Formatting styles for the cover of your thesis
The cover of your thesis is the calling card for your entire manuscript. The design of this cover must therefore be exactly as you want it! To give you a good idea of the possibilities, we have set out a number of design styles. Let’s start by saying that we can create anything you want – but sometimes it’s helpful to have some guidelines.
The examples below are a mix of standard and custom covers and are designed to help you find out which style appeals to you, regardless of the package you’ve chosen.
Styles for your thesis cover
Based on our experience, we have identified six categories.
- Typography
- Photo / Image
- Iconic
- Illustrative
- A combination of photography/imagery, iconic and illustrative elements
- Paint
We’ll show you a number of typical examples for each category. We’ll also do our best to explain in writing what the characteristics of a particular layout style are. When you’re discussing your project with your designer, you can refer to these categories to make your requirements clear.
1. Typographical
Every cover features the title and the author’s name. In all cases, we format this text. With a typographic cover, we further style the words and letters, so that the words themselves actually become the image. This category also includes covers where, in a minimalist style, only standard text is used. Combined with embossing, UV spot varnish or foil stamping, this can look very attractive – see the article on special finishes for your thesis cover.
Covers featuring typographic design (click on the image to enlarge).
2. Photo / Image
This category includes all covers created using an image provided by the client. In many cases, these images are sourced from stock photo websites (see the article on stock photography for your thesis). You can also provide your own photo to be used on your cover; however, it is important that the quality is good enough – your designer can advise you on this. Edits to this image, such as colour corrections or cropping, are possible. Please ensure that the aspect ratio is suitable for your cover: for example, a vertical portrait image is not suitable for placement across the full width of the front and back covers.
Covers featuring a photograph or image (click on the image to enlarge).
3. Iconic
An icon is generally a self-contained, minimalist image that represents something in a simplified form. Think, for example, of the icons found on road signs. On a cover, you’ll see that an icon often works well alongside a typographic design. There is plenty of scope for blocks of colour, and the icon itself takes centre stage. Our designers can create icons for you, but there are also many online databases containing icons that can be supplied and, if necessary, customised.
Covers featuring an icon or an iconic design (click on the image to enlarge).
4. Illustrative
An illustration sometimes overlaps with an iconic design, but is more complex. It is often a more detailed representation, albeit a simplified one. The image may cover the entire cover. In terms of style, we broadly distinguish between clean-lined illustrations and hand-drawn or sketch-like illustrations.
Covers featuring illustrations (click on the image to enlarge).
5. A combination of photography/imagery, iconic and illustrative elements
Of course, the styles mentioned above can also be combined! Below are a few examples where this has been done. One potential pitfall with covers like these is that the message can get lost amidst the combination or complexity of the images, but this is something your designer can always advise you on.
Covers featuring a combination of photographs, iconic images and/or illustrations (click on the image to enlarge).
6. Paint
A painting is a common image used on the cover of a thesis. As you can see from the examples below, this can be presented in various ways, whilst still conveying the same overall feel. A number of our designers are skilled painters – depending on availability, we can also commission a bespoke painting. Separate rates apply for this.
Covers made with paint (Click on the image to enlarge it).
Examples
In addition to the above examples of thesis cover page styles, we also have a examples page which cover the internal structure of theses.
