I would highly recommend, “Book Typography: A Designer’s Manual” by Mitchell and Wightman to anyone looking to dive into book design. It’s a thick tome of a book that is itself beautifully designed and it has everything.
In the end, I do think that many of the rules can be semi-arbitrary but it’s still good to have a working understanding of them. I say that as someone who has designed a handful of books but it has never been the focus of my design work.
Thanks for the rec, Davin! That book sounds great (though it looks hard to find at a reasonable price after a brief google).
I agree about the arbitrary nature of design rules. In the right hands—maybe even accidentally—any of these “self published” markers could be used to great effect.
Yeah that book has always been expensive! I got mine maybe a decade ago and I think it was around $80 back then. So not for the person with passing interest but solid resource and for a book that is as knowledge dense as it is, it’s still a lovely experience as a reader.
About the spine, did you know that in the UK (and the US), the generally accepted standard is to set the text from “top-to-bottom”, but in most European countries, the tendency is the opposite (bottom-to-top)?
I am glad to help! It is a complete mess here in Brazil since some publishers adopt the US/UK pattern, and others European's!
As far as I understand the reasoning behind it is that the European way makes it easier for the book to be read in a vertical position (from bottom to top is like from left to right) when they are on a shelf, BUT the US/UK way makes it easier to be read when the book is in the horizontal (such as on a table)!
Love what you did with the title of this post. I hold a special place in my heart for that cheesy old 80s dance movie. Kind of like Lambada: The Forbidden Dance 🤣
Laughing at myself for, just this week, stretching a super condensed font AND (probably) overly relying on transparency for some substack post art. Ah well. I guess my eye isn't as good as I thought.
Nodding frantically at all of these … but the This is a Stroke cover is so bad it’s kind of fabulous! Maybe it’s just a great title. Either way, I’d definitely pick that up.
Daniel, we may need to check if you’ve HAD a stroke 😁
I feel the same way about some books. I picked one up from a little free library this morning that is in contention for both worse and favorite cover I’ve ever seen.
These are great. They take me back to my graphic design classes.
Thanks for reading! Glad I could transport you back 😉
I would highly recommend, “Book Typography: A Designer’s Manual” by Mitchell and Wightman to anyone looking to dive into book design. It’s a thick tome of a book that is itself beautifully designed and it has everything.
In the end, I do think that many of the rules can be semi-arbitrary but it’s still good to have a working understanding of them. I say that as someone who has designed a handful of books but it has never been the focus of my design work.
Thanks for the rec, Davin! That book sounds great (though it looks hard to find at a reasonable price after a brief google).
I agree about the arbitrary nature of design rules. In the right hands—maybe even accidentally—any of these “self published” markers could be used to great effect.
Yeah that book has always been expensive! I got mine maybe a decade ago and I think it was around $80 back then. So not for the person with passing interest but solid resource and for a book that is as knowledge dense as it is, it’s still a lovely experience as a reader.
EXCELLENT.
About the spine, did you know that in the UK (and the US), the generally accepted standard is to set the text from “top-to-bottom”, but in most European countries, the tendency is the opposite (bottom-to-top)?
I did not! Thank you for letting me know—I will make a note
I am glad to help! It is a complete mess here in Brazil since some publishers adopt the US/UK pattern, and others European's!
As far as I understand the reasoning behind it is that the European way makes it easier for the book to be read in a vertical position (from bottom to top is like from left to right) when they are on a shelf, BUT the US/UK way makes it easier to be read when the book is in the horizontal (such as on a table)!
Love what you did with the title of this post. I hold a special place in my heart for that cheesy old 80s dance movie. Kind of like Lambada: The Forbidden Dance 🤣
Laughing at myself for, just this week, stretching a super condensed font AND (probably) overly relying on transparency for some substack post art. Ah well. I guess my eye isn't as good as I thought.
Hey—break the rules! Just know how and why. Ben Denzer used Comic Sans on a book cover and it's one of my favorites ever.
https://freight.cargo.site/w/2000/q/75/i/e7001326e9d0ccd9c5e3f104426cf0660d60b353f33412c450b08343b8b63f7c/AGuideForMurderedChildren_T.jpg
Nodding frantically at all of these … but the This is a Stroke cover is so bad it’s kind of fabulous! Maybe it’s just a great title. Either way, I’d definitely pick that up.
Daniel, we may need to check if you’ve HAD a stroke 😁
I feel the same way about some books. I picked one up from a little free library this morning that is in contention for both worse and favorite cover I’ve ever seen.
It’s the Brat factor. With the right title, and the right degree of awfulness, something magical can happen.