Craig Mod has written an insightful essay on the role of “book cover” when applied to ebooks. [Read it here.]
Think about it: The cover serves a critical marketing purpose for physical books. However, online, ebook covers are typically displayed in thumbnail size. Moreover, the type of text-based information you find on a physical book cover is surrounding that ebook cover thumbnail.
So if you don’t need text on the cover, what should the cover become? What role should it play?
Craig Mod quote:
The classic notion of a cover made digital is more like a book’s .favicon rather than a gateway into the text. It’s at best a small piece within a larger design system, and at worst, never seen.
[Link via: Domino Project]