The Independent On line Booksellers Association provides a
useful "Glossary
of Book Terms."
There are some intriguing and thoughtful blogs devoted to jacket and cover design. One good one is Covers by Christopher Papasadero. Another excellent discussion site is Book Design Review by Joseph Sullivan. Readerville has a nice "coveted covers" feature. There are others as well. Those interested in book design will find a variety of thoughtful, opinionated, and interesting critiques on the web. Add a few to your book news feeds.
"Absolutely the single most important thing about the physical object that is the book. The man who said don't judge a book by its cover never sold a book."
Since many book purchases are impulse decisions, the cover plays a major role in attracting the buyer and creating a situation where purchase becomes possible and then desirable. Bookseller surveys indicate that many book professionals believe that the cover design was the most important element of the book in attracting potential buyers. A PW survey of consumers found however that the blurbs and plot summaries were more important than the cover. I suspect that the cover is more important in the initial attraction and that the blurbs and plot summaries are more important in the final decision.
The jacket or cover is both a package
and a billboard
for the book. In the beginning, most dust jackets were typographic and
duplicated the title page. Later, decorated ones replicated the binding
design. One of the earliest decorated jackets, for Falkener's Daedalus, was issued in 1861.
Jacket or cover design involves tensions and compromise. It is
often
difficult to capture hundreds of pages of intellectual content in a
single graphic statement. There must be some balance between art,
reflecting the content, and being an effective marketing/sales tool. If
the design is too creative, the prospective purchaser may not understand what kind of
book it is. If the design is too imitative or conventional, the book
may disappear among several look-alikes. The book should provide clear,
reliable cues while still attempting to stand out. Not every Gothic
romance can have a beautiful heroine on cliff edge, moon lit, hair
streaming in the wind, with a broken castle in the background. Not every heroic fantasy needs a knight and a dragon. Thus,
certain stereotypes are both required and should be avoided. Finding
the images to communicate the mood and the "heart" of the book is a
substantial challenge, especially if stereotypes are to be avoided.
The jacket must appeal to several audiences. Besides grabbing
the
attention of the potential buyer in the retail outlet, the jacket
should appeal to those who buy books for the trade, and to the sales
representatives who sell the book. Authors and editors usually have a
sense of what the "right" design for the book would be. Reviewers may
decide to review a work based upon cover appeal. Since covers are often
used in print advertisements, catalogs, and publisher websites, they
may influence many book buyers long before books appear at a book store.
Books made into film or television series often have covers
using
images from that product. This may increase sales, but may also offend
those who live with the characters and wish to see them as the author
saw them and not as the film producer did.
After the manuscript has been accepted and the editorial process has begun, the editor will provide the art director with either the manuscript or parts that may lead to appropriate illustration. The art director selects a designer or artist whose style seems appropriate for the work. In some cases, the artist or designer will read the manuscript. In other cases, suggestions will be made for particular scenes or concepts or appeal elements that suggest illustrative possibilities. The artist then prepares one or more draft or dummy illustrations for review. Art may be reviewed by the art director and the sales manager. Corrections and suggestions will be made until the final art work or design is prepared. There is quite a difference if the same person designs the book and the jacket or if there is a separate jacket designer or even a separate jacket designer and a jacket artist or illustrator.
Copy cat covers can be a problem when a particular cover on a particular book has attracted favorable notice and the book has sold very well. For example, Cynthia St. James's cover for Waiting to Exhale was soon copied for several other stories about African American women.
Unless the artist has an established reputation, payment for cover art is relatively low. There is a one time fee. The artist may then sell the art work separately or include it in art books.
Like so much in book publishing, there is much anecdotal comment about best practice, but little research to support that practice. There is a national standard for jackets (Z39.13), but I suspect that few publishers or art directors are aware of it or follow it. Here are some typical guidelines:
Covers have become more complicated in the last few years with the use of foil, UV inks, embossing and die-cutting on paper covers to reveal art within. With so many books on display, some publishers add more "glitz" to the jacket or cover to attract attention.
In the U.S., the verso (back side) of the jacket is usually blank. Several European publishers have used this space for advertising and/or a back list catalog of similar works. Using the verso increases the printing costs about 35 percent.
Since the cover artist and the jacket designer may not be responsible for the remainder of the book, tensions may arise.
There is increasing interest in the jacket or cover as the book's package, especially if the book is shrink wrapped to make distribution and return easier. Here are some guidelines for the book package:
"It is a paradox that the binding, the part of the book which is to last and to survive many rereadings is often produced as cheaply as it possibly can be, using indifferent materials and fairly insensitive production processes, but is ephemerally wrapped in a deluxe four color art paper jacket on which no expense has been spared."
Since binding is invisible to most book buyers and since most only read a book once or twice, the decline in binding quality during the past few years (word of mouth, evidence is scarce) has not been a problem for publishers. There is a National Standard for book binding, Z 39.66, but it is unclear if it has any impact.
The purpose of the binding is to hold together the leaves of the book, protecting them against normal wear and tear, and allowing the book to be opened easily. Historically, the binding has also had aesthetic aspects and in the medieval period book binding was a notable if minor art form.
