The Victoria University Library Special Collections exhibition Book covers: Capturing people’s attention showcases a selection of interesting book covers from the collections. The selection is designed to provide insight into how and why book covers may capture the attention of the reader and encourage them to further explore the content of the book. 

The art of book covers uses a variety of ways to jump out at a potential reader, and the techniques used can vary by book subject or genre. For instance, horror book covers tend to shock, whereas children’s book covers prefer to delight, and leather-bound law tomes aim to impress (or intimidate!).

Illustration, typography, materials, composition and use of colour can all set the tone to influence the reader and pique their curiosity.  

The style of book covers can also assist in grouping together authors, genres or series of books. Having a consistent cover style can act as a visual shorthand, allowing the browsing reader to quickly locate the kind of book they are looking for.  

In this exhibition, you will see a range of different books, including fiction and non-fiction, propaganda and protest publications, hardcovers and paperbacks and books for all ages of life. Some will invoke nostalgia, others will aim to persuade you to a political position, and others will simply seduce you to open to the first page

Victoria Univeristy Library Special Collections exhibition Book covers: Capturing people’s attention can be view at Footscray Park Campus, building P, Level 2 of the library from August to November 2024.