Sneak Peek: resonate Cover Design

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Resonate, Slide:ology, Nancy Duarte, Giraffe, Wizard

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Sneak Peek: resonate Cover Design

The rumors are true… I’ve been hard at work on another book, and I’d like to give you a sneak peek of our first draft at a cover design.

After several internal brainstorms and sketching sessions, we ended up with these concepts.

NancyCoverSketches_Page_1

NancyCoverSketches_Page_2

We all felt that there was something special about the word resonate being made out of dots that look like they are being magnetically pulled towards a gathering. The sketch was inspired by this stitchery I found online.

Diandra, my Creative Director felt that the dots could be people walking or running towards the gathering. It could look like an aerial shot of the Million Man March in Washington DC.

My team meticulously drew all the figures and shadows. We played with color combos and textures and ended up with this AMAZING cover.

Resonate_DuarteDesign

What do you think? We’d love your feedback and comments. Stay tuned as we will be sharing more of these insights along the way.

03.11.2010 / Nancy Duarte

Business / Design / Diary / Question

pat mcgovern

I really like the white cover with the black type. There something that pulls me in and but there is also a certain playfulness about it. Good luck. I can’t wait until it’s out. I read your first book…Loved it!

P. McGovern
http://presentingissimple.blogspot.com Rowan Manahan

What a perfect word. Stunning design. Can’t wait to read it.
Olivier Angers

Very Powerful and Evocative.

I can’t wait for this new book.
John McLeod

The cover looks very cool. You never seem to fail to deliver. I read Tribes once and it hasn’t left my bookshelf since. Not a week goes by that I don’t uses your book. I like Seth a lot, but he should be so lucky to be compared to you. Keep after it.
http://inGoalMag.com David Hutchison

Absolutely remarkable – and tells the story of collaboration. You had a good idea, but had you gone it alone it would not have been a remarkable cover – your team made it stunning with their input based on your concept.
http://www.vespertineinc.com Rachel

I saw your tweet asking if your book cover looked like Seth Godin’s Tribe. Unfortunately, it’s really too similar in concept — but yours is much better designed and executed if that makes you feel any better.
Natalie

I love it! I do agree with Pat McGovern’s comments that there is something about the white cover with black. I’d be interested in the last draft but with the figures in black rather than red…OK just went and looked at the Tribes cover and do think it is uber-similar. Good luck!
Natalie

Another thought: The first image with the dots reminds me of sound. After looking back at your sketches (row 2 col. 2 & 3) I imagine another version with a profile on each side and then the dots coming from the mouths and leaving “resonate” in the void all in black in white like the first revision.
http://dynamic.as Egil

Beautiful and powerful at the same time. IMO it could benefit from more air around the subtitle though, it is a bit chrushed at the top and bottom now – legibility wise.
http://dynamic.as Egil

HMmm, come to think of it – maybe the people should be going in the other direction? As in having been transformed? Well, just a thought
Scott

Fantastic image — kudos to the entire team! (And I can’t wait to get the book — I’ve given 4 copies of your first book away because I think it’s so great)
http://ontheplusside.com.au/wordpress Lynn Walsh

I think it works well. Love the colour and type choices. Was wondering too, as Egil does, about the direction people were going. People going forth and ‘resonating’ to others as a result of their transformation?
http://deepunderstandings.blogspot.com/ Wendy Castleman

Great cover. Looking forward to the book!
http://www.ignitesydney.com Stephen Lead

The B+W version looks a bit too much like flies buzzing around something to me! But I really like the red version.

I agree with Egil that the subtitle looks a bit messy and would look better a bit further away, and without the people nearby.

Looking forward to reading the new book.
dal

I love the people coming towards the title. Thats awesome.

I’d move a couple of people away from the subtitle, though. “Pardon me, I can’t read the text you are walking around with you so close to it.”
http://www.vespertineinc.com Rachel

I think the subtitle is fine where it is. We can all read it clearly and making space around it would look too orchestrated. It’s supposed to look like the people are organically being drawn in.
http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

Love it. Fabulous! (And, as a publisher, I am NOT easy to please.)
http://www.ethos3.com Scott Schwertly

Love the title and cover.
Hristo

Amazing! Inspiring work, guys!
http://www.Coscatl.com Joe Oviedo

Hi! Great work, about your question mmm… Not really and the concepts of the gathering and attraction are entierly different. Beside that red with that texture, looks amazing. =)
http://ExcelPro.blog.sohu.com Liu

Great! I like it very much!
http://blog.leighelliott.com Leigh

Looks amazing, really like it – the ariel shot feel and the shadows gives it big scope.
http://alessandroalessandrini.posterous.com Alessandro

Nice cover but a bit odd. Sorry but I come from an engineering background where you work to avoid resonance (remember the Tacoma bridge???). Anyway, in a communication environment, resonance is an expansive phenomenon, you want that your words/ideas are amplified and carried far away: so why on your cover you have human figures walking towards the word and not in the opposite direction?
http://www.meetingmagic.co.uk Kevin Holligan, MEETING MAGIC (UK) Limited

Hi Nancy, First and foremaost I really like it. I also think the story of deciding on the cover should be a sidebar in the book!!

