For many readers, the cover of a book can be its biggest enticement or its greatest deterent. Rusty Apper's cover design of Her Minder - Book One: The Doctor, shows all the elements that give the story its flavour.
When Teddy Raye asked graphic designer Rusty Apper, of Rusty Apper Designs to create the cover for her first novel, she sent over a synopsis of the story, the physical descriptions of the characters, and an art piece originally designed for the cover by Patricia Demoraes.
This gave Rusty the tools he needed to put together a great design.
The earliest render was surprisingly close to the final artwork. Elements included a woman's face with lovely, hazel eyes, a London-esque skyline, and what looked like official documents in the background.
The flames were not quite right for the story, and the font wasn't what Teddy was looking for. In this version, the flames were changed into a chain, and the photo of a hand holding a flogger was added. The font for the title was also changed.
Next, the woman's face no longer has the 'flame reflection'. It takes the top center, and the chains are replaced with a 'torn paper' effect. The fonts for the title are changed, and the hand is removed.
Original artwork has been added to the middle left, showing a man's hands clasped behind his back, holding a flail. The font for the author's name has been changed to match 'Her' of the title.
The subtitle has been added, and there is some experimentation with the 'torn edge'. Several colours were tried, including maroon and deep green.
The white and tan edge have been restored, and the hand has been lowered.
The skyline started to feel too 'busy', and was dropped, so the the woman's face, the hands, and the classified documents were the only real elements besides the title.
Finally, the title and the hands were lowered, so the entire flail can be seen. This gives the title a more centralised position on the cover. This became the final cover!
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