16/09/2026
Well… that’s a good problem to have.
The client came to me struggling to get one book cover right. I gave them two concepts so strong, choosing became the new problem.
Sometimes a design doesn’t have too little to say. Sometimes everything is trying to speak at once.
That was the problem with the original cover. The blue one.
It had the “right” ingredients: scales of justice, a gavel, law books, drones, war scenes, everything connected to International Humanitarian Law.
But that was also the problem.
Every element wanted to be the main character.
There was no clear hierarchy, breathing room and no single idea directing the reader’s eye. Instead of communicating authority and clarity, the cover was trying to explain the book in one image.
After frustrating adjustments,
the client was eventually referred to me.
I looked at the problem differently.
I wasn’t asking, “What else can we add?”
I was asking:
“What should someone understand within the first 3 seconds of seeing this book?” Because a book cover is not the book. Its job is not to explain every chapter.
Its job is to create the right perception, communicate the subject clearly and make the right reader want to pick it up.
So I developed a completely different directions.
A more serious, institutional approach. The courtroom architecture, restrained imagery and strong typography immediately communicate law, authority, academia and credibility. The humanitarian element is still present, but it supports the message instead of competing with it.
Fewer elements. Stronger contrast. Clearer communication.
Same book.
Two different visual conversations.
Good design is not just about finding visuals that relate to the subject.
It is about judgement.
Knowing what to remove.
What deserves attention.
When the design has already said enough.
It’s understanding hierarchy, audience, tone, positioning and the emotional response you want someone to have before they’ve even read the first page.
Once I presented the two concepts, the client’s problem changed. It went from, “How do we fix this cover?” to, “Which one do we choose?”
Not because one was weak.
But because both were strong enough to become the final cover.
That’s the kind of problem I like creating.
I didn’t solve this project by adding more. I solved it by understanding what needed to speak, what needed to lead and what needed to disappear.
Sometimes, as a client, you don’t need another round of adjustments. You need someone who can look at the confusion, understand the real problem and turn it into clarity.
That’s the difference between decorating a cover and designing one. I don’t just make things look better. I help ideas communicate better.
Against Average.
