Master book designers explain why these are some of the best covers of all time.

Have you ever bought a book for its cover? Maybe not. But chances are a cover has captured your attention, leading you to pick it up and scan the first few pages to see if you’d get hooked. Even if you can’t pinpoint the reasons for the appeal, there’s something about a well-rendered cover that seems fresh, witty, and full of substance. If you ask book designers to explain what makes for a great cover, however, they can tell you about how the various design elements—the typeface, the color scheme, and the composition—come together to create a visual metaphor for the text.

Magenta asked 15 book designers to nominate the best covers that they hadn’t created themselves. In describing their choices, most of them showed a keen appreciation for simplicity—one gobsmackingly clever idea executed with awe-inspiring skill.