Number 7. Of everything else happening in the image, the idol is highlighted. Much like the churches being spoken of. Their "worship" music is highlighted and deters the person from everything else going on (doctrine, etc.). If you can be led to worship "worship", then you can/will be drawn away. Appreciate the opportunity to comment. Can't wait to read the book. Keep up the good work.
I vote #3. A much better balance visually and aesthetically. Maybe even consider making the golden calf gold in that image as well. #6 and 7 are confusing the way the image is divided yet redundant at the bottom. The others look amateurish. #3 all the way. Blessings on your choice.
Number 5. Has the 2 essential themes in a clear layout. Boxes are usually not a good idea. (I find 6 and 7 distracting with that split image.) Excellent source of artwork!😊🙏
3 or 7. I would go 7 without hesitation if it didn’t repeat the image. Meaning I wish the image was one big image with part dimmed out or if it were a redrawing of the above and not obviously the same one cut off.
My picks either 3 or 6. Both are classic themed for a classic reformed view of worship. Can’t wait for your book to come out. I am all about bringing classic reformed worship and piety back to the local church!
I love four because it isn't so busy, and the gold border keeps it from being too plain. It would be majorly awesome if the calf in that one was gold to give it even more contrast. I think that would have really been eye catching and the gold in the calf would highlight the meaning.
7 tells the story w/ words, and without. It is balanced as well as eye catching, at a glance. It reminds me of the churches in Europe that builders chiseled Biblical scenes or doctrines into the stone above the doorways for those who were illiterate; So no one had an excuse to not walk through and be saved. Very excited about this book. 🙏
I like 5. It is simple and coveys the main idea. It also is the most pleasing to my eye. This is the cover I would be drawn to in a store by glancing at it.
2 for its simplicity 7 is also really nice, but a bit busy. Although, the busyness is a good way to highlight the chaos that is a result of the calf worship
3 and 6. Both look more detailed than the rest which look a little bit like a simple copy and past image on a blank word document but they are detailed while still looking clean and professional
7 looks great. Also, so stoked for the Edwards Study Bible. I hope you're heavily involved in the design process given your history with Bible reviews.
Number 3. The font is big and clear. Very legible. And how everything is formatted in terms of space, image, text, and color, it is tight and clean. The only suggestion that another mentioned eariler, is perhaps making the calf golden as well. It would make it pop in background. Number 6 is fantastic as well. But the doubling of the same image, just crop and pasted below, is jarring. Perhaps if that image was lengthened, so the top is cropped at or around the knees. And the image below is from the knees down, highlighting the shattered tablet as opposed to "doubling" the image.
From a purely design standpoint, 3 is the best visual layout. 6 or 7 could work but I would rather have the bottom image be a cutout of the large image, not repeated from the large image.
My vote is choice 5. Simple and very clear. Background is interesting and cool, but a little distracting on a 2-3 second cover glance in a bookstore. I would not be opposed to coloring the calf yellow like you did in 7.
3 is the best of these. 7 is really good. I don't love the duplicate image at the bottom of 7, but I do like that there is an image at the bottom. I think if it were actually split so the bottom was a continuation it would work better.
I like number 7 with the calf in gold. I prefer the gold border too. I think I would just prefer more color over black and white. Looking forward to reading this very important book!
I liked 6 and 7. I thought the idea of having a portion of the image below was cool, but I think the top image should also be cut and the complement come at the bottom so as not to have repeated elements. This way, the two parts of the image complement each other without redundancy.
Definitely #3 If you make the calf gold!! The title is placed perfectly and the color pops. Hyphenating the title looks like you ran out of space. #7 is my second choice👍
6 looks the best to me. Some of the earlier options look like they are self-published. Whereas the latter two look more polished. I think if you call out the golden calf by making it golden, there needs to be something that calls Moses out as well.
3 and 6 are the best. I'd recommend steering clear of the Times-type fonts for your name and the subtitle. Maybe switch to something cleaner like Avenir.
As a graphic designer, I like 7 best for positioning of the text, wonderful imagery in its fullness. But with that fullness it makes it very busy and hard to tell what it’s showing so the highlighted calf enables that to be done so easily.
6 is the best, but I also really like the idea of hyphenating the title. It was very helpful to understanding the concept the book is going to present. I would find a way to work that in if I were you
Version 7 because of the highlighted calf. I am not fond of the bottom image though. Maybe you could highlight the broken tablets as well. Congrats on yet another book!
