Case Study: Designing the Cover for Winging It
For 28 years, Fr. Jim Sebesta served as a Jesuit priest and bush pilot in Alaska, where some remote villages are accessible only by air and the rugged terrain presents many challenges.
Serving in the Alaska Mission from the 1960s to the 1990s, Fr. Jim Sebesta’s collection of true stories puts you in the copilot’s seat on hundreds of memorable flights.
When I met with Fr. Jim, he showed me the cover of his memoir. The cover photo showed Jim peeking out from behind a Cessna airplane. The book was spiral-bound, and although the photo was okay, the cover needed improvement.
Winging It is the title, simple and short.
Subtitle: Adventures of a Jesuit Priest Pilot in Rural Alaska
Researching Cover Ideas
The topic and genre were easy to research. There were many comparable titles, so I took screenshots of the bestsellers and the covers I liked best.
One common cover element was a small airplane, perhaps a Cessna or similar aircraft, with a beautiful shot of the Alaskan landscape, often featuring snow and mountains. A potential reader would immediately know what the book was about.
The cover fonts varied, with both serif and sans-serif typefaces represented.
Selecting the Images
Jim provided 16 photos to be used inside the book, ranging from one showing his early solo flight in 1952 to photos from his later years as a pilot in Alaska.
One image in particular stood out: Jim flying the Cessna airplane.
I outlined the airplane in Photoshop and then looked for beautiful Alaskan landscapes to use as a background. The landscapes needed to have a large area of sky where I could add the title and subtitle and wrap around to the back cover.
Developing the Cover
I showed Jim three cover ideas.
Two were conventional layouts that matched the style of one of his competitors’ covers. Both featured beautiful Alaskan landscapes with the Cessna flying above. I chose a classic serif font to match the style of his competitors.
The third idea came from my partner, Gary. He suggested enlarging the airplane across the cover. At that size, you could actually see Jim’s face.
I found a photo on Getty Images with an approximately 85 percent blue-sky background and a frozen shoreline. The plane looked good against the sky, and there was plenty of room for the title.
Instead of a classic font, I wanted something more dynamic.
My initial font search wasn’t good enough. Then I found a condensed alphabet on Getty Images with a bold, aviation-inspired style. The dimensional letters were placed at an angle rather than straight on, which added an extra touch of energy to the cover.
The Color Challenge
The next challenge was choosing the title’s color.
The alphabet was originally red, but when I placed it against the blue sky, the colors had a vibrating effect. The solution was to change the title to light gray in Photoshop. The gray took on a metallic appearance against the blue sky.
It was perfect for the cover.
Making the Choice
I presented the three cover layouts to Jim and his project manager, Becky. Although they liked all three ideas, Jim selected the third option.
He previewed the cover for his family and friends at his 95th birthday celebration, and they were very impressed.
Finally
Once the cover and interior pages were approved, we uploaded the paperback and ebook to KDP.
There was one more request: get a quote for printing a small quantity of gift books with a hardcover and color pages.
A Note from Fr. Jim
“I had sort of given up on it getting published since no publisher seemed interested, but when Fr. Biondi got interested, it breathed new life into the project. I never realized there were so many details to tend to. I fly airplanes and know all the details that have to be observed, but publishing a book is out of my range. Thank goodness there are people who know all the details necessary and how to comply with them.”
— Fr. Jim Sebesta, S.J., author of Winging It
The Bottom Line
A good book cover should do more than identify the subject of a book. It should create curiosity and give potential readers a reason to pick it up.
For Winging It, the airplane and Alaskan landscape immediately communicate the setting and subject. But enlarging the airplane, revealing the pilot, and adding the dimensional metallic title gave the cover a more dynamic and memorable look.
Sometimes the strongest design solution comes from taking a familiar idea and looking at it from a different angle.
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