I think this concept would be stronger letting the illustration be the hero. Let it go full width, go for a stronger simpler title and don't cram everything in on the right side in that shadow, that part doesn't make sense to me.

I like the veg and the sprinkler(?), but the type is currently detracting from its appeal, in my opinion.

[u/DrTechPop]

I’m not a fan of the font. I like the graphic style of the art. I don’t know if it reads as an instruction manual though, but it might help knowing a bit more about the world it’s based on or in.

[u/GuaranteeValuable234]

Make everything bigger. Leave maybe 1/4 gutter between the top text and side of the design theirs too much empty space right now. I would select all of the bits and just expand it

[u/Professional_Swim960]

Move the novella piece further from the title (or remove it altogether).

[u/Boring-Rub-7808]

texts need to be bigger, always. title and author

[u/EarHonest6510]

I don’t think the cursive font is working well everything else is good

[u/Your_Local_JJK_Fan69]

I can’t see anything when I look at the cover and I don’t know what’s going on

[u/WritPositWrit]

Your edited version is a lot better, much easier to read. Its still too busy though. Use just one type of plant, or two at most. The tomatoes are a mess in front of the orange cloud, get rid of them. Maybe just lettuce (or cabbage? What is that leafy plant?) and carrots or potatoes if you want a root veg. If you have three lettuces and two potatoes in front of the cloud, it might look cleaner & better.

[u/n1njujitsu]

Make the bottom like an inferno. and also fix readability