Options for designing your thesis cover
At Persoonlijk Proefschrift, we offer a number of different types of covers. Generally speaking, we refer to these as either a ‘standard cover’ or a ‘custom cover’. In this article, we explain the difference between the two and how a cover can be put together. In reality, however, it is unfortunately not as black and white as simply ‘standard’ or ‘custom’. Depending on your specific requirements and the work involved, a cover that appears to be custom-made can actually be very simple to produce – and vice versa.
At Persoonlijk Proefschrift, we offer a range of packages. First of all, we offer the Premium package: this always includes a custom cover. All the examples below fall into this category.
In addition, we have the Personal Thesis Package: this includes a standard cover. Even with a standard cover, there’s plenty of scope for creativity, but it’s worth knowing what is and isn’t included within that type of cover and the price. In principle, for a standard cover, we’ll incorporate an image supplied by you and take care of the text layout. This sounds simple, but depending on your requirements, you might just need a a bit customised-work is required, or just a little more editing than simply inserting the image. In consultation with our coordinator or one of our designers, you can agree on a separate additional charge for such situations. We’d be happy to help you find a solution.
It is often difficult to assess which type of cover your situation and idea falls under. That is why we discuss six different cover designs below, all based on the same image provided and the same title. For each cover below, we explain in detail what has been done, and whether it would fall under a standard or custom cover.
Typography
The simplest form of a cover is through typographic design. Here, we style the title and author’s name using a typeface, font size and the colour of the cover. Essentially, this is a minimalist design, which means that it falls under a standard cover design. When the letters are stylised, or designed or drawn from scratch, we are talking about a custom cover.
Typography + supplied image
As well as just typographic design on your cover, we can add an image here. An image can be a photograph, but also a (vectorised) illustration. We call this type of cover design a standard cover page when the image or illustration requires no further editing.
Image
One of the most common ways to design a cover is by including an image (a photograph or illustration). People often opt for a stock photograph. With us, including this image is part of the standard Cover. We can advise you on stock images and direct you to websites where you can find images (either for free or, via us, on a per-image basis).
Illustration
You may come across an illustration online of a particular element that fits in well with the subject of your thesis. In that case, the illustration can be placed on the cover without any editing. This is also possible if the illustration was designed by an external party or someone you know – provided it is supplied to us in good quality, we can place it on the cover. This falls within a standard cover.
Images and image editing
In many cases, it looks good to edit an image so that it suits your cover. In the cover below, for example, the clouds have been extended onto the back, rather than appearing only on the front of the cover. It can also look good to incorporate the title into the image, as shown below. These edits fall within a custom cover.
Illustration based on images / ideas
If you don’t yet have an existing illustration, or if you have an idea of what you’d like to see brought to life visually through an illustration, we can create one for you. In that case, we’re talking about a custom cover design, which we often carry out digitally. Based on your images or ideas, we then design a (vectorised) illustrative cover.
Drawing based on images / ideas + image editing
Perhaps, rather than a digitally created illustration, you would prefer one drawn in a more traditional style. The most labour-intensive form of a custom The cover design is therefore a process in which we create an illustration based on your images or ideas. This can, of course, be done in various styles, depending on your preferences. In many cases, we then apply some image editing or text-based image editing to achieve a unique end result.
It’s worth bearing in mind that many designers are capable of working in a variety of styles, but drawing by hand remains, of course, a special skill. So, if this is what you’d prefer, do check with the coordinator to see if it’s possible and to discuss the style you’re looking for. The coordinator will then work with you to identify which designers might be able to bring your vision to life.
