CURRENT SELLING BOOKS AVAILABLE ON THE SUBJECT OF "COSMETIC SURGERY" .

I decided to spend some time researching into current selling books which focus on the subject of “Cosmetic Surgery".
My main reason for doing this was to spend time studying the overall compositions of these covers, and to analyse how the images portrayed, typography styles and colour schemes, all help to reflect a specific “tone” and style to the book genre.

I visited www.amazon.co.uk and searched under the words "Cosmetic Surgery". Below shows my analysis of some of the books which were featured-
(All book images were taken from- http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=cosmetic+surgery&sprefix=cosmet )









I discovered, of which to no surprise, that many of these book covers portrayed images typically associated with cosmetic surgery and achieving perfection.- These images included, close up head shots of beautiful women displaying flawless complexions & enviable body shapes.

The colour palettes used on the designs for each book also showed reoccurring features- For example, the colour pink was often included in the composition, mainly for the reason for this being a key colour to reflect and attract females. There was also a lot of white used in the composition which helped associate the idea of a crisp and clean, but more importantly an “unmarked” canvas.
If you look at the image of the last book shown –(“ 10 Years Younger- Cosmetic Surgery Bible”). –I noticed that a key colour used in this composition is the light green which conjures up associations of fresh, youthful and natural or organic associations.
The use of the word “Bible” in the title gave the impression that this book should be “followed” or “worshipped” by all, almost creating the idea that we should all obey this and aspire to look like this?

The first two book examples shown contrasted here with regards to colour palettes as these two books showed photographs printed in grayscale;
The first example, “Plastic Fantastic” I found particularly interesting in the slight mockery of the words used in the title incontrast to the serious grayscale image of the woman. This particular book cover revealed more of the female figure which covered half of the available page space.

The second greyscale based cover shown, “Cosmetic Surgery- A Feminist Primer” helped to reflect more of a serious and informative tone to the viewer. More specifically, the cover shows a very clinical looking, cold and uninviting image of an empty chair waiting in a surgery room. There is the suble hint of the colour pink again which has been used within the composition. Again, a key colour to reflect feminity. It is also interesting with this example to note how the centred chair is emphasised by a strip of lighting which runs down the chair, or more specifically highlighting the area where the patient would sit.

The fourth image shown, “Cosmetic Surgery”, displays a realistic/truthful photograph showing what is presumed to be Botox being injected into a pair of lips. The image on this cover fills up nearly all of the available space and uses the additional colours of black and red in the composition. The colour red is interestingly often associated with blood, which is related to surgery, but does not conjure up positive or glamourous associations of these procedures. With the specific cover, it is also interesting to note that the positioning of the surgeons hands completely cover the eyes of the patient almost giving the impression that the identity of this patient wants to remain hidden.- Is this patient ashamed to be seen opting for these injections?

Overall, the examples shown of these current selling books all show connections through specific imagery or colours which help to subconsciously conjure up images relating to cosmetic surgery. For example, flawless complexions, subtle hints at the female audience through the colour choice of pink, surgery markings or surgery related images. The more informative/serious books were depicted by grayscale images and absolutely no use of colour to help reflect natural beauty.