| name | cover-brief |
| description | Generate a cover design brief with art research, genre signals, palette, typography, and trim/spine specs. Use when preparing a book for KDP and need cover direction — whether for a designer, Canva, or AI image generation. |
Cover Brief Generator
Generate a complete cover design brief from manuscript + niche data. Includes public domain art research, genre-appropriate palette, typography, trim/spine calculations, and comp cover analysis.
When to Use
- Starting a new book and need cover direction
- Briefing a designer (Fiverr, Miblart, Reedsy, 99designs)
- Self-designing in Canva/BookBrush and need specs
- Researching public domain art for a reprint/compilation
What It Produces
- Trim & Spine Specs — dimensions, spine width from page count, bleed, template download link
- Genre Signal Analysis — what covers in your category look like and what readers expect
- Art Research — 10-15 public domain paintings/images with source links, rights status, crop notes
- Palette & Typography — color scheme, font recommendations, hierarchy
- Comp Cover Gallery — 5-8 successful covers in your category to study
- Design Brief Document — ready to hand to a designer or use as self-design guide
- Thumbnail Test Criteria — will it read at 120x180 pixels?
Step 1: Trim & Spine Specs
Standard KDP Trim Sizes
| Name | Size | Best For |
|---|
| Mass market | 4.25" x 6.875" | Fiction, devotionals |
| Pocket | 5" x 8" | Short nonfiction, spiritual reading, reprints |
| Trade | 5.5" x 8.5" | Most nonfiction |
| US Trade | 6" x 9" | Business, self-help, longer works |
| Large | 7" x 10" | Textbooks, workbooks |
Spine Width Calculation
Spine width = page count x paper multiplier
Paper multipliers:
White paper: 0.002252" per page
Cream paper: 0.0025" per page
Example: 200-page book on cream paper = 200 x 0.0025 = 0.500" spine
Books under 100 pages: No spine text allowed by KDP. Use a solid color or minimal design element.
KDP Cover Template
Download from: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/cover-templates
- Enter trim size, page count, paper color
- Downloads a PDF template with bleed marks, spine boundaries, barcode placement
Step 2: Genre Signal Analysis
Critical rule: Genre fit > artistic quality. A beautiful cover that signals the wrong genre will kill sales.
Process
- Go to the Amazon bestseller list for your target category
- Screenshot the top 20 covers
- Identify the patterns:
- Dominant colors (religious = gold/burgundy/navy, self-help = bright/white, thriller = dark/red)
- Typography style (serif = traditional/literary, sans-serif = modern/business)
- Image treatment (photographic, illustrated, abstract, text-only)
- Layout (centered, asymmetric, full-bleed image)
- Your cover must MATCH these patterns while standing out within them
8 Cover Mistakes That Kill Sales (from Kings of Kindle Ch 6)
- Wrong genre signal — romance cover on a business book
- Too many fonts — max 2 font families
- Unreadable at thumbnail — title must pop at 120x180px
- Cluttered composition — one focal point, not five
- Stock photo cliches — avoid the obvious Shutterstock picks everyone uses
- Bad color contrast — title disappears into background
- DIY look — screams amateur, signals low-quality content
- No series branding — books in a series should look like siblings ("Pringles Principle": same designer, shared palette, consistent layout)
Step 3: Art Research (Public Domain Focus)
For reprints, compilations, and classical/religious books, public domain art is ideal: free, beautiful, high-resolution, and genre-appropriate.
Public Domain Rules
| Condition | Status |
|---|
| Artist died 70+ years ago (most countries) | Public domain |
| Published before 1928 (US) | Public domain |
| Photo of a 2D artwork (US — Bridgeman v. Corel) | No new copyright |
| Museum restricts downloads but art is PD | Legal to use, may violate museum ToS |
Safe sources for high-res PD art:
| Source | Quality | Notes |
|---|
| Wikimedia Commons | Variable (some excellent) | Always check license tag |
| Metropolitan Museum Open Access | Excellent | CC0, download button on qualifying works |
| National Gallery of Art (DC) | Excellent | Open Access program, high-res TIFF |
| Rijksmuseum | Excellent | Rijksstudio, CC0 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | Excellent | CC0 on qualifying works |
| Rawpixel PD collection | Good | Curated, already cleaned up |
| Google Arts & Culture | Variable | Good for discovery, download from museum site |
| Library of Congress | Excellent | Prints & Photographs division |
Art Research Process
- Identify themes from the manuscript (contemplation, light/dark, sacred spaces, saints)
- Search by theme on Wikimedia Commons, Met, NGA
- Search by referenced figures — if the book mentions St. Bernard, Teresa of Avila, etc., find classical depictions
- Search by period — match the book's era (medieval manuscript illuminations for medieval texts, Baroque for Counter-Reformation, etc.)
