31 August,2025 03:17 PM IST | Mumbai | Debjani Paul
Aesthetics are a big factor at bookstores now and books are not just arranged by genres, but also by colour and vibe, says Fictionary founder, Anup Nair. Pics/Nimesh Dave
You know that joy of walking into a bookstore and seeing shelves upon shelves of pretty book covers? From gilded dragons on fantasy covers, to the pastel tones on summer romances, to conceptual art on sci-fi reads, each of them promise to transport you to another realm. More and more, it's the magic of a well-done cover that's pulling readers to the billing counter at book shops.
In this age of Kindles, how many people still splurge on a premium hardcover copy for that new book smell? You know what does inspire them to pick up a physical book though? A kickass cover. "I saw the cover for The Poppy War [by R F Kuang, published by HarperCollins] and it was so pretty, I just had to get it," says Anujashree Roy, 30, a film director's assistant and avid collector of good-looking books. "It's a thick book; normally I'd have opted to read it on my Kindle for convenience. But when a book looks that gorgeous, I want to display it on my bookshelf," she explains.
It's a book that went viral last year on "Bookstagram" and "BookTok", with influencers showing off the gorgeous cover art and sprayed page edges (the edges of pages can be gilded or stencilled with images) to depict flames licking the tome. If the design is visually stunning, Roy will sometimes pick up a book just for the joy of possessing the cover art, even if it's a title she owns and has read already. Her all-time favourite is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - she now owns 108 editions of this classic, all with different bindings or cover art. "The first time I read it, I related a lot to [the male protagonist] Darcy. There's something about the book that gives me hope. I am trying to get as many different covers as I can find. Some editions have beautiful leather binding, like a copy I got last year for Rs 3000. It was expensive, but way too pretty not to get," she exclaims.
"Some books you just want to keep on your shelf as trophies," she says, chuckling. "I bought the Lord of The Rings series and the new Harry Potter editions because I liked how they looked. Then I ended up reading them and enjoying them." A couple of years ago, she also bought a reprint of Ismat Chugtai's short story, Lihaaf (The Quilt). "It was re-released with a pretty cover and I really wanted it. I am yet to read it though," admits Roy, who often works late hours at film sets.
Time was, the average reader would pick their book of the month on the basis of whether a famous author wrote it, or if it was on a bestseller list. Now, a major consideration is what will look good on their shelves and Instagram feed, says Anup Nair, founder of Bandra-based bookstore Fictionary. "Instagram now accounts for a large part of book marketing. If the cover looks good, it's more likely to feature on an influencer's Instagram feed, and more people are going to want to get their own copy."
He adds, "Aesthetics is a big deal in bookstores too now, where bookshelves can at times be organised by colours. And the better the cover is, the better the display a book tends to get in store." Nirav Mehta, founder of the book club Broke Bibliophiles. "It's all about collectibles, and how it looks and feels in the hand," he says, "Sprayed edges are very trendy now. I recently saw a hardcover edition of The Art of War by Sun Tzu [which dates back to the 5th century BC] with golden edges and it's looking really good. It's a nice, compact size for a hardcover, so it also feels good in the hand and is easy to carry and read."
Turns out, size does matter. As does beauty. Saurabh Garge, design head at Westland Books, cites the publishing house's The Stoic Philosophy Series - a pastel-coloured, compact, hardbound series based on the work of renowned Stoic philosophers such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius - as an example of just how cover design can set a book apart from a sea of books in a shop.
"The self-help section usually has a very muted look, either in white or in very bright colours, and most often with one photograph as the main visual element," he says, "I wanted to break out of that sedentary visual and experiment with pastels. We made it hardbound, with a faux cloth texture to give it a premium look, but didn't want it to be an unwieldy size. We made it palm-sized so it's easy to carry."
The book has done particularly well at airport stores, where self-help books are a popular choice. In a sea of white in the self-help section, the pastel lilac, pink, and cyan philosophy titles are instantly eye-catching. "We planned the colours of each book in the series of four to be complementary to each other, so if you have one, you'll be tempted to pick up the others too. The series is a fairly new release, but the books have already gone for reprint with steady sales," says Karthika VK, publisher at Westland.
She cites the rising popularity of Japanese and Korean titles that were first picked up for their intriguing titles and minimalist but gorgeous cover art, and eventually came to be appreciated for their literary strength. "These books are so delicious to look at. I recently went to a store and saw a new hardbound edition of a Japanese bestseller from last year, with pink sprayed edges. It cost Rs 1400, and I already had the paperback at home, but I still bought it," says Karthika.
Beautiful covers tempt many to buy books they have already read, "if not for themselves, then as a gift", she adds. "From new titles to repackaged classics, part of the thought process behind designing a book is also - âDoes it look giftable?'"
Bonita Vaz-Shimray, art director at HarperCollins India, who worked on one of the season's hot releases - Soliloquies, featuring poetry by Adil Jussawala in an imprint curated by poet-author Jeet Thayil - says it was Thayil who had approached them with a request to design it as a small book. While handy for readers, "smaller books tend to get lost in the shelves," she says. To combat that, the cover has been designed in an eye-catching neon pink and bright yellow, with a cyan-tinted photo of Jussawala in his youth. "The series is an experimental curation, to be published over five years. We wanted it to have a strong identity and instant recall, while keeping the focus firmly on the authorship. To kickstart we have Adil's striking profile in his prime - reflective of the era in which the play was written. We also aimed for a nostalgic feel, with the paper and layout which will remain constant across the series. The covers are a playful use of CMYK colours, as a nod to the printed word. The idea is to present the series as a collection of books to be read, cherished, and proudly kept on our bookshelves for years to come."
Soliloquies by Adil Jussawala is the first in a series of 20 pocket-sized books in CMYK colours
Never before has a book's design mattered more. "Five years back, people had no idea what book design was about. But with BookTok, a lot of authors are now exposed to international trends and approach us with ideas they'd like to see on their covers as well," says Garge. "The Indian publishing industry, too, is thriving. There have never been so many independent publishers churning out so many titles each year; how do we make our book stand out in a sea of other books? Thankfully, technology has advanced too, and we can do a lot more now, from sprayed edges, to die-cut covers, to creating intricate art and different textures."
"Covers play a vital role - they breathe life into a book even before it is opened," says Amrita Chakravorty, deputy art director at Rupa Publications India. "A designer, in that sense, is like a frontline soldier - precise and focused. For example, in the recent release I, Witness by Shahid Siddiqui, the cover was conceived as a collage, reflecting the very essence of the book, where the author recalls encounters with the titans of Indian politics, from Nehru to Modi."
Your Kindle could never look this good.
