The book designs depict symbolism from the source material with a modernist graphic art style. Each book cover contains a hand-drawn artwork which is reflected or deconstructed on the back cover.

For example, in “Beloved” the chokecherry tree is a symbol used by Morrison to describe the whiplash scars on the back of one of the characters, a former slave. On the back of the book, the design is reflected and becomes the roots of a tree, symbolizing a desire of some of the characters to connect or disconnect from their own roots.