PhD thesis in consumer psychology needs simple, yet effective cover design

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This customer received 45 book cover designs from 16 designers. They chose this book cover design from Tatlin as the winning design.
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Book Cover Design Brief
My PhD thesis, "Seven dimensions of consumption", needs a book cover that conveys the theme of the thesis in a simple and effective way. The thesis examines seven influential goals that consumers strive to fulfill, these are:
I: Value for Money (to pay a reasonable price, avoid wasting money)
II: Quality (to get something of high quality and reliability, that meets one's highest expectations)
III: Safety (to get something that makes one feel safe, calm, and prepared for the unforeseen)
IV: Stimulation (to get something exciting, stimulating or unique, avoiding routine)
V: Comfort (to get something pleasant and comfortable, avoiding hassle and discomfort)
VI: Ethics (to get something that is congruent with one’s moral principles and obligations, avoiding guilt)
VII: Social acceptance (to make a good impression, identify with peers, live up to expectations)
I want each goal to be represented in some way on the cover, for example by an item or a fitting symbol. I'm imagining something like a consumer Vishnu with seven arms, each holding up, or reaching at, an item/symbol (e.g. a dollar/euro sign for Value for Money, a medallion/star for Quality, a bandage strip for Safety, and so on). Other ways to convey the theme are of course welcome as long as the seven goals are represented in some way.
The style should be clean and elegant, so that it may convey the theme in an effective way. I prefer details that look sketched, drawn, or painted, rather than photorealisic or 3d modeled. The color palette may be light/high key, maybe pastelle; however, don't be afraid to use whichever colors you like, as long as they go well together and give a clean and sober impression. I believe it might be effective if each goal is represented by its own color, for instance.
The printed cover will be in A5 format, and the front cover should have enough empty space to fit the title (Seven dimensions of Consumption), my name (Isak Barbopoulos) and my university affiliation (with a small logo; see e.g. www.psy.gu.se/english), while the back cover only needs to fit an ISBN number and the small logo. I prefer to add the text and the logo myself later as it has to fit into a template, but feel free to use placeholders in your design if you wish.
Please see the attached images for inspiration (and a very basic example of a PhD thesis cover from my department).
Target Market(s)
Academia
Industry/Entity Type
University
Font styles to use
Look and feel
Each slider illustrates characteristics of the customer's brand and the style your logo design should communicate.
Elegant
Bold
Playful
Serious
Traditional
Modern
Personable
Professional
Feminine
Masculine
Colorful
Conservative
Economical
Upmarket
Requirements
Must have
- Some representation of the seven goals.
- Update: Here are some suggestions (but feel free to make your own interpretations)
- Value for money: Something that represents money ($, €), or savings/discounts (e.g. -%).
- Quality: Stars, medallions, favorable reviews, or something along those lines.
- Safety: Bandage strips, red cross; something that has to do with health or safety.
- Stimulation: Could be represented by a parachute, or something similarily exciting, thrilling, or perhaps unique.
- Comfort: Something that symbolizes convenience, ease-of-use, the tried-and-true. Hard to think of an item, but use your imagination.
- Ethics: A label for an eco/organic, or otherwise pro-environmental, product, or perhaps a charity of some kind.
- Social acceptance: What first comes to mind is a Facebook like-button (thumbs up).
Nice to have
- Some representation of the consumer, as he/she is striving, reaching, or holding representations of the seven goals.
Should not have
- Gratuitous text or other distracting elements.