Art movements

Neue Sachlichkeit / New ObjectivityCut from the real world.

Photographic figures and objects are cut out and collaged against flat color, with harsh scale jumps, visible seams, and a headline that slices through.

Make it yours
A good fit for

Political nonfiction, urban histories, and documentary essay collections.

A little art direction

Name two or three concrete things to photograph in the illustration notes, a chimney, a face, a street, and let the montage combine them. Keep the title short and uppercase-friendly.

The palette
From these words to these book covers

See the style in action.

Now make it yours

Real generated examples; your own result will vary. The exact prompt behind each one is further down the page.

Your idea, this style

Make it yours.

Your details

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A complete starting point

The prompts behind these book covers.

Each cover above was generated from the prompt below it, unedited. Copy one as-is or change the details. Your image-making app may interpret the style differently each time.

Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstClean AirRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf.

COVER TEXT
Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards.
Title: Clean Air
Subtitle: What we breathe and how to change it
Author: Dr. Malik Osei

ART DIRECTION
Interpret the supplied brief in Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity style.
Visual vocabulary: photomontage combining photographs with drawn or typographic elements; harsh realistic rendering without idealism; dramatic cropping and scale contrast between elements; photographic figures placed against flat colour fields; visible collage seams used expressively.
Lettering direction: bold block sans-serif in German grotesque tradition; text used as slogans integrated into the image; tight uppercase headlines.
Suggested colors: black, white, photographic grey tones; deep red as political accent.
Composition: photomontage dominates; text cuts across or anchors the composition.
Atmosphere: urgent, critical, politically charged, documentary.
Keep out of the design: Expressionist distortion or emotional exaggeration, decorative ornament, craft-fair warmth, artificial yellowing or ageing.
Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy.

ILLUSTRATION NOTES
A photographed factory chimney towering over a small cut-out child holding a kite.
These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text.

Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstBarbary CoastRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf.

COVER TEXT
Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards.
Title: Barbary Coast
Subtitle: Crime, gold, and the making of a city
Author: Henry Vasquez
Publisher: Barbary Coast Press

ART DIRECTION
Interpret the supplied brief in Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity style.
Visual vocabulary: photomontage combining photographs with drawn or typographic elements; harsh realistic rendering without idealism; dramatic cropping and scale contrast between elements; photographic figures placed against flat colour fields; visible collage seams used expressively.
Lettering direction: bold block sans-serif in German grotesque tradition; text used as slogans integrated into the image; tight uppercase headlines.
Suggested colors: black, white, photographic grey tones; deep red as political accent.
Composition: photomontage dominates; text cuts across or anchors the composition.
Atmosphere: urgent, critical, politically charged, documentary.
Keep out of the design: Expressionist distortion or emotional exaggeration, decorative ornament, craft-fair warmth, artificial yellowing or ageing.
Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy.

ILLUSTRATION NOTES
A photographed wharf and a giant cut-out coin looming over tiny walking figures.
These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text.

Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe Community KitchenRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf.

COVER TEXT
Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards.
Title: The Community Kitchen
Subtitle: Fifty suppers cooked by neighbors
Author: St. Brigid's Volunteers

ART DIRECTION
Interpret the supplied brief in Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity style.
Visual vocabulary: photomontage combining photographs with drawn or typographic elements; harsh realistic rendering without idealism; dramatic cropping and scale contrast between elements; photographic figures placed against flat colour fields; visible collage seams used expressively.
Lettering direction: bold block sans-serif in German grotesque tradition; text used as slogans integrated into the image; tight uppercase headlines.
Suggested colors: black, white, photographic grey tones; deep red as political accent.
Composition: photomontage dominates; text cuts across or anchors the composition.
Atmosphere: urgent, critical, politically charged, documentary.
Keep out of the design: Expressionist distortion or emotional exaggeration, decorative ornament, craft-fair warmth, artificial yellowing or ageing.
Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy.

ILLUSTRATION NOTES
A photographed stew pot huge in the foreground, a cut-out queue of neighbors tiny behind it.
These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text.

Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstFog City ZinesRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf.

COVER TEXT
Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards.
Title: Fog City Zines
Subtitle: Thirty years of small press in San Francisco
Author: Edited by Rosa Lim
Publisher: Posterage Press

ART DIRECTION
Interpret the supplied brief in Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity style.
Visual vocabulary: photomontage combining photographs with drawn or typographic elements; harsh realistic rendering without idealism; dramatic cropping and scale contrast between elements; photographic figures placed against flat colour fields; visible collage seams used expressively.
Lettering direction: bold block sans-serif in German grotesque tradition; text used as slogans integrated into the image; tight uppercase headlines.
Suggested colors: black, white, photographic grey tones; deep red as political accent.
Composition: photomontage dominates; text cuts across or anchors the composition.
Atmosphere: urgent, critical, politically charged, documentary.
Keep out of the design: Expressionist distortion or emotional exaggeration, decorative ornament, craft-fair warmth, artificial yellowing or ageing.
Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy.

ILLUSTRATION NOTES
A photographed stapler the size of a building beside a cut-out crowd holding pamphlets.
These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text.

Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstWalking the Old StreetsRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf.

COVER TEXT
Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards.
Title: Walking the Old Streets
Subtitle: Twelve routes through San Francisco's past
Author: Neighborhood History Society
Publisher: Twin Peaks Editions

ART DIRECTION
Interpret the supplied brief in Neue Sachlichkeit / New Objectivity style.
Visual vocabulary: photomontage combining photographs with drawn or typographic elements; harsh realistic rendering without idealism; dramatic cropping and scale contrast between elements; photographic figures placed against flat colour fields; visible collage seams used expressively.
Lettering direction: bold block sans-serif in German grotesque tradition; text used as slogans integrated into the image; tight uppercase headlines.
Suggested colors: black, white, photographic grey tones; deep red as political accent.
Composition: photomontage dominates; text cuts across or anchors the composition.
Atmosphere: urgent, critical, politically charged, documentary.
Keep out of the design: Expressionist distortion or emotional exaggeration, decorative ornament, craft-fair warmth, artificial yellowing or ageing.
Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy.

ILLUSTRATION NOTES
A cut-out cable car stacked against a photographed hillside street, seams visible.
These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text.

Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.

Prompt version 1 · 5 generated examples · Copy-and-paste guide →