What cover design should the Smashing Book have?

To me it is either d or e. They are so similar that one could be taking votes away from the other. Perhaps once you observe the undeniable top 2 or 3, you could remove the low-vote getters and try one more time with a run off.

I've seen this before in a photo contest. Two or more similar submissions split their votes while a less-popular submission (with no competition that is similar) edges out the highest vote-getter of those that are similar.

B looks like the pepsi logo.

For me, perhaps the cover A could look better in black instead of grey

Is pusy exp, but dont' think feel better. My vote is D

no doubt, d is the one for me

C... Absolutely C.

Far and away C. I don't think any others are close.

C is simple, clean and SCREAMS SmashingMagazine.com.

absolutely, looks like c is it

Hey, what about d, this is my favourite

C it the one, if this is book that delivers all that is Smashing Mag then the cover should be the logo and nothing more. Can't wait to pick it up....

C or nothing... that cover completely epitomizes SM. Beautiful, minimal, totally elegant. All the traits my favorite Dev Blog works so hard to exude.

The others are artsy but if you want to sell if, you have to be able to read it in a clean clear cut way....D or E.

D for the win!

- It's Modern, Clean and Would look great on my White 'S-shaped' shelf!

I vote D, very clean cover. Cool! ^_^

C has the most impact and clarity.
A has potential, but needs more contrast IMO. The grey smashing logos should be a lot lighter so the red arrow can be seen more clearly.

Difficult to chose : they all poorly designed which si ironic for a (great) site which usually has good critics of the works of others. (C) is probably the only one acceptable.

I love C the most, but D comes a very close second.

Well here is my take on the magazine cover:
(a) Confusing and brand value lost
(b) Resonably well, but the blue has killed the brand
(c) Good typography, strong brand value and cutting the "S" leaves the looker with a hint of suspense. Curiosity is invoked and is prompted to look inside. However, the top dark band value from the website is missing. Unless the back of the cover is completely dark. That would add interest.
(d) Good brand value coming across. Looks neat, clean and has all the elements of the brand. Stands apart. Is something that could be visible from far. But looks a bit cliched.
(e) Impressive use of texture. But unfortunately the website does not have those textured values. I can understand that a feeling of heavy object "S" has fallen on cover and it has cracked. Or rather "smashed" the cover. Its good, but the only reason it does not work for me is because of the texture. Yes i do like textures but i prefer the clean look percolating from the website into the cover of the book.
(f) Interesting typography. Maybe slightly weak in visibility, but interesting.

My choices are C or D. Although i had to make a choice for the sake of voting, i choose D because all the brand values from website are visible on the cover. I have liked C and D both.

I really like A... I guess my taste is different to most people here... All these designs look like comic books (me likes).. The black ones look more sleek but with the big S and dominant black, they look like some "How to ... Sex..." book.. hey nothing wrong with that!

C definitely without question :)

i dont know, i dont like any of these cover, it doesn't look like a book imho
but if i had to choose, i choose C because the strong smashing trademark

D is my choice, a slick and black design, a good cover for a excellent choice of topics.

I suggest "D" Its very clean and the background color (black rite now) is changeable occasionally for distinguish in different titles (some light and cool abstract will be better in background). But the text "smashing magazine" should be in original format as in the logo on the website.

C, no contest. It's the only one that screams Smashing Magazine.

I vote: C

I did quite like similicity of 'd', the 'smash'ing effect of 'e' and the type effect of 'f' but for me, the one that yells out 'Smashing Magazine' is C and I'll be proud to have a copy on my shelf too.

Alex | Zen Elements

d) for me... although make sure it says 'smashing' rather than 'mashing' as on the full cover view

C screams Adobe man! u don't want that. Nothing wrong with adobe but hey, you're smashin', not adobey.

D i chuj

These are bad. They don't represent SM at all. I'll go with D, if I have to choose one.

My votes are for E and F. E is the most insteresting one to me. I like how the texture creates a circle around the logo, keeping to focus there. It has more than just black, white and orange, but the colors are dark enough that it doesn't take your focus from the logo. Like B is doing.

