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Design Devices: Psychedelia

I don’t feel anything yet… Do you?

Design Devices: Psychedelia

I don’t feel anything yet… Do you?

In celebration of April 19th, aka Bicycle Day, I’ve put together a collection of trippy, weird, and sorta-kinda psychedelic cover designs. Some were chosen for their content, others purely for how their designs made me feel. You can always explore the tag “trippy” to see more covers like these.

*If you’re able to provide any missing design credits, please write me at ineedabookcover.site@gmail.com or DM me @zoe-norvell.

Blog post cover image by the extraordinary Brian Blomerth. Be sure to check out his books Bicycle Day (2019), a Technicolor retelling of the discovery of LSD, and Mycelium Wassonii (2021), an account of “the lives and trips of R. Gordon and Valentina Wasson, the pioneering scientist couple responsible for popularizing the use of psychedelic mushrooms in the United States.” Both are published by Anthology Editions/Mexican Summer.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Illustrator: Ralph Stedman, 1971

Ways of Being by James Bridle

Designer: Pablo Delcan

The Psychedelic CEO by W. Murray Rodgers

Babble On by Andrew Brobyn

Designer: Laura Boyle

Vagablonde by Anna Dorn

Designer: Jaya Nicely

Through the Billboard Promised Land Without Ever Stopping by Derek Jarman

Designer: Theo Inglis

Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom

Designer: Jaya Nicely

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou

Designer: Darren Haggar, Illustrator: Aleia & Sam Copeland

End of the World House by Adrienne Celt

Designer: David Litman

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

Riverhead, 2014

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Designer: Lauren Peters-Collaer

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Illustrator: Salvador Dalí

The Comedown by Rebekah Frumkin

Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer

Designer: Rodrigo Corral Studio

The Tryst by Monique Roffey

Designer: June Park

Pathological by Sarah Fay

Designer: Pete Garceau

Till the Wheels Fall Off by Brad Zellar

Designer: Alban Fischer

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones

Coffee House Press, 2019

In Moonland by Miles Allinson

Designer: Allison Colpoys

Hollow by B. Catling

Designer: Pablo Delcan

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey

Designer: Katie Klimowicz

Fungipedia by Lawrence Millman

Designer: Chris Ferrante

Fieldwork by Iliana Regan

Designer: Morgan Krehbiel

Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan

Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality by Lindsay Wong

Designer: Emma Dolan

The Secret Life of Fungi by Aliya Whiteley

Designer: Faceout Studio/SpencerFuller

The Psilocybin Handbook for Women by Jennifer Chesak

Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion by Michelle Janikian

Mushroom Botanical Art by Toshimitsu Fukiharu

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan

The Essential Ginsberg edited by Michael Schumacher

Designer: Milan Bozic

High Weirdness by Erik Davis

The Timothy Leary Project by Jennifer Ulrich

The Most Dangerous Man in America by Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis

Sacred Knowledge by William A. Richards

Acid Test by Tom Shroder

A Tiger in the Land of Dreams by Tiger Tateishi

Available from 50 Watts Books
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Designer Requirements

Only a carefully curated group of designers are given access to the creative briefs posted on the INABC Jobs Board. This system ensures that clients receive top-notch, focused proposals from professionals whose talents have been vetted

All designers who will be bidding on your cover design have applied to receive job notifications and have been approved by the INABC admin team. Our approved designers:

  • Are professional book cover designers, not simply generalist graphic designers.
  • Have been working in the industry for a minimum of 3 years, usually more.
  • Must demonstrate a contemporary aesthetic, creating work that feels current and relevant to today’s book design market. We seek professionals who stay informed on industry trends while pushing boundaries with innovative, forward-thinking designs. Our designers know that our clients are not looking for designs that feel “dated.”
  • Work on multiple book cover projects in any given month
  • Are committed to delivering high-quality, original designs tailored to each client’s unique vision. 
  • Do NOT sell or offer book cover premades. At INABC, we do not condone the offering of pre-made book covers. We are fans of highly bespoke cover work.
  • Do NOT use AI-generated imagery in their commercial work.
  • Have accessible online portfolios showcasing book cover work that are easy for anyone to review.
  • Have extensive experience working with self-publishing authors AND commercial presses.
  • Are available and excited to receive these weekly briefs.

If you are contacted by a designer that doesn’t align with the requirements described above, we ask that you please contact the INABC admin team at ineedabookcover.assistant@gmail.com.

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