Help designing a cover for my DDR Book

I like the idea of the city and the just the DDR panels at the bottom. This is a bit tricky but I can probably edit both past and present DDR panel designs so they look like they are side by side and see how it looks. The only thing about that is that the photo of the older panels are a bit more grainy/blurred than the new ones so it might look odd to have a split down the middle kind of thing. If you have any more photos of the panels, that would be more helpful. The ones on your FB are helpful but if you happen to have anymore, it would be more beneficial to the project. I'll work on them and post another 2 or 3 variations for you to choose from and I'll design the back/spine as well so we can see the complete layout.

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OK, I'll see what I can dig up image-wise but feel free to take any artistic liberties you feel are appropriate.

One last thing that was pointed out to me was the subtitle. I don't define DDR until the intro of the book. The gamer crowd with some knowledge of music games probably knows DDR means Dance Dance Revolution, but do you think I should define it somewhere on the front or back cover? The stage images alone should clue some people in but there are still bound to be those that don't. I'd change the subtitle to Dance Game or something generic but in Japan that is really only DDR anyways.

Oh, two small points from other comments I thought were significant:

If the Yokohama background will make the majority of the backing for the cover, should the title be shifted up a bit above the city so we can see more of it (since it looks so nice)

For the stage(s) at the bottom, should the end fade into the background so the transition isn't so jarring?

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Ooo nice timing, I'm working on them as we speak so I'll take those points into consideration. I'll show what I've got in a little while.


EDIT: Ok I went ahead and made the entire mockup so you can see how it would look. Let me know what you think.

*click for full size*

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Just a quick note: It says Bachelor's Dergee

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Yea I know but that's not the real text that will be on there. He already said he was going to write up something new for the backcover.

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That's the best version yet.

Very nice. I have a few issues but they are mostly with the layout of the back cover and spine. I'll just list all of them here in quick point form notes, though:

* On the back cover, usually a synopsis is written at the top and the "About the Author" section is below that. What I wanted to do (But the cover creator at Createspace wouldn't allow) was have my photo in the lower right part of the text (not the book, just the text) similar to what I did with an earlier draft of the book on the first page

* On the spine, the usual pattern is Title on the left, Author on the right

* I have that "AIJBot press" logo that was originally to go on the bottom left corner of the book cover (back cover). It is optional if it is going to mess up the design, though http://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/149783_10150794619684910_789964909_9467505_431740031_n.jpg

* If you used the guide I posted on the bottom of the 1st page, the location of the bar code area/size should be fine, but I will have to white out the whole box before submission since they print the bar code on Amazon's side.

* Lastly, on the cover, I guess there is no way to work in the old DDR stage somehow? I really like how it looks now; I just wondered if there was any subtle way to slip it in, even if it had to be a faded background on the back cover.


And on that note I guess I'll write up the back cover in a bit more detail. I figured I probably should define "DDR"

EDIT> I'm so tempted to sneak in a silhouette of "The Flying Dog" in the sky

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Ok I will see what I can do about somehow inputting the old DDR dance stage in there. If you can, send me all of the back info on a Word document so I can easily put it in the book. I'll have an updated version for you soon.

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Here is a base idea of the layout I was looking for in the back cover and spine:

(The text at the top of the back cover should probably be a tad bigger and the "About Me" part smaller, or I could write less about myself and more about the book in the top section.

I'm doing a writeup on the back cover and I'll have that to you soon I hope (since it is just text I could just paste it here in a quote block or something if that is easier)

EDIT> It's at the bottom of this post




Okay, how about this for the back synposis:

* Critiques Welcome *


And this for the "About the Author" writeup. One paragraph should be enough.

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Maybe move the "About the Author" section to the bottom, reduce the line spacing for that section and increase the line spacing for the top section. The front looks good, but maybe making the metal plating on the DDR pad grayscale, since it's distracting from the left-right arrows. On the spine, try making the size of the title larger than the author so it would look less static.

My 2 scents~

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Ok here you go. I think the cover looks good with or without the old DDR panels but that's just me. I chose a thicker more readable font for the backcover and made the changes you wanted. That little AIJBOT PRESS banner looks out of place lol

Let me know how you like it.

*click for full size*

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What I would do is have it in the center of the DDR pad, leme make u a quick concept. Also, like i said on fb, instead of having the ddr pad fade into the water, just replace the water with it (though try and keep the reflections), but also make sure to align it properly with the depth. Also, instead of moving the author, etc., move the "an insiders..." to the bottom

Ok, I'm limited to browsing on my iPhone right now but that looks really nice. Yeah, if the AIJBot Press logo really looks out of place feel free to nuke it.

The only other thing I could think of with the old stage was to have it in the bay faded even more and extending beyond the modern stage, but maybe what you have there is better anyways.

The back cover is fine. I wonder if the About the Author text section and photo should be moved down a bit but maybe not.

Also, Matt Hines, the guy that did the logo asks if you would like the vector of the logo or anything, or if what you have to work with is fine.

It's looking awesome, though. Thanks so much for your patience with this.

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ok so heres what i think

The vector of the logo would be nice to have. It would make things a little easier. I'll post some more variations but it's ultimately up to you. I have a version with no panels at all and it looks great like that too. And you're very welcome, just doing my job.

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im uploading a vector now, just making some adjustments

Heres a PDF of it http://min.us/m7Hxhvu0f

Oops, double post hours later due to iPhone tomfoolery (resubmitted the form data)

I'm still looking at it and it looks really nice. I'll have more feedback for you soon

I did notice the same thing as e-s-g though:


One good thing for you is that I noticed Brad Crawford (on facebook) likes your work. He's the director of that "100 Yen : The Japanese Arcade Experience" movie. Who knows, if you impress the right people maybe this could turn into some kind of contract work.

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Hey SD did you try mirroring the photo of the old dance stage?
the only thing that really glares out at me is that the two photos go in different directions which makes it feel a little disjointed.

also there is a typo on the blurb in the first sentence:
Explore the birth and evolution of a community surrounding a the unique series of music games known as Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR for short.

it's looking good so far though

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Okay, I need to get to bed but I really like the look of the overall design now. Just some small things I thought about:

* The old DDR stage at the top could be mirrored horizontally to sort-of-match the direction of the stage at the bottom. If it makes it look like that weird zig-zag pattern from the first design, don't bother, I guess. That might even be removable altogether since the overall image below that works so well

* The grammar error on the back (...surrounding a the unique series...)

* Don't bother with the bar code area on the back; Createspace/Amazon blanks out an area on their own anyways; just note where it is and the size

* I can't think of anything to put in the middle of the stage on the back cover, but do you think the About the Author section should be moved down a bit, away from the blurb at the top?

* On the spine, should the book title be the same one used on the front, or is that taking it too far, do you think?

EDIT>

Here is what cover creator warns with the cover at this point:

(No important info should be in the red areas; you can add an extra border around it all or enlarge the canvas around the whole book to solve this if you want, but that can come at the end when the final design/layout is complete since it isn't that bad of an issue right now)

The spine positioning is correct from what I can see, though (the overlay option for title and author overlays exactly where your text is)
I think the issue can be resolved in the end by adding a .125" bleed around the whole thing (no idea how many pixels that would be; that is something I can toy with in the end stage.

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I can actually add the Bleed and marks for you if you like. I'll have the updated artwork for you in a little while.


EDIT: Ok here it is with the changes. I added a .25inch Bleed so hopefully it won't cut off anything. Let me know what you think.

*click for full size*

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