To the man who said the texture doesn't match with the website; so what. It's supposed to grab attention. The rest are either too busy, too simple or in the case of C, an overdone idea. I agree about the blue in B.

As for F. It used the idea of the "S" going off the page in C, but its a little more interesting. With it layed out as text to create the "S", it's not as bold, making it feel like a watermark. Bringing your attention to the full logo at the bottom. The fact that it is at an angle gives it movement.

I like C cover, simple , attractive and strong design.

C looks the best choice because it toked me 1 sec to identify it, and 2 more to relate it to the logo and the favicon, that's your brand so keep on the good work!

D is nice, that's simple but elegant

matching color if mixed with Smashing Magazine logo

black + orange = perfect

:-)

Look forward to buying the book. The inspiration from reading your online magazine has given me the motivation to start designing websites. Only 4 months into it. However, I am learning all the best practices thanks to you guys.

Think d is the best, looks clearer than c. But the books should be muuuuch thicker than those demos!!!

i choosed c :)

He, what about d. d is small and clean. I like very much d. Good wrapper Design

I am going with C because it is clean, clear just fall in love in first sight.

They all look good to me, but i choose D !
Black looks strong and Clean :D

I was between C, D, and F. I finally voted F because of the dark look, and for the potential of showing both a simple design as well as a typography inspired design. Both C and D are also very nice covers, so seeing as C is winning is actually a relief. The three designs I wasn't convinced with: A, B, and E, didn't actually rate so well, so it seems we're a bunch that think alike :-)

Looks like most people have it right... C should be the winner. It's blatant Smashing Magazine.

"C" is quite similar to the academy of arts catalog XD
I vote "A"

I really wanted to make it "F"... I love typography....

man who ever voted for C is a dumb$#@ its so plane and lame E is the best no doubt

my first choice would be: "C"
followed by a close: "C"
then possibly a good third place might be: "C"

Oh and by the way for those of you who don't think "C" is the best choice: "C"

D... Absolutely D.

I think E is humorous and I would be most likely to pick it up out of curiosity if I had no idea what Smashing Magazine was. However, C fits the brand the most and is bright and vibrant. I think it would easily stand out on the shelf.

I would like to thank everyone for choosing my design so far! (E)

I decided to make it simple yet make it "pop" also, readers should be interested as soon as they pick it up and look at it. the whole point was to grab someones attention, so they would open it up and take a good look at whats inside.....

P.S Just because a design didn't rate well doesn't mean its poorly made. its all based on opinion, people should just see it for what it is A SMASHING BOOK,

thanks for the comments rude or not, i appreciate your feed back

yours truly,

Static 44 a.k.a Dan

For a "debut" book, "C" is the top on my list. It defines "Smashing Magazine." Simple! All the others would be great for future follow-ups. Fantastic work on all of them!

d or f ! :)

C is Simple but elegant matching color according to the Smashing Magazine Logo.

I can't believe that C is the top cover thus far- its too mundane/basic and really doesn't show any design insight. I find that Smashing magazine is one of the best sites on the web for design inspiration and showcases of techniques, and C just doesn't do the site justice. One thing to keep in mind for those consumers who are not familiar with smashing magazine is that you want the cover to jump off the rack and grab the casual book shopper whos not really sure what their looking for. I think that A. actually is the best of the bunch in this regard- it asks more of the viewer to stop and take a closer inspection (especially if its only the spine that is showing).

I agree with sentimentality that simple is usually the way to go, I do that a lot in my personal work, but for a design book where the idea is to really grab the consumer at first glance, I'm sorry, but C just doesn't do it for me. I think for the first jump out of the gate the primary concern should be to grab as many people into the book as possible, and perhaps with the second volume you can go a little simpler and take a look at C again.

This is what happens when you ask a inexperienced bunch to vote on a design matter . . . they go with the simplest "dumb ass" choice . . . without taking a moment to consider what design work has been put into it . . . A 10 y.o. child could have made that cover in paint . . . its just the logo spread onto the whole page . . dduuuhhh can't you see that

C and only C....coz it’s simple and clean....simplicity last longer than anything…