Have you ever wondered how your favourite Cambridge University Press textbook covers were made? Our covers stand out on students’ desks around the world, from the Cambridge IGCSE ™ Biology textbook with the buzzing bee to the bright blue Cambridge IGCSE ™ Physics cover. Get ready to take a look behind the cover with Liz Scurfield, Design and Permissions Team Manager, as she talks through how our covers are made in four key steps.
How we design our textbook covers in four steps
1. Create a brief for the product cover
When we produce a new textbook cover, we work with the commissioning editors in the publishing team to create a brief. These briefs should include as much detail as possible; product title, author names, edition number, and any ideas for the covers themselves. The design lead for the project will then look at the brief and use the ideas provided to find a selection of images that matches our cover style, bold colours, clear text, and striking images.
2. Choose the main image for the specific textbook
Textbook cover images tend to fall into two categories: photographic which we use for Secondary titles and artwork which we use for Primary. For artwork, we commission a selected illustrator to create a bespoke piece that will work on our cover. We receive a sketch from them, we give feedback, and then they produce the final illustration. For photographic covers, we find a selection of subject-related images which look good on our covers and then present them to the project team to see what they think.
3. Collaborate with the team
Collaboration is so important on projects like this. We like to get everyone’s perspective to ensure the image on each cover is age appropriate and works for the main markets, the subject, and specific syllabus.
4. Finalise the cover
Once we have everyone’s feedback, we generally agree on the textbook cover that works best. We will then get the high resolution image and finalise the covers for the series. Then, we release them to our teachers, students, and parents around the world.
Take a look at your favourite textbook covers