Have you also chosen books because you were charmed by the exterior? The book cover means a lot, but could it just as well be created by artificial intelligence (AI)? Traditionally, publishers and designers have often used image agencies to find images they can use as a starting point for new book covers. But with a search in the same image banks, the result can be 25 books with exactly the same cover image. Now it is more efficient to ask artificial intelligence to create new images than to search for old ones. Machine-generated images have become the autumn’s big talk, and Norwegian book designers tell news that they have already started working with the tools. While we wait for the results of the book designers’ AI use, for fun we have let the image generator Midjourney design the cover of good, old bestsellers: “Appelsinpiken” by Jostein Gaarder Midjourney is currently better in English than in Norwegian, so here we entered “The Orange Girl”, as the English translation reads. ILLUSTRATIONS: Aschehoug and Christine Rehn Jensen/Midjourney/news Jostein Gaarder says that “Apelsinpiken” has been translated into over 50 languages and that he is constantly being asked to decide on new book covers. – Had I been presented with this AI proposal, I would have immediately turned my thumbs up, he says to news. Gaarder is one of Norway’s most successful authors of all time. His most famous book, “Sofie’s World”, has sold a staggering 40 million copies worldwide. For the book about the enigmatic orange girl, the AI result was a picturesque image of a serious girl with an orange peel-inspired headdress. – So funny and thought-provoking, almost scary, says Gaarder about the machine-generated illustration. “Death at Oslo S” by Ingvar Ambjørnsen We typed in “Death at Oslo Central Station” and got a picture of death itself? Illustrations: Cappelen Damm and Christine Rehn Jensen/Midjourney/news The youth classic about Pelle and Proffen is still relevant even though is over 30 years since both book and film. If you haven’t seen the film, you have a serious gap in Norwegian cultural history. The image generator’s interpretation of the book title went dark – or at least black and white – with a headless figure in a coat standing in the middle of an almost empty station building. – Heh, heh! This was funny, is Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s immediate reaction. – And it would have been even funnier to see the faces of the people in the sales department who were supposed to sell this as a young adult novel, he adds. “Hunger” by Knut Hamsun We typed in “Hunger” and got a very gloomy result. Illustrations: CANNONGATE FORLAG and Christine Rehn Jensen/Midjourney/news The machine-generated image of the Hamsun classic from 1890 shows a gaunt figure surrounded by ominous clouds, a kind of flaming forest and a wilderness of entangled branches. – I think Knut Hamsun would turn in his grave if he saw this cover, comments news’s literary journalist Siss Vik. – This has nothing to do with an overexcited budding writer who walks around Christiania hungry and dreams of an artistic breakthrough, she says. – At the whisper of the blood and the prayer of the benpipers, what a soiling of my masterpiece, she adds on behalf of Hamsun. “Naive. Super.” by Erlend Loe We entered “Naive. Super.” and got a hairless superman with two faces. Illustrations: Cappelen Damm and Christine Rehn Jensen/Midjourney/news “Naive. Super.” became a bestseller when it came out in the 90s and has been referred to as “a stroke of genius” and “a small masterpiece”. The image generator’s interpretation of the title shows a kind of naive superman in bright colors. – This is fun, but I would probably go for Kim Hiorthøy ten times out of ten, says Erlend Loe, and refers to the illustrator behind the original cover of “Naiv. Super.” and a number of other Loe books. – If a picture does not have a sender who has biological life, I think I lose interest quite quickly. More or less randomized algorithms can certainly create pretty colors and shapes, but I’m going to stick to people, says Loe. – Yes, yes. Nice guy, he adds. “Hermit Crabs” by Anne B. Ragde We entered “Hermit Crabs” and received these crabs in return. ILLUSTRATIONS: Forlaget Oktober and Christine Rehn Jensen/Midjourney/news “Hermit Crabs” is book number two in Anne B. Ragde’s popular series about the family Neshov. The books also became the TV series Berlinerpoplene. Midjourney’s interpretation of the title became a picture that looks quite real, but where the crustaceans adorn themselves with colorful small shells and snail shells. – This was ABSOLUTELY amazing! says Anne B. Ragde when she sees the picture. – It’s almost scary how cover designers have to tremble in their pants, she says. Which book designs did you like best? De man-made De machine-made Show result – Cannot replace the designer Cover designer Ellen Lindeberg in Exil design does not fear for her job, even if veteran authors such as Anne B. Ragde and Jostein Gaarder are impressed by the machine-generated illustrations. – AI can create astonishing images at breakneck speed, but there are very few of the images that will work as book covers in themselves, says Lindeberg. She has made covers for well-known authors such as Nina Lykke, Marie Aubert and Ali Smith, and has solid experience in book design. Ellen Lindeberg and Egil Haraldsen in Exil design have created the cover for a large number of books. These were made before AI interfered in the subject. Illustration: Publisher Oktober and Gyldendal Lindeberg say it is the interaction between idea, illustration and typography that is decisive for a good result. How would it happen in practice if artificial intelligence were to replace the designer in this work, she asks. – Is it the editor who will get the job with AI as a tool? Is there one in the marketing department? Or the author himself? Based on my experience, I have to say that it would not work. – And who will lead the process of taking it from a picture to a finished cover, asks Ellen Lindeberg. “HALF BROTHER” BY LARS SAABYE CHRISTENSEN: The result for “The Half Brother” was a little scarier than expected. And four eyes and four ears are more double brothers