1
00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,760
Hi there! In this video we’re going to learn 
how to create a book cover in InDesign,  

2
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:17,360
so let’s get started. Before we proceed creating 
a new document, let’s just understand how we’re  

3
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:22,400
going to plan this. We’re going to make 
three pages, so the two folds that you see  

4
00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:28,720
here will have the A master applied to them, 
and the folds are going to be 3.5 inches wide,  

5
00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:34,160
and since it’s a 9 by 6 inches book, the height 
of the fold, by default, is going to be 9 inches.  

6
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:40,080
On the extreme left is the back cover fold, and 
then the back cover which is 6 inches wide and  

7
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:47,360
9 inches tall, and we’ll need to apply B master 
to it. In fact the back cover, the front cover,  

8
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:53,840
and the spine will be accommodated in one page, 
hence we divide them using the guides. So far we  

9
00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,600
know the measurement of every aspect of our book, 
except the spine, so let’s do that calculation,  

10
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:05,519
before creating the document. Let’s go to 
Gutenberg.com.mt/spine-width-calculator.  

11
00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:14,160
You can easily calculate the width of your 
spine using necessary details, so let’s say the  

12
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:22,160
thickness of the paper used is 100gsm. GSM means 
‘grams per square meter.’ Let’s say we’re planning  

13
00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:28,160
to use ‘uncoated’ paper, so let’s pick that 
option from here. Let’s also assume that there  

14
00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:35,600
are 350 pages in our book, and it’s a hardback or 
hardcover book, so now let’s just hit calculate,  

15
00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:41,040
and it’s going to give us the width of 
the spine, and it comes to 28 millimeters,  

16
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:46,000
so write this down somewhere. Now let’s head 
back to InDesign to create the document.  

17
00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:52,320
First of all let’s change the units to 
inches, and then enter the width of 12 inches,  

18
00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:58,160
as we know the width of each side of the cover 
page is 6 inches, that makes it 12 inches,  

19
00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:04,960
and then add the plus sign and enter 28 
millimeters for the spine, and InDesign  

20
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:10,720
will do the calculation, and show you the result 
in inches. Let’s update the height to 9 inches.  

21
00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,840
Let’s uncheck the facing pages 
option, as we won’t need it.  

22
00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:22,240
Let’s update the pages to 3, as we’ll use two 
pages for two folds on either side of the book,  

23
00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,360
and don’t worry about their dimensions; 
we’ll update them soon enough.  

24
00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:32,000
Let’s lower the margins to 0.25 inch, and 
add a bleed of 3 millimeters, and hit create.

25
00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:38,240
Now you can see that we have A master 
applied to all three pages, and all our pages  

26
00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,800
are of the same size, which we’re going to 
change as per our planning that we discussed  

27
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:48,240
in the beginning of the video. So take your 
cursor to the master zone, and right-click,  

28
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:54,400
and select ‘new master.’ In the popup window, 
you’ll find that the letter B has already been  

29
00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:00,160
assigned to our new master, so let’s just hit 
okay. Now we know that as per our planning,  

30
00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:06,640
page 2, which had the front cover, the back 
cover, and the spine had B master applied to it,  

31
00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,520
so let’s just click the B master, and 
drag it to page 2 to apply B master to it.

32
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:19,200
Now select the A master, and then click the page 
tool on the toolbar. From the option on top,  

33
00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:26,240
change the width to 3.5 inches, and let the height 
stay intact, and instantly you’ll find the new  

34
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:31,840
dimensions getting updated on the A master, as 
well as the two pages the A master is applied on.  

35
00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:39,440
Now all we need to do is plug them together as one 
spread, so if you try to drag page 2 next to page  

36
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:45,840
1, you’ll find it refuses to move. That’s because 
we need to make a tiny change to the settings.  

37
00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:51,040
Click the burger menu on the top right of 
the pages panel, and uncheck the ‘allow  

38
00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:56,480
document pages to shuffle’ option, and now 
when you try to move page 2 next to page 1,  

39
00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:04,320
it will happily place itself there. Similarly, 
place page 3 next to page 2, and your spread is  

40
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:11,040
ready. Double click on page 2, and this is what 
the spread looks like. On either side of the main  

41
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,480
page are the two folds of the book cover, and the 
center page has both the covers and the spine.  

