From scrolls and sheets of papyrus to elaborate and expensive codices to the mass press-printed volumes as we know them today, books have come a long way since writing was first developed. Although digital technology has impacted how we consume information over the last few decades, book design has survived as a means of showcasing creativity and craftsmanship, as books remain important sources of inspiration, knowledge, and entertainment. A Book on Books showcases some of the best book design work from all over the world in celebrating the designers' contributions to preserving reading culture, as they continue to make books eye-catching and exciting to read or own. It also captures the voices of key influencers from publishing, printmaking, book fair organizing, and bookshop-owning standpoints, as they continue to play a crucial role in keeping the book-making industry alive and thriving even in the unknown future.

How is a book designed? What do book designers think about as they turn manuscripts into printed books? In this unique and appealing volume, the award-winning book designer Richard Hendel and eight other talented book designers discuss their approaches and working methods. They consider the problems posed by a wide range of projects--selection of a book's size and shape, choice of typeface for text and display, arrangement of type on the page, and determination of typographic details for all parts of the book within manufacturing and budget limitations. As omnipresent as books are, few readers are aware of the "invisible" craft of book designing. The task a book designer faces is different from that faced by other designers. The challenge, says Hendel, isn't to create something different or pretty or clever but to discover how to best serve the author's words. Hendel does not espouse a single philosophy of design or offer a set of instructions; he shows that there are many ways to design a book. In detailed descriptions of the creative process, Hendel and the eight other designers, who represent extensive experience in trade and scholarly publishing in the United States and Great Britain, show how they achieve the most effective visual presentation of words, offering many examples to illustrate their choices. Written not only for seasoned and novice book designers, this book will fascinate others in publishing as well as all readers and authors who are curious to know how books end up looking the way they do.

Whether you are a graphic designer, a small press or a self-publisher, this publication will tell you everything: from the history of books to the printing and binding techniques, showcasing beautiful contemporary examples. Do you know when the first book was born? Have you ever wondered what are the basic components of a book? And how can we possibly make a book from scratch? Book Design is a publication that answers all these questions. This publication offers an overview of what a book is, how it is made, and how we can improve it with good design and printing techniques. The first two chapters focus more on historical and theoretical knowledge; the last two showcase examples of contemporary book designs, including detailed information and interviews with eight graphic designers from all over the world. It is a must have for those who want to know more about book design, as well as self-publishers and small presses. Editorial graphic design is one of the most comprehensive areas in design and this publication, filled with recent and contemporary examples, will provide you with the ins and outs to render a project from scratch to the finished book.

Book Design Made Simple gives DIY authors, small presses, and graphic designers--novices and experts alike--the power to design their own books. It's the first comprehensive book of its kind, explaining every step from installing Adobe(R) InDesign(R) right through to sending the files to press. For those who want to design their own books but have little idea how to proceed, Book Design Made Simple is a semester of book design instruction plus a publishing class rolled into one. Let two experts guide you through the process with easy step-by-step instructions, resulting in a professional-looking top-quality book

In this manifestly practical book, Richard Hendel has invited book and journal designers he admires to describe how they approach and practice the craft of book design. Designers with interesting and varied careers in the field, who work with contemporary technology in today’s publishing environment, describe their methods of managing the challenges presented by specific types of books, presented side by side with numerous images from those books. Not an instruction manual but a unique, on-the-job, title page–to–index guide to the ways that professional British and American designers think about design, Aspects of Contemporary Book Design continues the conversation that began with Hendel’s 1998 classic, On Book Design. Contributing designers who focus on solving problems posed by nonfiction, fiction, cookbooks, plays, poetry, illustrated books, and journals include Cherie Westmoreland, Amy Ruth Buchanan, Mindy Basinger Hill, Nola Burger, Ron Costley, Kristina Kachele, Barbara Wiedemann, and Sue Hall, as well as a host of other designers, typesetters, editors, and even an author. Abbey Gaterud attempts to define the conundrum that the e-book presents to designers; Kent Lew describes the evolution of his Whitman typeface family; Charles Ellertson reflects upon the vital relationship between the typesetter and the designer; and Sean Magee writes about the uneasy alliance between designers and editors. In an extended essay that is as frank and funny as it is illuminating, Andrew Barker takes the reader deep into the morass—excavating the fine, finer, and finest details of working through a series design. At the heart of this copiously illustrated book is the enduring need for design that clarifies the way for the reader, whether on the printed page or on the computer screen. Blending his roles as designer, author, interviewer, and editor, Hendel reaches across both sides of the drafting table—both real and virtual—to create a book that will appeal to aspiring and seasoned book designers as well as writers, editors, and readers who want to know more about the visual presentation of the written word.

'Book Design' takes the reader through every aspect of the subject, from the components that make up a book, to understanding how books are commissioned and created, to the intricacies of grid construction and choosing a typeface.

In a career spanning more than forty years, Derek Birdsall has established himself as one of Britain's leading book designers. This practical, inspirational and educational book distils a lifetime's experience in designing books, and presents and discusses nearly 50 books he has designed.