Ebook Design Examples: 10 Inspirational Ideas

Last updated: January 10, 2023

When you decided to create an ebook it was because you had thoughts, knowledge or stories that you wanted to share with the world. Ideas for ebook design and how your creation would look were probably well down your list of priorities (unless your ebook is all about graphic design or art).

The simple truth is that great design sells ebooks. However fascinating and useful your words might be, ebooks that look great usually sell more copies and for higher prices. So we’ve put some ebook design examples together that we hope will inspire and encourage you.

Ebook design is partly about looking professional (which justifies a higher cost). And it’s mostly about crafting something visual that appeals to the right audience.

Talented designers take years to hone and perfect their craft. For the rest of us there are easy-to-use tools like Canva and Venngage to lend a helping hand with creating outstanding cover art. Free tools like Reedsy and Draft2Digital will help you format and organize the text and page layouts.

Ebook Design Examples that Draw Readers In

People searching for ebooks will be looking at a screen. So how your book cover appears on the screen is all-important.

Try not to make it look too fussy. Make your cover stand out and tell a story – or at least hint that there’s something fascinating lurking inside.

Be honest, how could you not be drawn to a cover like Confessions of a Freelance Pen Monkey by Chuck Wendig? And how could you not be intrigued to discover the story that prompted this crazy cover art? 

 

On a similar theme of telling a story on the cover (but with a completely different execution), how about The Creative Aid Handbook:

This artwork probably took a lot of putting together but it shows what a bit of creativity can do for making an impact.

At the other end of the spectrum you can go for outright simplicity. The Future of Data is an import.io white paper created by David White. 

It’s a lovely example of clean, uncomplicated cover art that relates perfectly to the content.

 

Books involving data can also be fun – really, they can. Especially if the data drives the storytelling loved by modern marketers. This example looks like it’s going to be an entertaining ride and anything but dry.

It might not appeal to full-time data scientists, but they’re probably not the audience.

 

Ebook Designs With Photos

Cookbooks are a popular genre in the ebook creator economy. Because people want to see what they’ll be cooking, photography is a vital element in the design –  and few do it as well as Melissa Maris. 

Simple message: make the food the star of the show with great photographs and understated design. As in this example.

Inka Fawn also does a great job here with From Earth With Love:

The cover makes a simple promise and shows you something you’d like to cook and eat.

Ebook Designs With Words

You don’t necessarily need photographs or fancy illustrations to make a statement. Sometimes ideas for ebook designs just need words – but jazzed up a little. Here’s a great example by Lior Frenkel of a simple but striking graphical approach that plays with the book title.

 

Or there’s this one from Unbounce that uses clean typography and blocks of text to make a statement.

With both of these examples it’s worth noting the simple colour palettes. Sometimes, less really is more.

And if you’re not completely convinced that playing with typography in interesting ways can make a statement. We’ll just leave this little stunner there:

A Simple Idea, Well Executed

If there’s one idea to take away from all of this it’s that ideas for ebook designs don’t need to be complex or clever. Sometimes a simple eye-catching idea that’s well executed can be all you need – as with this example from LinkedIn.

 

There are plenty of ways to make it simpler to create and design your ebook. And when it’s time to publish, that’s simple too with Payhip. You don’t even need a monthly or annual subscription with our ‘forever free’ option. And there’s always a real person on hand to help if you have any questions.

If you’re keen to learn more about selling ebooks online, check out our guide on How to Sell Ebooks Online with just 3 simple steps.