“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” it’s often said, but can you and will you be the judge for the cover for my new book? A short time ago I asked students at two California schools, Palo Alto High School and Castilleja, to help create the cover for my new book, Below C Level: Why It Pays to be Average in Public Education (and what WE can do about it).
The students submitted dozens of possibilities, and I have selected three finalists—for your consideration. Understand that these are drafts and can be changed, so I am NOT asking for an up-or-down vote but for your preference AND your suggestions as to how to improve the eventual winner.
Here they are. Please submit your vote and suggestions to the blog itself, so we can post your views. I ask you to remember that the designers are high school students who have put a lot of time and energy into this. They’re in the game, and they know they might not be chosen, but they deserve credit for their efforts, not snarky comments.
I am publishing the book on Amazon, meaning that there’s only one way to buy it—and it should be available for purchase in less than a month.
I’m donating a sizable portion of the royalties to Learning Matters, so, when you buy it, you will be supporting our in-depth coverage of education.
As for the book itself, here’s a snippet from the preface:
Schools are at the proverbial crossroads. Think of it this way: Just a few years ago, children went to schools (and libraries) to have access to knowledge, but today knowledge is everywhere, thanks to technology and the Internet. So why should kids go to school?
Just a few years ago, children went to school to socialize and be socialized, but today there’s an app for that! Kids have Facebook, Farmville, Myspace, Twitter and other powerful social media, so why should kids go to school?
I am asking the question, “Is School Obsolete?” And my answer is, essentially, “No, but…..”
As I will argue, many adults want schools to keep an eye on their kids and keep them safe. Those are not good enough reasons from a youth’s perspective, and so effective schools will teach young people how to evaluate knowledge, how to separate the wheat from the chaff—and how to choose the wheat. Yes, schools must teach values!Good teachers will be like musical conductors, but the music won’t be classical. It will be jazz, full of riffs and tangents, and changing from performance to performance. Teaching will be tougher but infinitely more rewarding in these schools–if we are smart enough to build them.
Thanks for participating in this competition. I look forward to reading your ideas.
The Merrow Report 
#3 – I loved all of them, but 3 seemed to be more true to your subject and capture an in-school feel. More true as well as clever and catchy. You can’t go wrong with any, tho’.
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#2 gets my vote. It’s simple, elegant, a strong image and metaphor — the image stays with you. #1 is flat and looks like every other book on education — very corporate looking. #3 is also uninspiring and trite to boot. Good luck!
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NO to #1 — too academic looking. Looks like something that that Brookings would publish.
I think #2 is visually appealing. My eye went directly to that one. It’s more contemporary.
I also like #3, although it’s a more obvious choice for an education-related book.
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Great work all of them. I do like # 3 as the crumpled paper says a lot. Maybe the C could be a bit bolder or thicker. I also like # 2 but it doesn’t convey the sense of schooling the way the others do.
Nice work.
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My vote goes with cover #3!
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No question about it – #3. It looks much like the work of my “below C” students: crumpled paper, uneven script, and my dreaded “see me” notation.
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Wow – what talented kids! I like them all…. but I like #1 the least. I’m torn between #2 and #3 – I like the “see me” on #3… but I really do agree with tod above that #2 is a very strong image. Good luck choosing!
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#2. It’s eye-catching, communicates the point easily. Why does it say schools instead of education though?
#3 is frustrating to look at, a mix of too many styles.
Good luck!
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Pick #3! I believe that it says a lot about the pressures that students are under in highly competitive schools.
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Definitely # 3!
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I love #3 – I remember having a few papers graded below a C that got crunched up and jammed into the back of my desk where my parents would not find them until parent-teacher conferences. It resonated with me.
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Hi John,
All three covers are certainly impressive. I salute the artists! #3 did catch my eye the most and therefore has my vote.
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I like #3 best.
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Cover number two is the one I’d pick up in a bookstore (or Costco). Cover three is too jumbled looking, cover number one is like every other book on a serious subject. I also like that cover number two says “public schools” and not “public education.”
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#3 wins my vote. It is more unusual, eye catching, and the negative space really works for it! A suggestion might be to use U/L letters on your name and subtitle cuz then it wont look so military in feeling, also it would be a contrast to the hand drawn caps.
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I sub for HIgh School in Washington State. Kids are not mastering anything and floating in a sea of frustration and failure. I believe Cover #2 shows what students are feeling. The sea in drowning them!
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I like Cover 3 … 2 reminds me too much of ships, not school.
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3 is more in tune with school, classroom, the ridiculous grading system, and graphically, it’s the most compelling.
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Of the three, #3 by far.
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They’re all great! I vote for #2, but would suggest moving the author’s name down to the bottom, so that it doesn’t interrupt the visual metaphor.
I’m so impressed! They all have their merits, but #2 is really a stand out.
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It’s excellent that you used high school students for this! All 3 have merit, but I think #3 is the most striking.
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#2 is the best design. #3 would sell more books on a stand in the airport. If you are only going to sell online, then the marketing is in the content and your name, not the cover. So, I’d choose #2.
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I vote for book cover #3. It shows the essence of what a C means in today’s word – Why is it wrong to be average? and yet does not give a negative feeling about it – such as book cover #1.
