Symbols in contemporary book design

Questions? (Sereina Rothenberger & David Bennewith)

I looked at this book cover design due to its interesting use of colour and symbol to simplistically communicate the books concept of questions and answers. The 50/50 split of colour is used as a symbol for this relationship between students and teachers, which is cleverly conveyed through the block colours and negative space. I really like the little symbol in the centre of the design, however the only issue regarding my own design is that I would probably need to fill some space with the title and blurb; arguably, I could always make the design decision to have the text really small or vertically like this book cover. 

Kentaro Okawara

I looked at this cover design by Kentaro Okawra, as it was very much focused on block colours and a simplistic symbol design/ illustration. The design itself is very ambiguous, which links to my focus on curiosity; I need to find certain aspects of the book that I can translate into a symbol, as it would allow me to create a clean and simple design, some of which have been chosen for previous winners. 

Faber & Faber

This book cover design collection by Faber & Faber was interesting to me due to its cohesive use of the same colour palette; although the symbols are borderline illustrative, I liked their simplicity and the texture thats used - it almost looks like a quick sketch/ slightly childish. Consequently, I could link this drawing style to the playfulness of Bill Brysons tone of voice, which I think would fit nicely for my cover design and could fit into a contemporary space. I really like the first cover in particular, as it is very abstract and draws the attention of the audience; what shapes could I link to my cover design - circular forms could work in the sense of atoms?