Additionally I wondered if there is something about RIPPLES AND RIPPLE EFFECT and vibration that is suggested too – funnily enough before reading other comments my mind went to resonance from Physics and the effect on the Takoma Heights bridge of hitting its Natural Frequency of Oscillation? (Hitting the right note? Or in its case wrong!)
Maxine

I saw this the other day via your tweet and thought then, that it reminds me of lots of ants – all being attracted to a splodge of jam
http://advanceyourslides.com Nick Smith

Very cool idea and an excellent execution. I love it!

Can’t wait to read the new book.
Teri

My first impression? Wow – it looks a lot like Tribes. I know others have said the same thing – just wanted to let you know that many may have that reaction. I always thought your cover would be unique.
vincent duquerroux

It’s weird. I have been thinking about this word for weeks now. The word “resonate” is perfect because it is powerful, beautiful and so duartian (you use it very often).

The book cover is beautiful but not meaningful. On your cover, I would write “convey” but not resonate. For me, resonate is more like an activating flow which would embrace audience and presenter altogether.
vincent duquerroux

In a very “Steve Jobs’ way”, your cover is so beautiful, you want to lick it !
Massaru

Fantastic!!!
Amazing!!
http://www.voiceofsoul.org Robbie

I LOVE this image. It applies to so many ways in life people are magnetically attracted to each other, ways that can’t be “seen”. Can’t wait to get the book!
Stephen

Nancy, with all respect to our engineering types, resonance also means to relate harmoniously and your design is a perfrect metaphor. I can just hear the conversations ‘buzzing’ around the letters as more and more figures converge around the title. Congratulations and thanks to you and the team! I learn so much from your site.
http://www.alephnaught.com/Blog Bob Hays

I like the last design, but it seems like a transformation of people into an audience, not the transformation of an audience….

It is visually stunning, and I’ll probably buy the book if you just put your name and title on the cover (as long as you wrote it).

Have fun! – Bob
http://www.djust.nl Reinier Meenhorst

Awesome title, inspiring design! Can’t wait to see what’s behind the cover.
http://www.guywithideas.com Chris Dargiewicz

Love it, it looks similiar to Seth Godin’s previous book Tribes too!
http://www.monicabulger.com Monica Bulger

Beautiful cover! I can’t wait to read it.

While the concept is similar to Godin’s “Tribes,” interestingly, his circle is empty except for the title, which contradicts what the image seems to be attempting to convey. In contrast, yours serves as a gathering point and accomplishes the message that good stories draw people together. Your cover makes me want to open the book and start reading. Best wishes.
http://www.duarte.com/ Nancy Duarte

Thank you ALL for your feedback! We too felt it was too much like TRIBEs even though it was coincidental. We just finished a few new options tonight and will post again Monday! I think it will address many of the concerns raised in the comments here.
http://www.duarte.com/ Nancy Duarte

Oh, and for a “where’s Waldo” type of moment, we put an illustration of the Beatles crossing Abby Road in the cover above. See them to the left of the word resonate?
alex

Love the design!!!
http://www.allaboutpresentations.com Vivek Singh

Stunning!!!
The design is brilliant. It does gel really well with the name.
http://prmama.com Stephanie Smirnov

Brilliant!
tara

black and white!
http://www.seanbengry.com Sean Bengry

Very cool… can’t wait for the new book.
Ryan Hyde

I like the idea of having one word for the book title. I also like that it is clean and that it draws the eye with all the people to the word. Without knowing more about the book I think it is a great fit if it’s about community.

I think it looks a little like Tribes but not enough that you have to change it if that’s the only reason for changing it.

Can’t wait to see the new options though.
laurence

Nancy – regardless of the similarities to Tribe, I love the selected cover (its message *resonates*). I serendipitously found another very similar illustration when looking at Bryan Christie’s design website today – his Special Inaugural cover design for Newsweek
laurence

URL: http://www.bryanchristiedesign.com/recent.php?illustration=585
http://www.AngelJOrtiz.com Angel J. Ortiz

THAT’S THE ONE!!!!!!
It communicates and says it all so simply.
GREAT JOB!!!!!!
This is the cover I want to see when I receive my copy
http://www.nosweatpublicspeaking.com Fred E. Miller

Nancy:

I Get it!

The goal of all communication; written, spoken, or visual, is the same. We want the recipient(s), as quickly as possible to – ‘Get It!’

They may not agree with everything.

They may not agree with anything.

But, unless they ‘Get It!’ there can’t be a meaningful conversation going forward.

Your stuff – ‘I Get It!’

Thanks!
Fred

/ Let us suggest something

Resonate, Slide:ology, Nancy Duarte, Giraffe, Wizard

Sneak Peek: resonate Cover Design

03.11.2010 / Nancy Duarte

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