Christian Literature design

[Curious]

Hi,
I am not a designer or artist of any kind. I am just searching for some input on the topic of religious literature, especially Christian.

My whole life, I have been turned off by the soft pastels and overdone calligraphy scripts used in religious materials. My mom frequently gets these kinds of books for me, and the last one has me feeling so bad. I know this book is supposed to feel beautiful and uplifting with the sunsets and pastel flowers, but I can’t even stand to look at it. I also imagine this particular book cost more having these god-awful (pun intended) accoutrements attached.

Why can’t religious books have nice crisp covers with regular, bold font? It is almost like the pastel is wishy-washy and ethereal, making me question my faith even more.
It may be weird, but I do think you can often judge books by the cover.

I am coming from a catholic background and much prefer the art and colors associated with orthodoxy. I just can’t figure out why!

It bothers me so much, that I would like some designers input on the logic behind using that type (not sure if there is a word for it) of design.

Thanks for any insights!

[CraigB]

I think it depends on the demographic. I believe that in most cases the examples your’e citing of pastels and sunsets and flowers, etc. are appealing to an older, grandmotherly demographic (which is fine). But TBH with you I’ve seen a lot of more modern, bold, colorful Christian designs lately that are competing to be the “cool” Christian church and don’t want to come across as “old” and stale.

I think people use that style in a lot of cases because it’s “tried and true”, but I certainly see designers trying to break free form that trend. I did a quick search for a few book covers and found a few below that may not be perfect, but show that it’s not all pastels and sunsets.