Designers choose four books that made a visual mark in 2015

Debris
Kevin Hardcastle
(Biblioasis)
Designed by Kate Hargreaves

This accomplished cover is literary and restrained, while simultaneously kicking ass six ways from Sunday. The cracking, weathered wood implies the titular debris, and the peeling red paint hints at conflict. One can almost imagine a booted foot kicking at the wooden structure of the cover to get to the stories within. And kudos to everyone involved for trusting that hyphenated type can work on a cover. – Michel Vrana

Boring Girls
Sara Taylor
(ECW Press)
Designed by David Gee

This cover stands out every single time I see it on a bookshop shelf, and to me, that says it’s doing its job. The teal and red tones are moody and rich against the stark black-and-white text, and the minimal type treatment emphasizes the texture in the image. It makes me uneasy (in the best way), and I can’t stop looking at it. – Kate Hargreaves

Consumed
David Cronenberg
(Penguin Canada)
Designed by David Gee

I look at a lot of cover designs throughout the year and this one really stood out. I love the typography and the graphic punch this cover delivers. A perfect image for a Cronenberg book. – David Drummond

Pauls
Jess Taylor
(BookThug)
Designed by Malcolm Sutton

It’s never easy to choose just one cover as a fair representation of the year’s better work, but this one stood out. It’s the kind of accomplished and bonkers fiction cover that would cause huge waves were it from a big-name designer working for a major publishing house. It’s neither. This is a small press book designed internally by a – wait for it – senior editor. – David Gee