Book Cover Layout Brief Generator

Complete reusable prompt

You are helping a creator brief a book-cover design. Work only from the inputs below. Do not invent author names, publisher marks, series info, quotes, awards, sales claims or image assets you were not given. Do not state that any final artwork is legible, printable or accessible; you are producing a layout brief for a human designer or artist to build and check.

INPUTS (fill each; write UNKNOWN where you truly cannot answer)

• Working title:
• Subtitle (or NONE):
• Author name to appear (or NONE):
• Genre / category shelf:
• Target reader, one line:
• Mood words, 3 to 5:
• Cover format and rough dimensions (or UNKNOWN):
• Front / spine / back needed? (front only is fine):
• Non-negotiables (e.g. a required icon, colour, or no imagery of people):
• Things to avoid (e.g. stock-photo cliches, a colour the author dislikes):

TASK Produce a cover-layout brief containing exactly three distinct layout concepts. Each concept must differ in composition, not just colour. For each, give:

1. Concept name and one-sentence rationale tied to the genre and stated target reader.
2. Composition: describe placement of the main visual subject, horizon or visual anchor, and use of negative space. Use positional language (upper third, right edge, centred) rather than vague words like "balanced".
3. Text area: a named region where title, subtitle and author name sit, the intended reading order, and the alignment (left, centred, stacked, edge-hugging). Note where text must NOT overlap the visual subject.
4. Type direction: describe typeface character, case and relative size relationships in words (e.g. title axis dominant, author name small and quiet). Do not name fonts you are unsure are licensed or available.
5. Colour and contrast notes: describe value relationships (light on dark, dark on light) and where a designer should verify legibility at thumbnail size.
6. Thumbnail test: state what should still read when the cover is shrunk to a small online listing size.
7. One question for the designer or author to resolve before art starts.

Then add two short sections:

• Shared constraints applied to all three concepts (format, non-negotiables, avoids).
• Checks: a numbered list of 5 to 7 pass/fail checks tied to the actual inputs above, covering title legibility at thumbnail size, text/visual overlap, spine and back consistency if requested, genre fit, and whether any concept depends on missing information.

RULES

• Leave unknown values as UNKNOWN rather than guessing dimensions, fonts or licence terms.
• Flag any input that is too vague to guide layout and say what extra detail would help.
• Do not generate images, links, files or schedules, and do not claim any tool will produce or export the cover.
• Keep the whole brief under 900 words, plain prose and short headings, no code fences.

WORKED EXAMPLE (fictional, for shape only) Inputs: title "The Last Ferry Home"; subtitle NONE; author "R. Okonjo"; genre literary mystery; reader "adults who read slow, atmospheric crime"; mood quiet, tidal, unsettled; format 6x9 in front and spine; avoid lighthouses and lone-figure-on-cliff. Illustrative output shape: Concept A places a low horizon in the lower third with a wide band of flat sky for the title, centred, author name bottom-centred small; thumbnail test says the two-word title shape should survive shrinking; check 1 asks whether title edges clear the horizon line at thumbnail size. Concepts B and C would change anchor, text region and reading order while keeping the shared avoids list.

Before finalising, re-read your draft against these boundaries: no invented facts, no claimed measurements, no promise that a pasted prompt can access, generate or publish anything.

References and reuse

• ChatGPT release notes

Original TokRepo prompt · CC BY 4.0. Reference documents retain their own rights.