I like the simplicity of number 1. I think leaving out the image of the golden calf itself highlights that the modern calf is not actually a calf. And I like the choice of golden text. Compositionally, I do like number 3 also.
I think number 3 is best. The way the image is divided in 6 looks awkward in my opinion, so I prefer keeping it together. I also think having the full image rather than just the Moses figure makes it look more professional. 3, I believe, is also the perfect ratio of gold to black.
7 because it depicts all the points trying to be conveyed by the cover. Angry Moses, broken tablets, and highlights the golden calf, which may get missed in the black and white. Also, option 7 "fillis" the book cover.
7 for sure. Six is also really good but I feel that seven makes the point. A part of me really likes the yellow border around the images though but I think it would be too much with the calf is yellow and the borders yellow. Which is why I’m in favor of 7 over 6.
2 and 6 were my favorites. 2 is good for wanting to be simple. 6 fills the page really well, and I think the image looks best in the all black and white.
No. 7 - Calf is highlighted, which combined with the broken tablet at the bottom makes the image very recognizable (i.e., a passerby can tell at a glance what Biblical account is alluded to here)
Number 7 for sure. The two color graphic immediately indicates tainment is connected to the idol. The enlarged depiction of the tablets completes the introduction and constitutes the pictorial narrative. It summarizes the result of idolatry, i.e., violating the first commandment. 4:35
Number 6 is the first choice, it really gives you the ability to make a connection with your topic. As someone that has a good library I have many books already with covers that have pictures in this format.
Option 7 is the best formatted. I'm unsure whether or not you've considered a darker grey tone for the background and soft text higlighting. By the way, I've preached on this topic and likewise researched it. I do not have the time to write a book but I'd like to see how close we are in our evaluation of the subject matter. Therefore, please do let me know where I may purchase as we may need a Spanish version (worshiptainment was brought into Mexico by the 'church builders' back in the late 1970s and is a carbon copy of what Americans are seeing).
Here is my tierlist most favorite to least favorite. 6,7,2,3,1,5,4. I really like the highlighted calf of 7 but prefer 6. Idk if you have highlighted the calf in 6 but I think it would look really good.
Version 5 is least complex. The basic message is seen at a glance. The bigger message inside. For the reader that is not familiar with the incident of the goloden calf the more complex cover won't help much. The reader that is already familiar with the golden calf incident will quickly get the idea. Both kinds of potential readers can be drawn in by cover number 5. For me the extra detail just takes time to interpret and if I want to know more I will be looking at the table of contents and the forward.
7 is comprehensive yet the highlighted calf makes it easy to pick up on the idea at hand. That’s my choice. Thank you Pastor Matthew for your hard work and future resource on a very important aspect of the local church!
I think it is important to speak with the image. I'm a long time believer but without you explaining the scene I am not sure I would have understood the reference right away. So although I think the first few images look clean, I don't think it brings across the message correctly. I like number 7 because the golden calf coincides with the golden title of Worship-tainment and brings across your message the clearest.
2, 5 or 7. I dislike the gold boxes, I like the hyphen, I think the calf gets lost in the picture a bit so making it gold in that last picture helps. I like the contrast of the ten commandments vs the calf. I like the simplicity of 5 but I also like that 7 shows the people, which is one of the points I'm guessing you are trying to get across in the book. It's not just the existence of the calf but it's the peoples response to it. So probably 7. But I really dislike the gold boxes on some of them. That could also be because I dislike the color gold. Whichever one you pick, I'm still going to buy it. Your books have been a great blessing to myself and some friends that I have lent them to. 😁
1. Is Pastor Matthew Everhard becoming an iconographer? 2. Suggestion: #8 = #7, but make the tablets black with white numbering (the half in Moses' hands and the other half in the foreground) to offer a greater contrast to the golden calf. 3. That would require more artistry, but if Exodus 32:19 was good enough for the King James Bible, then that's good enough for me.
I like 3. I think its good to have the full image rather than extracting moses and the calf since it gives more to look at and process. I like 3 more than 6 or 7 as repeating a section of the image is visually confusing to me. It looks like the title is overlaying a much longer image probably because the repeated section does not have a very distinct figure in it (the broken tablet is difficult to see though you say thats why it's repeated)
I’d vote #3. #4 is my second choice. I do not agree with the Reformed outworking of the Regulative Principle of Worship, but I hope this book does well. I would rather have a strict RPW service than the crass and vapid contemporary worship that is present in so many churches.
