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LSW - Book Cover Design Discussion


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The analytic approach that you guys take to golf makes me think it should look something like a math textbook cover. I whipped this up real quick using images from this site, not sure if they belong to you guys or not!

Also oops on Erik's last name haha.

Thanks.

We're trying to avoid using or reinforcing the "stats" angle simply because that's not a big part of the book - the GamePlans, PracticePlans, and some other things are the emphasis. They're backed with stats, but not

We've submitted our main idea (which is new - our previous idea was just a golf pencil, which is still a backup idea) to a site which is going to generate submissions. We have some decent ones back already.

P.S. I love that you used my sketch from the legal pad. :-)

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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We are in the finals. A few people here can attest that all three of the final designs are good, and I am eager to show them off soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show off one of the cover ideas that just barely missed the cut to the finals. Have a look at this beauty:

Thiiiiiiiiiis close!

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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LOL!

Nate

:pxg:(10.5) :benhogan:(4W):titleist:U500(3UI) :benhogan: Icon(4-PW) :edel:(52/58)

:odyssey:Putter :snell: MTB Black  

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Okay, so… here you go. The final two designs.

We've polled a few of the people we trust to give good feedback, so we're fairly certain we have our winner. But for the heck of it, I'm throwing this out there.

This is a different poll, so the results start from zero. If you voted in the previous poll, thank you, and feel free to vote in this one as well: https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-8s031u .

You can rate each of the two designs with stars, and even leave comments for both.

Have at it. Thanks!

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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Okay, so… here you go. The final two designs. We've polled a few of the people we trust to give good feedback, so we're fairly certain we have our winner. But for the heck of it, I'm throwing this out there. This is a different poll, so the results start from zero. If you voted in the previous poll, thank you, and feel free to vote in this one as well: [URL=https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-8s031u]https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-8s031u[/URL] . You can rate each of the two designs with stars, and even leave comments for both. Have at it. Thanks!

I voted for the one on the right, which turned out being the leader in voting so far.

In my bag:

Driver: Titleist TSi3 | 15º 3-Wood: Ping G410 | 17º 2-Hybrid: Ping G410 | 19º 3-Iron: TaylorMade GAPR Lo |4-PW Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo | 54º SW, 60º LW: Titleist Vokey SM8 | Putter: Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7

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I voted for the one on the right, which turned out being the leader in voting so far.

I'm abstaining this time.  I can't decide.

I actually voted for the one with the vertical pencil the first time but as I stare at them, I feel like I'm leaning the other way now.  A pencil resting on a piece of paper makes a lot more "real world" sense than a pencil balancing on its tip. ;)

The only thing I don't like about the one on the right is it seems to have a little too much white space at the top.

Doesn't matter that much ... they're both really good, I think.

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The only thing I don't like about the one on the right is it seems to have a little too much white space at the top.

That was the only critique of the one on the right that I left in the comments.

In my bag:

Driver: Titleist TSi3 | 15º 3-Wood: Ping G410 | 17º 2-Hybrid: Ping G410 | 19º 3-Iron: TaylorMade GAPR Lo |4-PW Irons: Nike VR Pro Combo | 54º SW, 60º LW: Titleist Vokey SM8 | Putter: Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7

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With the one that has the pencil laying on the paper, I don't like the white space at the top and the subtitle which I think is very important seems to be a bit lost in everything else.  The one where the pencil is standing up has a more prominent subtitle, that I think conveys the message of the book more effectively.

Nate

:pxg:(10.5) :benhogan:(4W):titleist:U500(3UI) :benhogan: Icon(4-PW) :edel:(52/58)

:odyssey:Putter :snell: MTB Black  

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I voted for the one on the right, which turned out being the leader in voting so far.

I think they randomize which position they appear in. We prefer one by a 60-40 margin.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I voted for the one on the right, which turned out being the leader in voting so far.

Me too.  I prefer the emphasis on the word "Wins", rather than "Lowest".

Honestly though, neither really screams "golf related" to me without having to actually read the cover itself.

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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The only thing I don't like about the one on the right is it seems to have a little too much white space at the top.

That was the only critique of the one on the right that I left in the comments.

Me too.  I prefer the emphasis on the word "Wins", rather than "Lowest".

LOL.  In my comments when I voted, these are exactly what I wrote.  Both of them.  I didn't have any comments on the other one.  I think it's "perfect" as it is ... meaning as good as it can be.  This one, were they to minimize the white space, and in doing so, perhaps make the subtitle larger, like @cipher points out, I'd probably vote for that one.

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Me too.  I prefer the emphasis on the word "Wins", rather than "Lowest".

Not for nothing, but we feel we can make the case both ways.

Honestly though, neither really screams "golf related" to me without having to actually read the cover itself.

Good. We hate typical golf books. Designers were specifically told to avoid using golf balls, tees, clubs, fairways, flags, greens, blue skies, golfers, etc.

The book is about GOLF and SCORING. A golf pencil says both.

We tried British Open leaderboard style book covers earlier on, but quickly circled back to the golf pencil.


I think it's an interesting social experiment. One of the books (vertical pencil) was done in a way that makes it look smaller. Blow it up to the same size, and I think perceptions change.

We were goofing around with some people earlier. We'd show them a smaller one and a bigger one. We'd say "we made a few little changes, what do you think of this?" and they'd like the bigger one almost every time. It was the same graphic.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I'm not super crazy about either.  Gave them both 3 stars.  I like the clean designs and the color scheme.  I'm also up in the air whether I'd vote orange "Lowest" or "Wins".  If you're dedicated to not having the graphic design clearly signal golf book, I might prefer bigger font for the subtitle (and maybe author names?) and no graphic at all.

