Hello my dear people,

Several weeks ago I received a copy of the book I had designed and was a bit disappointed and even a bit pissed off. I was prepared for everything but not for what I saw.

Nowadays publishing houses try to give their books more accent by adding various kinds of fancy effects as emboss, UV-varnish, foil.

Sometimes it works well, but most of the time it’s just spending money on a castle made of air. In some cases (soft covers) cool fancy effects on the front can even ruin the inside page and usually this page is used to put “about author” information on it.

This is exactly what happened to the cover I designed with one exception – I knew it was going to happen and I warned client about it. However, I got a confirmation that everything is ok and cover can be sent to print.

Now I’m holding this cover in my hands. It looks very nice with double emboss and UV-varnish on embossed letters. However, I bet nobody can tell me definitely that book sales will be better because of those effects. And I’m sure nobody will even notice the varnish effect before he looks at the cover very closely.

But let’s now look at the inside page … What do you think about it? I keep in mind that client said ok, but I think it is not that ok as it has to be.

So, what is the conclusion? Always think 100 times before using fancy effects, as they won’t sell your book for sure. However, they will cost you a penny. And even if you really want or have to use any of the effects, ask yourself: “Will it really enhance my design? Do I have spare money?” Because it is not that pleasant paying money for no satisfaction. Consider reading any tutorials and inspire with good examples.