This month, Michelle Argyle at Melissa Williams Design reimagines the cover of Loathly, by indie author Erica Forrest, who called the redesign “everything romantic and elegant that I couldn’t ever produce with my own talents.” To submit a book for a free cover redesign, email us at booklifeeditor@booklife.com.

Making the author’s name dark purple helps draw the eye to the title. A lighter color would be too distracting.

It’s easy to overdo typography on a cover. The lettering here is ornate and could compete with the background image, so I gave the colors and textures a minimal silvery appearance.

The original cover has good balance, but the colors feel off for the genre. Making the girl’s dress and cape a dreamy purple really makes the cover pop. The cover needs to immediately convey a sense of fairy tale and fantasy. I accomplished this with color scheme, image, and typography.

Original Cover