If the pencil's the call, I think it might make it look more interesting if the pencil weren't parallel to either of the sides of the book.  Maybe the left one with the pencil angled slightly right and towards the viewer somewhere near the angle it'd be if a hand were holding it writing relatively upright, with the text justified to sides of the pencil still.  I'd still like the subtitle font to be a touch larger in that case.  In both designs it's hard to pick out, sort of blends into the background too much IMO.

I definitely prefer the orange & between the author names, whether a design like the left or right is chosen.  Makes the names pop more instead of reading as an ignorable, flat black line of characters, and just generally looks better I think.  Hard to tell how it'd look in person, but I also might make the orange & a touch more saturated or darker orange.  Looks a bit translucent and hard to see in the relatively small picture on the computer.

Matt

Mid-Weight Heavy Putter
Cleveland Tour Action 60˚
Cleveland CG15 54˚
Nike Vapor Pro Combo, 4i-GW
Titleist 585h 19˚
Tour Edge Exotics XCG 15˚ 3 Wood
Taylormade R7 Quad 9.5˚

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Not for nothing, but we feel we can make the case both ways. Good. We hate typical golf books. Designers were specifically told to avoid using golf balls, tees, clubs, fairways, flags, greens, blue skies, golfers, etc. The book is about GOLF and SCORING. A golf pencil says both. We tried British Open leaderboard style book covers earlier on, but quickly circled back to the golf pencil. [rule] I think it's an interesting social experiment. One of the books (vertical pencil) was done in a way that makes it look smaller. Blow it up to the same size, and I think perceptions change. We were goofing around with some people earlier. We'd show them a smaller one and a bigger one. We'd say "we made a few little changes, what do you think of this?" and they'd like the bigger one almost every time. It was the same graphic.

I didn't get "golf" pencil.....just saw pencil. Regardless, it sounds like you got exactly what you were aiming for, and that's what matters. Looking forward to reading the book!

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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Just some thoughts, or explanations. Nobody's right or wrong because it's all opinion, and I'm well aware of the fact that I'm almost "too close" to see a lot of things. I do think, too, that looking at little pictures on a computer can lead to missing some things, so I included bigger images below.

If you're dedicated to not having the graphic design clearly signal golf book, I might prefer bigger font for the subtitle (and maybe author names?) and no graphic at all.

We believe it says "golf book" without looking like every other golf book ever made . We think most golf book covers look pretty… cliché at least.

If the pencil's the call

It is. This is the final stage of voting. It's going to be one of these two designs, and unless there's a landslide against the one we like, it's the one we like. This was almost more of a social experiment.

If the pencil's the call, I think it might make it look more interesting if the pencil weren't parallel to either of the sides of the book.

In our opinions, angled pencils didn't look as good, and they convey more whimsy than we like. We feel that the pencil being perpendicular implies a sense of order. LSW has is based on stats, and we can explain the "system" pretty well.

Maybe the left one with the pencil angled slightly right and towards the viewer somewhere near the angle it'd be if a hand were holding it writing relatively upright, with the text justified to sides of the pencil still.

The thinking in the split text is that it both attracts the eye and that it creates one way to read the subtitle as "Shoot Lower Scores on the Golf Course NOW."

In both designs it's hard to pick out, sort of blends into the background too much IMO.

I think that's mitigated somewhat when the book is in real life, and not on a computer screen at small sizes. In fact, I bet most people didn't notice that both designs have a grid pattern behind them…

I definitely prefer the orange & between the author names, whether a design like the left or right is chosen.  Makes the names pop more instead of reading as an ignorable, flat black line of characters, and just generally looks better I think.  Hard to tell how it'd look in person, but I also might make the orange & a touch more saturated or darker orange.  Looks a bit translucent and hard to see in the relatively small picture on the computer.

I think that might be part of it. You're looking at it small.

For example…

P.S. I also think the vertical pencil design is not considered "as good" because… the designer chose to make his 3D look at the book in less space. His book looks smaller and less substantial. The book is 8.5 x 5.5. It's not small. I have a lot of golf books which are smaller. Both titles are pretty big, in the end. But you wouldn't necessarily know that by looking at them as a little picture on your screen. Yes, we printed both off to see how they'd "look" in real life. We're dorks. :)

P.P.S. @David in FL : We might make the pencil black: http://cl.ly/image/24471Y0E0Z3A . Probably not, but maybe.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I don't think printing out the cover at scale makes you dorks. I think it makes you common sensical. Cutting a given dimension out of cardboard to get the tactile feel of a size I would think is not uncommon?

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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Honestly though, neither really screams "golf related" to me without having to actually read the cover itself.

If you're dedicated to not having the graphic design clearly signal golf book, I might prefer bigger font for the subtitle (and maybe author names?) and no graphic at all.

It's probably even better that it doesn't scream "golf related."  Online, people are already searching for golf books when they find this on Amazon, so it's not necessary to make it more obvious.  And in the book store, the Borders and B&N; guys have already been kind enough to group all of the golf books onto one shelf for you, so again, you'll know its a golf book because it's there.

And, it might stand out even better without any green or other typical golf stuff on it. :beer:

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Not looking like previous golf book covers goes in line with breaking old conceptions.

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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