Create the next book or magazine cover for The BARKtender's Guide LLC
Mixnsip needed a new book or magazine cover design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 71 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
Some of the designers who made it happen
How Mixnsip started their book cover journey
Who are you known as?
The BARKtender's Guide
What industry do you think your business is most related to?
Tell us a bit about who you are and the people you reach
You like cocktails and cupcakes, so why not "Dogtails" and "Pupcakes" for your pooch.
The BARKtender's Guide is a recipe book for discerning dogs everywhere. From the most well-heeled hounds to mutts from the other side of the track; featuring such drinks as the Dirty Muttini and Slow Comfortable Sniff, and Pupcakes like the Fang Q Very Much and Bite Me.
A portion of every sale will give a needy dog a bone and help find him or her a home (ie. donations made to shelters).
What inspires you and how do you envision the design for your business?
SIT!... STAY!... READ!
OK, now I've got your attention, The BARKtender's Guide needs a cover design.
The book will be produced in paperback and also e-book format, so a front and back cover is required with a separate copy of the front cover for e-book use.
The BARKtender's Guide is a quirky, somewhat irreverent spoof of the cocktail and cupcake concept, while at the same time offering genuinely nutritious and definitely delicious recipes for canines of an epicurean disposition.
I'm including quite a lot of information in this brief but, please note, I AM OPEN TO ALL CREATIVE IDEAS. I show designs to as many people as possible and make full use of the polling feature in 99designs. Based on that, I give lots of feedback.
REQUIREMENTS:
The book is an 8 x 10 and I'm using CreateSpace. Their cover template for this size is attached and, at the end of this brief, is a copy of their instructions. I've attached the template with bleed and without (I'm not sure how that matters so I'm giving you the option) and in pdf format. I can give you png if that helps.
The book will be 115 pages, so the spine should be left blank.
Images should be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please remember that stock images require the puchase of a license. So, if you use stock photography you MUST inform me in advance. (Sorry to be so firm on this, but I've had trouble in the past).
Fonts: I have no preference for fonts. That's your expertise. You will notice, however, that I capitalize the bark in BARKtender. I do that in an effort to distinguish the word from BARtender. That is not a requirement. If you have a better way to emphasize the "bark", then bite me! I want to see it.
Final files should be delivered as fully editable so that changes may be made in text, etc. And I'm told I should ask for a layered PSD / Illustrator / In Design / or whatever software you use. (I really don't know what any of that means so if anyone thinks differently, let me know).
An image of Boo zeHound is attached. He is the resident Barktender and, as such, the face of the company. His image should be included on the cover, though I'm open to him being on the front or back..
THE TITLE of the book is: The BARKtender's Guide
subtitle: to Dogtails and Pupcakes
AUTHOR is: Boo zeHound and Elizabeth Dodwell (with emphasis on Boo's name)
TEXT FOR BACK COVER (this is actually a work in progress but use this for now):
You like cocktails and cupcakes, so why not "Dogtails" and "Pupcakes" for your pooch.
The BARKtender's Guide is a recipe book for discerning dogs everywhere. From the most well-heeled hounds to mutts from the other side of the track; featuring such drinks as the Dirty Muttini and Slow Comfortable Sniff, and Pupcakes like the Fang Q Very Much and Bite Me.
A portion of every sale will give a needy dog a bone and help find him or her a home (ie. donations made to shelters).
DESIGN:
OK, here's what I envision. The title with a small rendition of Boo zeHound. The bulk of the cover to be a photo of a dog, or dogs / puppies with a dogtail and a pupcake. The general idea being that I want people at a glance to see that this is about dogs and eats and drinks. I also want them to be drawn to the book so that they want to open it. That means the image can be cute or funny or goofy or whatever you think. As I said before, I'd love to see your own ideas and will give feedback on reactions.
It might help you to know that all the images in the book are photographs, with the exception of Boo. And I've attached a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what you'll find in the inside pages.
EXAMPLES of book covers I like:
I love both of these first two. They're clean and simple, adorable, clever and you can't possibly mistake what the content is about.
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Matthew-V…941371/ref
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Matthew-V…978003/ref
This next one isn't quirky, as I'd like, but it's sweet and to the point. The cover alone tells a story.
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Dog-Unde…477154/ref
Again, this cover tells a story, and I love the expression on the dog's face - it makes you smile.
http://www.amazon.com/Underwater-Do…227706/ref
OK, the only other notes to give you are that I will gladly give the winning designer credit in the book. I already have book signings and dogtail demos lined up and expect high sales from this effort. A follow-up book is also planned and I'd like to keep uniformity of look, so the winner will most likely have the chance to design that cover.
Lastly, if you have any questions - ASK ME.... please!
CreateSpace instructions for cover:
Our templates make it easier for you to quickly create print-ready files in Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe InDesign®, or any software that will allow you to open a .png or PDF file and save a PDF file. These templates contain the proper dimensions, layout, and bleed for the trim size and page count you select.
Safe Zone
Text and images must be at least .125" inside the trim lines to ensure that no live elements are cut during the bookmaking process.
Title and Author Name
Your book's title and the author's name must appear on the cover exactly as it was entered during the title setup process.
Images
Images may be CMYK or RGB color. All images should be sized at 100%, flattened to one layer and placed in your document at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.
The spine of your book
Every book will vary slightly when bound. Allow for 0.0625" variance on either side of the fold lines for your cover. For example, if your spine width is 1", your text should be no wider than 0.875". Because of this variance, avoid hard edges or lines that end on the fold line.
For books with a page count of less than 130 pages, we strongly recommend a blank spine. Blank spines are required for books with a page count of fewer than 100 pages.
Barcode
When your files go through the review process, our system will place your ISBN barcode in a 2" by 1.2" white box in the lower right-hand corner of your book's back cover. Our standard trim size templates will show you exact barcode placement.
Images or text in the barcode location will be covered when the book is printed. Make sure no important elements appear where the barcode will be placed.
If you choose to provide and place your own barcode, be sure it is a high-resolution image.
Prepare for Printing
The printable area of your document must be the right size, including bleed.
Make sure the printable area is centered within your document.
Make sure all live elements are inside the safe zone.
Export your file as a print-ready PDF. Be sure fonts are embedded.
The maximum accepted file size for your book cover is 40 MB.
The website was supposed to be up by now but keep any eye out for http://www.barktendersguide.com. Meanwhile, you might get a sense of where I'm coming from if you look at my new fb page - http://www.facebook.com/TheBarktendersGuide.
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