I would make a bet that a C student has more common sense and ability to live in the real world then any A+++ student – which by the way never existed “back in the day”. We have created overachievers without substance.
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Fabulous job by the students! They are all good covers and I spent quite a while looking at them and analyzing them before reading the comments. I do like #1’s clear graphic quality and its punch. But compared with the other two it seems a little dry. #2 and #3 have more poetry.
#2 uses pun and metaphor in a cunning way but I don’t think it is completely supported by the accompanying image. I keep wondering why the school desk is above the waves instead of below them. Isn’t it supposed to be below C level? I keep reworking the image in my mind. A tilting, sinking school desk? A completely submerged one on its way down? A school desk at the bottom of the ocean? Any of these would have been a knockout. It’s a great idea but it just hasn’t been executed as well as it needs to be.
#3 seems to be the most successful according to the comments above and I have to concur. All the elements work together, the crumpled paper, the clumsy handwriting, the little “see me” note (uh, oh, trouble). If I must chose one of the presented covers I would chose #3, even though I am a little perturbed by the C / see pun. Is it intentional? It better be. But what does it mean? It’s not clear.
So I’ve voted. But it’s clear each cover idea has more potential waiting to be released. In the design world we rarely just come up with something and go with it unchanged. Artists do that, yes. But art and design are different. For us, a better way to work is to generate a few ideas, flesh them out a bit, compare them with one another, make a few changes and then do it all over again. Design is the product of inspiration, yes, but it tends to be iterative rather than one-off. You probably can’t afford the time to do this, but a second go round with these covers would be so interesting. I voted for #3 but I’d love to see #2 with a different image before making a final choice.
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My first choice was #3, (but as an adult), I thought the artwork on #1 looked great. More like something I would buy or read or own…
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i like cover 2…most of us who have been working to reform education feel like we have been thrashing around under water desperately trying to reach the surface, cover 2 celebrates the double entendre and invites the reader in. (agree about the author’s name see above)
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Kudos to all three! I am torn between #2 and #3, but I’m going with #3 because the visual design connects so well to the topic, and it really pops. I love the metaphor in #2, however; extremely clever!
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I love them all, but I guess I’d vote for #3.
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I like #3 John. It’s the best visual and easier to read the tag line.
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#1 is #1 for me; bold, crisp, patriotic colors, with a decisive down arrow on the right so there is no mistaking the message: C is not good enough.
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#3
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I vote for 2
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cover 2 speaks both to the homonyms: sea and “c”.
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My vote is for Cover #1 (and it looks like I am in a very small minority so far.. yikes)
If I’m casually walking around in a bookstore, or browsing online, this cover is the most unique and striking to the eye. The other two don’t immediately catch you as well.
Cover #3 is my runner-up.
For branding/recognition purposes, I think you want the “C” to stand out as much as possible, and both these covers do a nice job of that.
Good luck John.
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Absolutely #3. Teacher’s note seals the deal. #1 is a bit too polished and #2 is a bit too photoshopped.
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Definitely #3!
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Cover # 3. Says kids and learning to me. My graphic artist agrees. Congratulations on the book. I look forward to reading! Proud to know you!
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Congratulations, John! If I were the editor and these were my comp choices, I’d go for some version of #2–love the water–but the type and subtitle aren’t legible. I’d use the font your name is in on the blackboard, divide up the type so the title is on the board and the subtitle is below it but in the water and do these in red, move your name down to the bottom in white so the subtitle is readable and I’d consider making a row of chairs/desks in the sea.
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#3 says it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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#3 is most eye-catching, but one has to read the subtitle to know it’s about schools
#2 is subtle and clever, playing on “sea” and “C”
#1 is the clearest in that one knows it’s about schools immediately, but the “C” might have too much of a flourish, and someone not looking carefully may think it’s just a design element and not part of the title. congrats to all 3 designers!
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I love cover #2
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#3
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I vote for #3. It gets attention, it’s appropriately messy, and the note from the teacher sends an appropriate message.
#2 is a nice play on words, but that distracts from the message.
#1 is well designed but it’s really professional–slick. The C student isn’t. The C student is more like #3.
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#3
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I vote for #2. But after looking through the thoughtful, excellent comments that accompany the votes, I think it will be REALLY hard for you to decide…!
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# 3 is my first pick; then # 1 – assuming you are going for catching attention in the store or on Amazon. I too like #2 – but am not sure it’s grabby enough.
This is a nice book for me to read about on the day my “C” son was rejected from one of the colleges he applied to.
Thanks for all your work on education – we need it!
Carol
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Three distinct styles and all very good but I vote for #3 but I think the font for Below and Level could be a little darker. Maybe you could even have one corner torn for effect. The crumpled paper reminds me of the discussions I had with my son and turning in messy papers. He would tell me that the teachers didn’t care so why should I.
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#3 is my choice because they also say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and #3 looks like below C level work! The other two look like they are “type A’s.”
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Cover #3!
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My vote would be for #2. When I am thinking education, number 2 catches my eye. #1 looks too much like its about business or government, and number 3 comes off to me as something directed towards children.
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