Reaching the Summit: Publishing
Designing a Cover for your OER
The cover of your OER Pressbook does more than sit at the front of the book. It acts as a first glimpse of what readers may find inside and often becomes part of how you share and promote your resource beyond the book itself. Like a trailhead marker, it helps set expectations for the journey ahead. We have designed a number of covers you may use, or you may choose to collaborate with your students to create your own.
OERFSJ Covers
Student graphic designers at the William H. Hannon Library created a variety of cover options. Series 1 was designed by Jane Tse in 2022, and Series 2 was designed by Paige Carter in 2024. The templates are editable in Canva.
Select the arrow to view the various templates.
View Series 1 Pressbooks Covers
Select the cover to enlarge. Select the name of a cover to access your own copy of the Pressbooks cover template. You will need to sign in to Canva.
| Blue Flower Design | 
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| Blue Stripe Design | 
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| Black Hex Design | 
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| Black and White Design | 
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View Series 2 Pressbooks Covers
Select the cover to enlarge. Select the name of a cover to access your own copy of the Pressbooks cover template. You will need to sign in to Canva.
| Gray Design | 
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| Color Play Design | 
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| Textured Design | 
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Create or Adapt a Cover
You may choose to adapt one of the Canva cover templates provided in this chapter, create your own cover in Canva or another design tool, or work with students on a custom design.
- The cover templates linked in this chapter are editable in Canva. You can replace the title, subtitle, author name, colors, and images to fit your book. If you replace an image, make sure the new image is one you are allowed to use and that it is large enough to stay clear when resized
- If you create your own cover, be sure to use images, icons, and other design elements that you have permission to use. For openly licensed books, that usually means using your own original materials or content with a Creative Commons license or public domain status.
Image Use, Design, and Accessibility Tips
Whether you are adapting a Canva template or creating your own cover, keep these basic guidelines in mind:
- Use only images and graphics you have permission to use. Choose original, public domain, or openly licensed materials, and keep the attribution details you will need later.
- Start with a high-quality image. A larger image will usually give you better results when resizing (preferably 300 DPI, 7×5 inches or 2250×1500 pixels at 300 dpi) for optimal resolution and clarity, and when resizing, we recommend a cover image size of 8.33” height and 5.5” width.
- Keep the title easy to read. Use WebAIM to make sure there is strong contrast between the text and the background. Avoid placing text over busy parts of an image.
- Use no more than two or three fonts. A simple font combination is easier to read and usually looks more polished than using many styles at once.
- Keep the layout uncluttered. Leave enough open space around the title and key text so the cover is easy to scan at full size and as a small thumbnail.
- Choose imagery that reflects the tone or theme of the book. If you do not have one perfect image, an abstract or symbolic image often works well and may be more flexible across contexts.
Resize Your Pressbooks Cover
Before uploading your cover to Pressbooks, make sure it is sized correctly. This helps prevent upload errors and ensures your cover displays clearly in your webbook and EPUB exports. Whether you are adapting one of the Canva templates provided in this chapter or creating your own cover image elsewhere, you will likely need to resize the final file before uploading it
Select the arrows below to view directions on how to resize your image for your Pressbook Cover.
Resize your Pressbook cover in Canva
In Canva, once you are happy with your Pressbooks cover design, select the Resize menu option.
From the Resize window, select Custom size [1] and then type in the size to which you wish the image to be resized [2]. We recommend resizing the cover image to 8.33” height and 5.5” width. Select Copy & resize [3].
A pop-up window will appear showing you that your new image has been resized and copied into a new page. Select the Open button.
The new page will open with your resized image [1]. After resizing, review the cover one more time to make sure:
- text is still centered and readable
- images are not stretched or blurry
- nothing important is too close to the edge
Then select Download.
From the File type menu, select either JPG or PNG [1]. Then select Download [2].
Resize Your Image for a Pressbook Cover in PowerPoint
View the video to watch the steps or scroll down to read the steps.
Resizing Image for Pressbook Cover by Theresa Huff (OER for Social Justice)
Step 1 – Locate the image
Note: Before beginning, ensure your image is saved as a .jpg or .png file.
In PowerPoint, open a new slide. Select Insert<Picture and select the place where the image resides.
Select the image [1] and then select Insert [2]. Your image will appear on the blank slide.
Step 2 – Resize the image
Right-click on the image and select Size and Position [1]. In the formatting editor, you will see the current Height and Width of the image [2].
Deselect the Lock aspect ratio box [3]. Then, replace the Height and Width with the following numbers [4]:
Height: 8.33″
Width: 5.5″
The image will automatically resize when these numbers are changed [5].
Step 3 – Save the new image
Right-click on the resized image and select Save as Picture [1]. Give the image a new name that differentiates it from the original [2] (Example: pressbookcover_resized.jpg). Select Save. [3]
You are now ready to upload your image to your Pressbook cover. See Place your cover image section below for next steps.
Place your cover image
Now that your Pressbooks cover image is the correct size, you are ready to upload it to your Pressbook. Select the arrow for directions
Upload and Place Your Pressbook Cover
Step 1: Check the size
Once you have adapted or created the image for your cover, you will need to ensure it is the correct size, or you will receive an error message when you try to upload the image. See the directions for Resize Your Image for a Pressbook Cover above.
Step 2: Upload to your Pressbook
Select Book Info from the menu on the left of your screen [1]. Under Cover Image, select Choose File [2].
Locate and select your book cover file from your computer [1] and select Open to upload the file into your Pressbook. [2].
Then select Save.
Your cover image will be saved to the Media Library of your Pressbook and displayed on the homepage of your OER Pressbook.
Add your Attribution Details
As with any media in your Pressbook, be sure to add the attribution to the metadata of your cover image. Be sure to include:
- Title of the image and link to the source
- Creator name and creator link, if available
- Creative Commons license type or public domain status
Licenses and Attributions
“Designing a Cover for your OER” by Theresa Huff and Karna Younger is adapted from “Creating A Cover For Your Open Text – Open Publishing Guide for Authors” by Nikki Andersen; Deborah King, Adrian Stagg, and Emilia Bell for UniSQ Library, used under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. “Pressbook Covers” is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
