TpT Cover Design Tells All

What does a cover design say?  A lot! 

I discovered that pretty fast, in creating products for TeachersPayTeachers!

I started with a couple of counting songs.  They're relaxing and meditative, and so they double as behavior management aids--though you can't tell from my first little foray.

I designed a cover--a thumbnail image--and uploaded to TpT. 

Within a week I was tweaking it.  

I learned to use PowerPoint instead of Word.  Here's the trick: you create a rectangular cover image for a product, 8 1/2 X 11", and then copy and paste it into a dedicated "Thumbnails" PowerPoint with 8X8" pages.  You rearrange the elements so they fit into the square, and save as a jpg.

Over time I added bells and whistles and a year later, I uploaded this: 

 And this:

You can't tell a book by it's cover.  Not the whole book, but you can tell plenty.

• Did I take the time to research the common practices and expectations?  Yeeesss!
• Did I put a LOT of thought into the composition, colors, and shapes?  Um...countless hours.
• Did I sell the "sizzle" as well as the steak?  I mean, does the product look cool, and must-have for my targeted audience?  Well, it does to me, although I admit I'm biased.

Here are some more ideas:

• Large, readable title (on a cell phone, the thumbnail might be less than an inch)
• One or two large images: an eye-catching photo or clip art
• A few key words, not cluttered
• Indicate appropriate grades
• Copyright notice
• Logo in the lower corner, small
• Color-coding; e.g., Math products are blue, ELA yellow
• Repeating elements in all my cover designs:
• Border element
• Image placement
• Artistic background

I'll be honest.  I didn't want to dredge up my ugly old thumbnails from the basement--where they cowered--buried and chained.  

I pulled them up to remind myself, that no one goes from zero to sixty in a second.  Everything takes time--and effort.

No doubt, I'll keep evolving.  If I were starting over, I might make my scalloped border bigger, and all my title fonts plainer.  

UPDATE:
...since I'm "always tweaking" (my motto), I did just that:

Now, I'm happy to wander through my store and wonder how I ever climbed that super-steep tech-hill.

Want more inspiration?  You could roam around TeachersPayTeachers like an art museum.  These stores have great cover designs, and they couldn't be more different:

• Stacey Lloyd's covers can be cinematic.  Look at her second page of products, as her first page has mostly bundles.
• Jadyn Thone uses pastels in original and classy designs.
• Sara Rucker features huge letters in a rainbow of neon colors with a black script sub-title, and adorable clip art. 
• Sarah Gardner has a clean white canvas with classy script paired with all-cap headers, and a single picture.
• Danielle Knight is often cited as an all-around favorite.

I hope you're curious to experiment with your cover designs--and to combine your elements in a creative way.  You don't want to be too dull, or too wild, or to copy the next guy.  You want your store to stand out and represent you perfectly.  I can't wait to see!