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 [...]
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 [...]
typography: a primer
September 7, 2009 – 10:24 am
Like book design in general, typography is noticed more in its misapplication than when it is well-chosen and well-set. Typography is far more than just picking a font face and size and getting on with it. It’s an artisan’s craft, particularly suited to those who are mildly to moderately obsessive about the tiniest elements: hanging [...]
information design: an introductory syllabus
September 5, 2009 – 3:43 pm
“What is the best font to use for my book?”
That’s a question I hear frequently from writers who want to design their own books. And it’s not a bad question; it’s just usually raised at the wrong point in the process.
Before we can choose a font, we need to determine the kinds of information that [...]
keith smith books
August 15, 2009 – 7:41 pm
In my mind Keith A. Smith is professor emeritus when it comes to thinking about books. He’s been making books for over 40 years and writing about them for at least 25. When I researched the links for this post, I was delighted to see that both of these books have been revised and expanded. [...]
