Red Rising vs Opposite of Always – Contest of Covers

Previous Match Results

After a few close ones, we’re back to blow-outs! Pride wiped the floor with Harry Potter, even if it was the Slytherin Anniversary Edition. Many voters voiced their frustration at having to vote against the beloved Harry Potter, but Pride is an absolutely beautiful cover!

Round 1 – Match 6

Oh my heart! I’m not sure I can take this week’s match up… Although I didn’t nominate Red Rising, it is one of my all-time favourite books. However, as we’ve said before, we’re not voting on the book as a whole. Just the cover. Let’s get into it.

Black and red. Very cool, very classic. The style of the graphic is an odd choice. It’s not simple enough to be minimalist, but not detailed enough to be intricate. It floats somewhere in the middle, which I think might be a missed opportunity. The title running up the side is nice. A little more uncommon and leaves lots of “white” space, which you all know I like. Where this cover really excels is as a part of the trilogy. All very similar design. One red, one yellow, one blue. However, this contest is for single covers only, so that really shouldn’t be taken into too much consideration.

Opposite of always is a really different cover. The colours are attention grabbing, for sure. The art style is great and the illustration leaves me with questions. Which direction should we follow the stairs? Up as we watch a couple get together? Or down as one drifts apart? And why does the dude change his clothes while the lady does not? Font is an odd choice, but it works. Would have liked to see it more engrained in the graphic. Curve of the S tucked behind her hair, a foot wrapped around the P. Stuff like that.

Which will you choose? Leave your vote in a comment below. Share this post with family and friends and let’s see how many votes we can pull in this week!

Note: Between education and career, I have over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design. While I don’t pretend to know everything about design, and it will always be extremely subjective, I feel like I can speak about it with a modicum of authority (or at the very least, I don’t sound completely clueless.)