In working with a designer-part one I offered some suggestions on how to begin to select a book designer. That post ended with arranging a time to talk to them on the phone to find out more. So what is it you want to find out? [No, actually, “What will it cost me to do [...]
working with a designer-part one
October 25, 2009 – 7:13 am
Yesterday I had a great time being a Speed Coach at the Association of Personal Historians’ Conference Town Square. I met people who have great work and personal experience and skills that they are now bringing to the field of preserving the stories of individuals, families, businesses, organizations and communities.
Because they haven’t worked in print [...]
partnering for profit
October 22, 2009 – 9:23 pm
Being among a small community of book designers within the Association of Personal Historians [APH], we often discuss among ourselves how to find more opportunities to partner with writers on book projects.
On Saturday, October 24, I will be part of a panel discussion at the APH Annual Conference in Valley Forge, PA, entitled “Partnering for [...]
personal histories and freedom of speech
October 19, 2009 – 6:56 am
“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”
That was A. J. Liebling’s cynical remark in the early 20th century decrying the monopoly of William Randolph Hearst to control and influence the news. As we celebrate National Freedom of Speech Week, I’m wondering how Liebling would view our world of everyone owning [...]
why not design the book yourself?
October 13, 2009 – 11:38 am
This is a question I hear frequently from personal historians and others who are writing non-fiction books that will either be privately published or self-published and marketed. [For the purposes of this discussion, let’s consider design all the things that happen in between finishing a manuscript and delivering the digital files to the printer.] The [...]
reading a book like a designer-part 2
October 1, 2009 – 2:09 pm
In part 1 of this post, I used Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit as a model for looking at a book through designer eyes, identifying and articulating the various graphic elements that combine to create the reader’s experience of the content.
Despite identifying eight different elements to consider, we never even began talking about type, [...]
reading a book like a designer-part 1
September 18, 2009 – 2:32 pm
Of course, we book designers read books like regular people. But, when we are in “design mode”, we look at a book in a different way. We’re not as much interested in specific content as we are in identifying how many different types of content there are and how those types relate to one another.
In [...]