42
00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:22,000
Now to establish the center point of the 
main page, let’s grab a rectangle tool,  

43
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,000
and make a rectangle extending 
from left to right, as illustrated,  

44
00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,920
and then drag a guide from the ruler on the 
left, and drop it at the center of the rectangle.  

45
00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:39,120
Now you may delete the rectangle. Since we 
calculated our spine in millimeters and not  

46
00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,200
inches, let’s right-click the ruler on 
top, and change the units to millimeters.  

47
00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,360
Let’s change the unit to millimeters 
of the ruler on the left as well.  

48
00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,560
Let’s drag the ruler from the corner, and 
drop it at the guide to reset it there.  

49
00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:59,360
Now the spine of the book we calculated was 28 
millimeters, which means we’ll need to count 14  

50
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,640
millimeters on either side of this guide at the 
center, and then drop the guides there as well.  

51
00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,840
Let me zoom out, and that’s the spine of the book.

52
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,200
Let’s grab the rectangle tool, and make a 
rectangle covering the spine, including the bleed  

53
00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:24,880
space. Let’s change its color to black. Let’s 
change the unit of both the rulers back to inches.  

54
00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,560
Let’s pick the rectangle frame tool, and make 
a rectangle covering the entire front page.  

55
00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:38,080
Now let’s go to file, and then place, and 
locate the image on the computer, and hit  

56
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:45,280
open. Next, holding Shift and Option on a Mac, 
or Shift and Alt on a PC, click the spine,  

57
00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:51,200
and drag it to the front fold of the book 
on the right, to copy it. Now extend it  

58
00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:57,680
to cover the entire fold, including the bleed. 
Similarly, drag this panel to the back cover fold,  

59
00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:02,080
holding Shift and Option on a Mac, 
or Shift and Alt on a PC, to copy it.  

60
00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:09,120
The same way copy this panel to the back cover, 
and then drag it to occupy the entire back cover.  

61
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,880
With the back cover still selected, 
lower the opacity to about 71%.  

62
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:22,080
Now holding Shift, select both the 
folds, and lower their opacity to 83%.  

63
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,840
Let’s check the preview. I 
think it’s looking good enough.  

64
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,320
Let’s starting working from the fold on the 
left. Grab the ellipse frame tool, and make  

65
00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:41,760
a circle on top of the fold. Now go to file, and 
then place, and locate the image on the computer,  

66
00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:48,720
and hit open. Let’s grab the type tool, and make 
a text box covering the rest of the fold, and  

67
00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:54,960
then right-click, and fill with placeholder text. 
Select the text, and change its color to white,  

68
00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:01,840
and also change the font to ‘Times New Roman.’ 
Let’s do a little bit of paragraphing of our text.  

69
00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,440
So this is where we write a little 
bit of history of the writer.  

70
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:15,840
Let’s write the name of the writer on top 
as well, so let me write ‘By James Bernard.’  

71
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:23,680
Let’s also change the font style to 
bold, and font size to 14 points.  

72
00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:31,520
Now with the body text selected, let’s go to 
window, and then styles, and select paragraph  

73
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:38,800
styles. Once the panel is up, create a new 
paragraph style, and name it ‘body text.’ Next,  

74
00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:43,840
select the name of the writer, and create another 
paragraph style, and rename it ‘sub-heading.’

75
00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:52,800
Next, let’s grab the type tool, and create a 
text box on the top of the back page. Now type  

76
00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:59,520
in ‘praise for the book title.’ This is where 
we add the testimonials from different scholars,  

77
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,440
or celebrities about the book to add 
on to the credibility of the book.  

78
00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:06,560
Now change the font to ‘Times Bold.’  

79
00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:13,600
Also, change the font size to 24 points, 
and finally change the font color to white.

80
00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:21,040
Now select the rectangle on the back cover, and 
place a guide at the center of this rectangle.  

81
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,800
Center-align the heading to this guide. 
Also, add two guides on either side of the  

82
00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:32,000
text box of the heading to ensure we don’t go 
beyond this region when we add text under it.

