“The rhythmic sounds of paper being cut, the letterpresses being used and the scent of ink drying — this world and program is hidden to most students at the U, but it is more than worth your attention. […] A wide range of classes are offered to students on all things book: bookbinding, letterpress printing, book design, paper making, artist books and several typography courses.”
Category: Book Design
Book design in all its forms, from jackets and hardcover books to trade paperbacks, mass-market paperbacks (although rarely), and academic journals.
-
“These Are the Best University Press Book Designs of 2018”
Better late than never: LitHub’s round-up of the best university press book designs of 2018 (see previous post, as well).
-
Spine: University Press Cover Round-Up
Spine, my favorite book design site, has “a new feature in which notable book cover designer Jordan Wannemacher periodically highlights a selection of recent university press cover designs. Please enjoy this celebration of amazing work.”
-
In or near Virginia? Check out What’s Your Type
As they say, “Learning to print with rare book school.” This seems like a great opportunity to explore:
Rare Book School at the University of Virginia is dedicated to studying the history of the book as a cultural artifact and all that goes into making books (even digital texts), including the printing process. The school offers a range of courses in Charlottesville during the summer, as well as in several other major cities, to spread the “knowledge and expertise essential to the responsible stewardship of the historical archive in all its richness and pluriformity[.]”
Actual university courses in book design, the history of bookmaking, even letterpress. Good stuff.
-
A World Without Reality
This large interior design project, recently finished, was one of those — 600+ pages, huge numbers of illustrations and photographs, lots of customization, and lots of fun. Good stuff, that I’m now happy to share with the world.
It was designed with a mid-century-yet-contemporary vibe, with custom icons, specific color selections for the various sections, a custom “look” for the televisions advertisements, and full bleed (that is, the ink runs of the edges of the pages), all in support of the author’s story of one of America’s great toy designers and his, shall we say, eclectic life. As he says, “A World Without Reality.”
Some samples from the main body of this comprehensive title:
…And some from the back matter (note the different color scheme for this section):
The author/publisher, Bill Paxton, called the book design “amazing.” Works for me! Check out more or purchase a copy at marvinglassbook.com.
-
New Creative Commons Search
Looking for imagery for your book cover? Creative Commons features a library of more than 300 million images, indexed from 19 different collections, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, DeviantArt, Behance, and Flickr. Images can be searched using keywords and filter the results based on the license type and/or the collection from which the content is sourced, essential for book design — as the vast majority of covers require commercial licenses.
-
Stick with the experts.
Publisher’s Weekly says:
Authors should reconsider asking the crowd about
book cover design.Ever heard of “design by committee?” The worst results, well . . . result. Read the article.