Design 01
The title is set in a clean, oversized sans serif, working against a more traditional photorealistic composition beneath it. The bat swarm streams up from the submerged figure and off the page, with the typography and imagery locking together into one continuous idea, the transformation built into the cover's structure. The palette stays narrow, near-black and teal with sharp highlights around the figure as the one point of warmth the eye lands on. Although many thriller covers are leaning on illustration right now, the photographic figure brings a more personal, human feel to this design.
All type is live and easily changed.
No AI used.
Thumbnail Test
Design 02
“OUTFOX” is oversized, with the descending letterforms with design detail echoing a staircase, a visual nod to “every step is a trap.” This connects the typography directly to the book’s central theme, making the title an active part of the concept rather than simply sitting above the imagery. “THE FOX” locks tightly beneath it, creating one strong, continuous typographic mark.
The palette is deliberately restrained to deep navy and bone white, keeping the cover focused and allowing the typography and figures to carry the visual weight.
The illustration remains secondary and symbolic, but contains enough detail to reward closer inspection. The sliced-open heads, staircases and hidden figures suggest the book’s psychological and strategic themes without depicting a literal scene.
All type is live and easily changed.
No AI used.
Thumbnail Test
Design 03
A clean, less-is-more approach: one bold colour pop, one visual pun, no clutter. The lowercase serif title keeps things intimate rather than shouty, with the ampersand as the hinge between the two words. Smoke rising from the chillies is worked into the shape of the word "fire" itself, folding the title into the image rather than sitting separately from it. The two chillies double as a mouth, letting one image carry both the literal and suggestive read without needing extra elements to spell it out.
All type is live and easily changed - including the smoke effect.
Thumbnail Test
The chilli shapes were manipulated in photoshop, mainly using Puppetwarp to get the correct forms to create the visual pun. Generative Image was used to help create the correct purple reflective highlights, and enhance detail.
Design 04
The lit title immediately sets a sci-fi register before any imagery registers. A row of identical android faces recedes behind the central figure, turning repetition itself into the visual hook, one of many, built to a spec, reinforced by "Built to Obey" sitting quietly underneath the title. Cold blue on near-black keeps the whole cover feeling like it's lit from within rather than lit from outside. The author name picks up the same lit treatment as the title, keeping the whole cover feeling like a single interface rather than separate typographic elements.
All type is live and easily changed.
No ai used.
Thumbnail Test
Design 05
The oversized hand-lettered script gives the title all the energy of a yearbook signature, with the '26 large enough for the characters to physically interact with it. The flat, warm illustration style and pastel palette signal both coming-of-age and romance, while the candid, mid-motion pose of the trio keeps the mood loose and joyful rather than posed. Small background details build out a whole world without pulling focus from the three leads. The tagline in quotes adds a personal, first-person voice to the cover, reinforcing the "our story" framing of the title.
All type is live and easily changed.
No AI used.
Thumbnail Test
Design 06
Included to demonstrate range — I’m busy with a children’s book series at the moment, I know this isn't your usual category, but wanted to show the breadth of styles I can turn my hand to.
The full sentence-as-title, wrapped around a hand-painted banner, sets a playful, read-aloud tone before a parent even opens the book. The bouncy, uneven lettering matches the loose, painterly illustration style.
All type is live and easily changed.
No AI used.
Thumbnail Test