83
00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:39,360
Now grab the type tool once again, and make 
a large text box right under the heading,  

84
00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:46,000
and then right-click, and fill it with placeholder 
text. With the text selected, select the body text  

85
00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,320
paragraph style to apply the style to this 
text. Now do a little bit of paragraphing,  

86
00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:57,840
and also add different names to make it feel that 
these people have spoken in favour of this book.

87
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,480
Once we’re done with the text, we need to ensure 
that a little bit of space is left at the bottom  

88
00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:13,360
of this page so that we could add the ISBN 
code like you would find in most of the books.  

89
00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:21,280
Let’s grab the rectangle frame tool, and make 
a rectangle, as illustrated. Now go to file,  

90
00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:27,680
and then place, and locate the image on the 
computer, and hit open. Let’s check the preview  

91
00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:34,560
of our design so far. I guess it’s looking pretty 
good so far. Let’s copy the heading from the back  

92
00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:40,960
cover, and paste it here. Let’s change the 
text to ‘outdoor photography by James Bernard,’  

93
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,880
and then select ‘by James Bernard,’ 
and reduce the font size to 12 points.  

94
00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,560
Let’s add a little more space between the 
title of the book, and the name of the author.  

95
00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:59,360
Now take the cursor to the top left corner of 
the text box, and rotate it, and then place  

96
00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:05,920
it at the center of the spine. Now let’s make 
another copy of the heading on the back cover,  

97
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:13,520
and change the text to ‘outdoor photography,’ 
and let’s have it in two lines, and then  

98
00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:19,200
increase the font size to 36 points, and 
then place it on top of the front cover.  

99
00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:26,960
Grab the rectangle tool, and make a rectangle from 
one side of the front cover to the other, and then  

100
00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:33,360
drop a guide at the center of this rectangle. 
Now delete the rectangle. Let’s center-align  

101
00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:39,440
the title of the book to this guide. Select the 
title, and then right-click, and select effects,  

102
00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:47,200
and then ‘bevel and emboss.’ Update the style to 
‘inner bevel,’ and technique to ‘chisel hard.’  

103
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:57,040
Increase the size to 0.125 inch. Now move to 
outer glow, and change the mode to multiply.  

104
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,600
Click the color, and change it 
to black, and then hit okay.  

105
00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:08,800
Let’s make a copy of the title, and change 
the text to ‘by James Bernard.’ Now select it,  

106
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,840
and reduce the font size to 18 points, 
and then place it appropriately.

107
00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,880
Lastly, let’s grab the type tool, 
and make a text box on top of the  

108
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:24,160
front fold. Type in ‘statement 
relevant to your storyline,’so  

109
00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:28,000
this is the part where you mention the 
blurb of the story to generate interest  

110
00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,760
amongst the potential buyers. Select the text, 
and click the ‘sub-heading’ paragraph style.

111
00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,720
Let’s add two guides on either side of this 
text box, and then using the type tool,  

112
00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:42,960
make a large text box covering the rest 
of the panel, and then right-click,  

113
00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:48,080
and fill it with placeholder text. With the 
text still selected, click the ‘body text’  

114
00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:52,480
paragraph style, and then do a little bit 
of paragraphing for it to look presentable.  

115
00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:02,160
Hit ‘W’ for a final preview of the book cover, and 
I think it looks pretty impressive. To export it,  

116
00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:10,000
go to file, and then export. Let’s save the file 
as ‘book_cover’, and select ‘Adobe PDF Print’ as  

117
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:16,560
the format, and hit save. In the pop up window, 
on the general tab, please ensure to select  

118
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:22,400
‘spreads’ and not ‘pages’, else your pages will 
print individually, and that’s not what we want,  

119
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:28,480
and then move to ‘marks and bleeds,’ and ensure 
to check the ‘crop marks’ option, and then hit  

120
00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:34,800
export. Once the document is exported, locate 
the pdf on your computer, and double-click to  

121
00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:42,000
check how it looks. As expected, you can find the 
crop marks all around, and the spread on one page,  

122
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:48,240
rather than three individual pages, so guys 
that’s how you design a book cover on InDesign.

123
00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:51,760
Alright guys! That concludes our session,  

124
00:12:51,760 --> 00:13:02,800
and I’m going to see you in the 
next one, in just a bit. Good bye!