A Look at the Making of the Divergent, Insurgent, & Allegiant Book Covers

Designer Joel Tippie takes us through a few of the many steps it took to design the final cover of Divergent. As you can see, it begins with various different style options that are gradually narrowed down to one final idea. We think it's pretty interesting to see how the design developed, and the many could-have-been covers! Check it out after the cut.
Update: We've also added a GIF of the design stages for the Insurgent cover (Divergent book 2) below, along with a look at the different options for Allegiant (Divergent book 3). Scroll down.

Divergent

1: "When it comes to designing covers for a new series, there are a lot of creative options to consider."

2. "Joel is pointing to a title type composed of flying birds like Tris's tattoo. Ultimately, the idea wouldn't have fit easily on the cover."

 3. "After picking some of the favorite designs, the choices are pared down."

4. "Once the basic design is decided, coloring becomes a major factor."

5. "Three different styles of flames were on the chopping block before the final cover. (Note an early comp of INSURGENT on the bottom! Envisioning a series look is crucial at this stage.)"

And there you see the final basic design on the right! 

Insurgent

GIF showing the cover for Insurgent going through many design stages before it was ready to print.

Allegiant

"Rhythm & Hues Design came up with many options for the Allegiant wave. Which one do you think is closest to the final cover image?"

 

"The publisher’s notes on the ALLEGIANT manuscript. That’s a lot of Post-Its! We particularly love that even Veronica Roth would refer to Allegiant as “Detergent.”

Thanks to Divergent Official Tumblr .