This is a collection of book covers which make use of blur, glitch and other distortion effects.
The set of four Tove Ditlevsen book covers each exemplify a different kind of blur and glitch effect, so it’s nice to see them all together:
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dependency-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/childhood-design-na-kim-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/copenhagen-trilogy-design-na-kim-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/youth-design-na-kim-glitch.jpg)
Another trio:
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/double-trio-2-design-rodrigo-corral-boyang-xia.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/double-trio-3-design-rodrigo-corral-boyang-xia.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/double-trio-4-design-rodrigo-corral-boyang-xia.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Iq84-polish-book-cover-3.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Iq84-polish-book-cover-2.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Iq84-polish-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1q84-english-readers-haruki-murakami.jpg)
Here are some other examples of blur and glitch. These ones hurt my eyes a bit, and I’m quite sure they’re meant to:
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/live-blog-a-novel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/tiger-work.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/what-is-real-by-adam-becker.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/termush.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/your-utopia-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/beatrice-porter-essential-ghosts-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-honeys.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pixel-flesh.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-shot.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-men-5.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/reality-check.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/schizo.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/uncanny-valley-glitch-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/doppelganger.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hard-copy.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/loving-with-demons.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/vantage-point-book.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/mobility-book.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-mirror-man-by-jane-gilmartin.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/shimmering-state-design-chelsea-glowing.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/eggers-every-cover-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-light-years.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/want-a-novel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/killer-carpet.jpg)
The possibilities for blur and glitch effects are endless, and some of the most interesting images don’t involve the application of a filter. These examples will have been created manually:
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/kiki-man-ray-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/the-ugly-truth.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/what-happens-at-night.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/hurricane-season.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-prettiest-star.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-unraveling.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/A-God-at-the-Door-geometric.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/nine-billion-turing-tests.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/dog-symphony.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hollow.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-last-karankawas.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/kaddish-dot-com.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/621-x-standard-width-800px.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/branches-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/A-Very-Large-Expanse-Of-Sea.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Thats-Not-What-Happened.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Dangerous-Art-Of-Blending-In.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/exquisite-cadavers.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/day-one.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/heads-of-the-colored-people.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bangkok-wakes-to-rain-design-grace-han.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/still-lives-a-novel.webp)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/something-like-right.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-science-of-being-angry.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BARELY-FLOATING-BOOK-COVER.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Lake-Lore.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/where-the-guilty-hide-a-detective-honeywell-mystery-book.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/all-the-colours-of-the-dark.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/you-made-me-this-way-glitch-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/entropic-gray-book.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/biography-of-x.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/notes-from-the-fog.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/true-life.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/all-night-pharmacy.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/zen-and-now.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/space-struck-design-alban-fischer.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/all-fires-the-fire.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/mind-fixers.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-thing-between-us.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/self-portrait-wolf-wondratschek.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/edge-a-novel-koji-suzuki.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/built-to-move.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-high-house.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/new-waves.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cherry-book-cover-design.jpg)
GRADIENT BLUR
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/stranger-by-night.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/outlive-the-science-and-art-of-longevity.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-glass-hotel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/wild-thing.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/red-pill-hari-kunzru.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-anthropocene-reviewed.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/one-summer-in-savannah.jpg)
NOISY BLURRED GRADIENTS
This effect seems to be having a moment:
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Vanishing-Half-by-Brit-Bennett.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/weightless-world-design-tyler-comrie-blur.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-mutations-a-novel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/are-you-enjoying-skeuomorphism.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/plague-design-sunra-thompson-blur.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/deacon-king-kong.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/maggie-brown-and-others-design-lucy-kim.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/stephen-hawking-book.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/my-year-of-living-vulnerably.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/velorio.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/lark-and-kasim-start-a-revolution.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/you-are-a-magnet.jpg)
STRETCHED
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/rag-stories-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-laughter.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/they-kay-dick.jpg)
BLUR EFFECTS WITH PHOTOS
Oftentimes the designer uses a mask to blur out certain aspects of an image to manage the focus, for example letting text or eyes stand out. Light leaks can also create a blur effect, reminiscent of summer or the 1970s.
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/The-Girls-of-Summer.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Kala.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-end-of-us.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Blue-Ticket.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/WHEN-THE-DUST-SETTLES-x-standard-width-800px.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/THE-ISLAND-OF-LONGING-x-standard-width-800px.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/no-one-ever-asked.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dice.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Storylines.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-empty-honour-board.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/carry-the-dog.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/After-dark-by-Haruki-Murakami.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-intervals-of-cinema.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/41-guedea.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/reward-system.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/eleanor-catton-birnam-wood-black-and-white.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/eleanor-catton-birnam-wood.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-winter-knight.jpg)
GLITCH APPLIED TO AN ILLUSTRATION
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cuyahoga.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-man-iwth-the-compound-eyes-a-novel.jpg)
BOKEH
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/This-is-Not-Miami.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-beseiged-city.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/every-little-piece-of-me-cover.jpg)
PIXELLATED
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/you-will-never-be-forgotten.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-vitals.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/normal-women-900-years-of-making-history.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/artificial-intelligence.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/consent-design-by-lucy-kim.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/disrupting-the-game.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/mr-peanut.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/greetings-from-witness-protection-x-standard-width-800px.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-Ugly-Truth-north-book.jpg)
REFLECTIVE SHINE
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/luster-a-novel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/worthy.jpg)
RIPPED STRIPS
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/81OpqPFxgoL-x-standard-width-800px.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/endpapers-a-novel.jpg)
SMUDGE AND DRIPPING
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cwen.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-quiet-ones-brandon-massey.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-dinner-guest.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/mine-by-delilah-dawson.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/blue-ruin.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/i-have-some-questions-for-you.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dark-eden.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/beneath-the-world-a-sea.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/how-the-world-really-works.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/bitter-sweet.jpg)
WORD ART EXAMPLES OF BLUR AND GLITCH ON BOOK COVERS
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/strangers-to-ourselves.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/for-you-and-only-you.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/signal-image-architecture-john-may-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/beneath-the-surface-of-white-surpremacy-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/wait-blink-a-novel.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/into-the-drowning-deep.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/graveyard-of-lost-children.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-golden-state.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-beauty-of-dusk.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/wish-you-were-gone.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/black-village-design-anne-jordan-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/till-the-wheels-fall-off.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/we-were-liars.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/the-clerk.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/through-the-billboard-promised-land-without-ever-stopping.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/falling-design-dave-litman-symbolic.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/skye-falling.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-age-of-goodbyes.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-fall-of-lisa-bellow.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/filthy-animals-design-luke-bird.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bliss-montage.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/killing-commendatore-1.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/love-and-other-puzzles-design-Mark-Campbell.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ordinary-girls-a-memoir.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/anger-book-cover-glitch.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/beijing-sprawl.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/always-the-first-to-die.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/wrong-place-wrong-time.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-shadow-friend.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/strung-out.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/the-june-boys.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/come-with-me-schulman.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/tired-as-fvck-book-cover.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/look-in-the-mirror.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/the-space-between-worlds.jpg)
![](https://www.slaphappylarry.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/those-beyond-the-wall.jpg)