Appropriate and imaginative. These, I believe, are the criteria which should inform genuinely good book design. Some designers go over the top with silly fonts and visual clutter, losing sight of what the book is for – to be bought and read by real people! Others might lose sight of classic design rules or typography. It has to be a balance between correct typography and imaginative design, always keeping in mind what the end customer is looking for.
The starting point is often the design of an underlying page grid which will inform the general design of the whole book. Not that the grid needs to be followed rigidly at all times ... but it provides the skeleton upon which the design is built. It needs to make imaginative use of white space and take into account the need to provide appropriate, useful navigational aids for the reader – simple folio numbers, running heads etc., etc. It needs to bear in mind the nature, purpose, size and quality of the illustrative matter. It needs to be designed with enough flexibility so that editorial changes can be incorporated without undue extra work. Will the overall design still work if the endmatter has to be re-set in several columns because the page extent has over-run? Have the prelims been designed to make the book’s structure easy to understand and use, yet be visually interesting? What are the printing or cost implications of bleeding pictures or other design elements? If the book is to be printed on a bookwove what are the minimum printing requirements for shades, fonts and illustrations?Importantly, beware of over-designing the book, with unnecessary visual elements or clutter, yet try to produce a distinctive and appropriate design which will convey the publisher’s message and attract potential buyers.
Typography is crucial to a book’s design. Who will read or use the book and what will make the book attractive to them and easy to use? A very wide range of font styles can be used successfully, but one thing is certain: if the book is let down by sloppy typography – be it incorrect use of letter spacing or clumsy juxtaposition of text elements – the reader will probably notice, consciously or subconsciouly, that something isn’t quite right and buy another publisher’s book instead! Sound, ‘correct’ typography is a fundamental building block of a book’s design and its importance should not be underestimated.
Why not let me try a design or two? I’m happy to prepare a sample design based on your brief. If we are also engaged to do the typesetting of the book, the first design will normally be worked up free of charge. Alternatively I’d be happy to comment constructively on your existing designs or published books with a view to helping develop new book designs. It’s easiest to email me, Alistair Hodge, or telephone me on 01524-840333.