- Evaluate each candidate:
- Public domain status confirmed?
- High-res available (minimum 300 DPI at cover size)?
- Crops well to book dimensions?
- Mood match? (contemplative, serious, luminous — not saccharine or kitschy)
- Passes the thumbnail test?
- Present 10-15 options with links, artist/date, rights status, and notes on why each fits
Art Categories by Book Type
| Book Genre | Art Direction |
|---|
| Catholic mysticism/theology | Renaissance/Baroque religious art, monastery scenes, contemplative saints, gold leaf illuminations |
| Catholic devotional | Sacred Heart, Marian art, gentle pastorals, warm tones |
| Church history | Historical scenes, manuscript illuminations, portraits of popes/saints/doctors |
| Philosophy/apologetics | Classical architecture, symbolic still life, text-heavy minimalist |
| Biblical studies | Old Master biblical scenes, archaeological imagery |
| Prayer/contemplative | Landscapes, monastic interiors, candlelight, soft focus |
| Lives of saints | Portraits, hagiographic scenes, attribute symbolism |
Step 4: Palette & Typography
Palette Generation
Start from the dominant colors of your chosen artwork, then build a 4-color scheme:
- Primary — background or dominant field (from artwork)
- Secondary — title text color (must contrast with primary)
- Accent — subtitle, author name, decorative elements
- Neutral — spine, back cover base
Catholic/religious palette families:
- TAN Books: Cream + burgundy + gold
- Ignatius Press: Navy + gold + white
- Sophia Institute: Forest green + cream + gold
- EWTN/Ascension: Royal blue + white + gold
Typography
| Element | Recommendation |
|---|
| Title | Serif for traditional/literary (Garamond, Caslon, Minion, Cormorant). Sans-serif for modern/practical (Montserrat, Lato). |
| Subtitle | Same family as title, lighter weight or smaller size |
| Author name | Same family, small caps or regular weight |
| Max fonts | 2 families absolute maximum |
| Hierarchy | Title 3-4x larger than author name. Subtitle between. |
Step 5: Design Brief Document
Output a markdown document with all of the above, structured for handoff:
# Cover Design Brief: [Book Title]
## Specs
- Trim: [size]
- Spine: [width]" ([page count] pages, [paper color] paper)
- Template: [KDP template download link or note]
## Genre Context
[2-3 sentences on what covers in this category look like]
## Art Direction
[Mood, tone, era, specific imagery direction]
### Artwork Options
1. [Title] by [Artist] ([Year]) — [link] — [why it fits]
2. ...
## Palette
- Primary: [hex/description]
- Secondary: [hex/description]
- Accent: [hex/description]
## Typography
- Title: [font recommendation]
- Subtitle/Author: [font recommendation]
## Comp Covers
[5-8 Amazon links or cover images to study]
## Thumbnail Test
[Specific criteria for this book]
## Series Branding Notes
[If part of a series, how to maintain visual consistency]
Workflow
1. Get manuscript + niche data (from listing-optimizer or niche-scout output)
2. Calculate trim/spine specs from page count
3. Analyze top 20 covers in target category
4. Research public domain art (10-15 candidates)
5. Generate palette from chosen artwork
6. Recommend typography
7. Compile design brief document
8. Run thumbnail test on mockup
Integration
- Input from:
niche-scout (category data), listing-optimizer (title/subtitle), Vellum (page count)
- Output to: Designer (Fiverr/Miblart brief), Canva (self-design), or future Canva MCP automation
- Series connection: When doing multiple books, reference the first book's brief for "Pringles Principle" consistency
