Designed by David Drummond, this is the cover for the book Capture The Flag by Arnaldo Testi. http://bookcoverarchive.com/book/capture_the_flag

My eye is immediately drawn to the word “THE”, as it is in the top-left corner of the book cover, and is the largest word/object of the entire image.  The word is first and foremost a point.  It is a single location that the eye is drawn to.  It may be large, and has both plane and line-like qualities, but those are not what is immediately registered.

After noticing the word “THE” however, I see “THE FLAG” and it becomes a plane.  No matter what I look at, after this realization, I assume that more than anything else, the text is about a flag;  the words “THE FLAG” strike out at me due to their sheer scale and color contrast to the rest of the image.  Because those two words share the same color, I look up to the word “CAPTURE” and notice the flag pole almost at the same time.  At this point, you can’t avoid noticing that the words form a US flag, even if you tried.

Finally, the eye must notice the rest of the image.  It is after looking at the red text that all of the words appear to form horizontal lines across the top of the book cover.  Not even the author’s name breaks the aesthetic. There isn’t symmetry in this image, as there isn’t symmetry in the US flag.  The shape of the flag is dynamic, as the blue text looks heavier.  Part of the reason for this is due to the reduced size of the red text.  The red is thinner, and makes the end of the flag shape have a jagged look; it’s as if the flag is ripped.

I would say that visual balance is achieved, because the background forms a plane, that has a smaller plane (the red text) inside it, which has an even smaller plane within that (the blue text).  It looks like the cover is focusing in on the point that is the word “THE” and when you look outward, you see progressively larger planes that have progressively less color.