Designing a business book
When co-authors Bob Stuckey and Ken Cooper contacted me about designing their business book, The Control Catastrophe: Why your organization is wasting money and how to fix it, they shared a brief overview of the manuscript and identified their target audience: corporate executives, managers, and supervisors.
From the beginning, the goal was clear—create a cover that immediately communicated the book’s subject while establishing authority and credibility.
The Design Process
I started by researching other successful business books. One pattern stood out right away: the strongest covers emphasized the most important word — the core subject — in bold, highly visible typography placed near the top of the cover. The most effective designs also paired strong typography with a single memorable image that instantly communicated the book’s message.
Those principles became the foundation for this project.
Next came the challenge of choosing fonts, colors, and imagery that would not only capture attention but also clearly communicate the book’s focus on financial waste and organizational inefficiency.
Because the title and subtitle were text-heavy, I searched for visuals that would reinforce the message without overwhelming the typography. I presented the authors with three design concepts featuring different images:
A wastebasket filled with crumpled cash
A pile of burning money
Crumpled bills in a dustpan
The first and third concepts had an added advantage: the images could be isolated from their backgrounds, creating a cleaner, more flexible design. Ultimately, the authors selected the wastebasket concept. The image immediately told the story — throwing money away.
Front Cover Details
To reinforce the seriousness of the subject matter, I chose a bold sans serif typeface that projected strength and clarity. The final design featured the title centered at the top of the cover, with the word “Catastrophe” highlighted in red for emphasis while the remaining title text appeared in gray. The subtitle further emphasized the phrase “WASTING MONEY” in all caps to draw the reader’s eye.
The authors’ names were placed in white type at the bottom of the cover for contrast and balance.
As with most design projects, the final version included a series of refinements and small adjustments. The wastebasket image was reduced in size and repositioned beneath the title and subtitle to improve hierarchy and visual flow.
A book cover has several important jobs to do. The front cover captures attention, the spine helps the book stand out on a shelf, and the back cover persuades readers to take the next step. Once the front cover sparks interest, the reader turns the book over to learn more.
Back Cover Details
The back cover began with a bold red headline introducing the book description. Below that, key benefits were organized into easy-to-scan bullet points, followed by a strong italicized call-to-action statement.
To improve readability, the copy was divided into smaller sections, allowing busy readers to quickly absorb the synopsis and main takeaways. A final graphic element — a single crumpled dollar bill — visually tied the back cover to the front.
The back cover functions like a billboard for the book. It needs to explain what the book is about, why readers should care, who the authors are, and why they are qualified to speak on the topic. Endorsements, pricing, and author bios may also appear there when available. In this case, the authors planned to include expanded bios and background information within the interior pages instead.
Good design makes all of that information feel organized, readable, and visually appealing rather than crowded.
Making a Wise Investment
Because Bob Stuckey and Ken Cooper understood the financial consequences of poor business decisions, they were determined to invest wisely in the presentation of their book. Publishing and marketing professionals often stress the importance of hiring an experienced book designer, and the authors felt the investment paid off.
From the Authors
“We didn’t just seem to feel that our money was well spent with professional book designer Peggy Nehmen-Kodner — we definitely know it was. We were able to focus completely on writing the book while Peggy worked her magic making it look polished and professional.
Peggy became more than a designer; she was also an advisor throughout the publishing process, offering valuable ideas and guidance. And it paid off. The book has become the centerpiece of a large-scale consulting intellectual property sale directed at top executives. From the cover design to the interior layout, the book creates instant credibility.”