than half brothers? Illustration: THE IMAGE GENERATOR MIDJOURNEY AND Cappelen Damm – An impact drill in the tool drawer Designer Øyvind Sveen at Sveen & Emberland Illustration sees the AI systems as useful tools rather than angry competitors. – This will be another impact drill in the tool drawer. But a drill must be used where it suits and not everywhere, he says. Sveen believes that initially it will be designers who will be best at using the image generators. – A lot is still about the idea behind the motif and the look we have for what works visually, he says. Both Sveen and Lindeberg have already created new book covers using AI images as a starting point, but neither can show off the results yet, as book titles and launch dates are still uncertain. “THE BATMAN” BY JO NESBØ: Since a direct translation of “The Batman” would have become Batman, and there is already a rather famous Batman, Nesbø’s English edition was simply called “The Bat”. This was also what we entered when we got this diving bat. Illustration: THE IMAGE GENERATOR MIDJOURNEY AND ASCHEHOUG The excitement has faded Although the designers say they have embraced the new image possibilities, Ellen Lindeberg admits that she is not as AI-crazed now as she was a few weeks ago. – In my first meeting with AI, I felt an immediate excitement which has gradually faded a little in the face of reality, she says. – Something strange almost always happens, something surreal or twisted, which in itself can appear as an artistic expression, but which would never pass muster in the commercial book market, she explains. We can understand what she means. Just look at the next book cover created by Midjourney: “A MODERN FAMILY” BY HELGA FLATLAND: We typed in “A modern family” and got a rather surreal image of a (modern) family where the mother seems to have two lower bodies. Illustration: THE IMAGE GENERATOR MIDJOURNEY AND ASCHEHOUG Publisher Cathrine Sandnes at JM Stenersen’s publishing house has no plans to replace cover designers with artificial intelligence. – Our designers excel at combining visual flair, originality and the ability to reconcile the wishes of the author, editor and marketing department, says Sandnes. She finds it difficult to imagine a machine being able to combine so many characteristics, but does not close the door completely. – There are plenty of examples throughout history where machines have become better than humans at carrying out various types of work, she says. – For my part, I hope it happens in good time after I retire. This part of the work, where we collaborate, discuss and tinker with the book designers and authors, is one of the most enjoyable processes in the work leading up to the finished book. What does the AI think about the question? We asked the AI chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, this question: “Can AI replace cover designers?” Here is the answer we received: “It is possible that AI can replace cover designers in some cases, since AI has a certain ability to create images and designs based on data and artificial intelligence. However, there are also many aspects of cover design that require human creativity, empathy and understanding, and that AI cannot replace. For example, AI can use data about popular images and design elements to create covers that look good and attract attention. However, AI cannot understand or capture the essence of a book or the message that the cover is intended to convey, and therefore the AI design may not be able to provide the same meaningful and engaging experience that a human-made cover can. Therefore, AI may be able to help create covers that look good on the surface, but don’t have the same deeper meaning or creative value that a human-made cover might have. Therefore, I believe that AI cannot completely replace cover designers, but that it can help make cover design faster and easier in some situations.” “HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENT” BY VIGDIS HJORTH: Here we entered “Will and Testament”, which is the English version of Hjorth’s controversial and award-winning novel about who owns a story. The result is much darker than the original. Illustration: The image generator Midjourney and Cappelen Dam “WOLVES FROM THE FOREST OF ETERNITY” BY KARL OVE KNAUSGÅRD: With the words “The Wolves from the Forest of Eternity” the wolf theme was, as expected, and not a horse as the original intended. However, the wolves do not look quite ergonomically correct… Illustration: IMAGE GENERATOR MIDJOURNEY AND OCTOBER PUBLISHING “THE BOOKSELLER IN KABUL” BY ÅSNE SEIERSTAD: There is no doubt that “The bookseller of Kabul” has books to sell where he stands surrounded by large stacks with books. We have no idea why the picture became black and white and the bookseller so low. Illustration: THE MIDJOURNEY AND ASCHEHOUG IMAGE GENERATOR More about AI images: What are machine-generated images? By training computers on several million images combined with advanced language models, it has been possible to create systems that can generate visualizations based on plain text. The best known are Stable Diffusion, Dall-E and Google’s system Imagen All the systems are based on so-called diffusion models where the machine are served high-quality images which are then combined with text models. The system then removes information from the images step by step so that the software is trained to recognize the simplest and clearest features in all the images. The process can then be reversed and the software is able to create illustrations based on analysis of the text it receives as input. Much of the technology is based on open source code so that you can also train the models yourself. There is currently quite a bit of controversy surrounding this technology. Among other things, because copyright and the use of images to train the models are questioned. There is also a heated discussion about whether illustrators, artists and photographers can lose their jobs because of technology like this. Source: NRKbeta Recommended links for further in-depth information:
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11 alternative book covers designed by artificial intelligence – news Culture and entertainment