In evaluating binding, we normally consider:
The major elements are the:
Traditionally, cover material was woven cloth, sometimes impregnated with starch [attracts insects]. Cloth may be embossed to look like linen, buckram, or even leather. Cloth quality is measured by thread count, weight, and strength. After the Second World War, unwoven material became popular for covers.
Paper, often reinforced, and synthetic materials have become more popular in the last few years. They are less expensive and may be more durable.
Designs appearing on the cover were stamped on the spine and sometimes the front cover using the letterpress. Stamping may be blind, cold, or hot. Blind stamping does not use ink or foil so that there is no color with the depressed stamped image. Cold stamping uses ink to color the image area. Hot stamping uses foil to color the image area. Today, there is a trend toward printed covers without stamping.
Quality binding should have:
Frequently encountered binding problems include:
Front matter is the "revealing, interesting entrance to the book." Some book designers compare the front matter to the head, the text to the torso, with the title page being the face of the book. Unity and harmony are important in the precedents established since they should be found throughout the whole work.
The end papers are the structural bond between the body of book and the case. They must be durable enough to resist tearing and cracking. Aesthetically, the end papers are a transition between the exterior and the interior of the book. They should be compatible with the cover and the jacket. Sometimes, they will continue a theme established on the cover and the jacket. Although most end papers are blank, they may be decorated with images that are merely attractive or add to the utility of the book. Decorated end papers may be a problem for libraries who use this space for date due slips and the like.
Following the end papers is a blank leaf that provides physical support in attaching the book block to the end papers.
For the curious, one typical tree makes about 11,500 pages of 8.5 times 11 inch, 20 pound paper. One cord of hardwood would produce about 942 100 page hard-cover books.
After the end papers, we encounter the first page of regular paper. In evaluating paper, we normally consider:
Book paper may be coated or uncoated. Coated paper is often used in books with many illustrations, especially when fidelity to the original is important. Books with few illustrations use uncoated paper. Coated paper has clay, calcium carbonate or some other pigment added to it. Coated paper may be dull or gloss (shiny). Coated paper tends to be heavier and the gloss variety reflects light so that it may be hard to read.
Ground wood is the poorest quality of paper found in books. The pulp from which this paper is made contains many impurities, including lignin, which deteriorates when exposed to air and light. This paper is suitable only for books that are ephemeral.
Today, a large proportion of the books likely to interest information professionals use acid-free paper. There should be a mark on the verso of the title page when this paper is used. According to voluntary standards adopted by U.S. publishers, these books should use acid-free paper:
These books are not likely to use acid-free paper:
Since only about one percent of the paper made in the U.S. is book paper, the book paper market is a small one and there is little incentive to develop new mills and new products.
At one time, most printed books were sold without the case so that the owner could have the work bound to his personal specifications. In this situation, the half title page protected the title page and identified the content of the work, especially when books where handled in the book stall. Today, this page is notable because it often establishes design precedents in the use and placement of typography.
The advertising card could appear on the verso (back) of the half title page, on a separate page in the front matter or somewhere else in the book. This is a list of the author's works, usually limited to those issued by this publisher. This list may be helpful to readers who wish to read related works.
The frontispiece is an illustration, usually a plate, facing the title page. While less common today, the frontispiece was once a common part of most books. It helps to establish the theme of the work. Since the two facing pages including the frontispiece on the left and title page on the right form one aesthetic whole, they should work well together rather than being two separate boxes. In coffee table books, there is a trend to have an illustration covering both pages rather than a separate plate.
Students of the book agree that the title page is special. It establishes the character of the book. The book designer is likely to focus considerable attention on this page which will set precedents (alignment, type selection, sinkage, use of graphics and rules, white space) for the design of all the pages and parts that follow, but especially for the chapter openings. Traditionally, the title page was a formal page. Some flourish is needed, but not too much. Use of more than two fonts is problematic. The largest type should be about twice that of the text.
There seem to be three approaches to title page design:
Options one and two work best when the designer does BOTH the jacket/cover and the rest of the book. If the jacket/cover is a billboard or advertisement for the book, it may not work well with the intellectual content of the interior elements. John Reinhardt says: "the cover designer puts the book in the reader's hands, the interior designer helps the reader navigate the pages."
If the title page is the design leader in the book, the verso of that page is usually neglected. Often, this page seems to be not designed at all. Much required information needs to appear here and that limits the designer's choices. When this page is both attractive and informative it is a tribute to the designer.
While not as common as before, many books still include a dedication page. Design is usually simple and straight-forward since the text is limited. Examples might include: (1) "To my mother" or (2) "The debt I owe to my wife is incalculable. For the better part of two years, she conducted research, typed manuscript, criticized drafts, ran down leads, corrected proofs, and simultaneously cared for two small children and a home. Her sacrifice has improved every page of this book: the errors and shortcomings are mine."
Even among those who should know better, there is often confusion between the forward, the preface, and the introduction. The forward is a short introduction by a recognized authority who praises the work and illuminates its importance and notable features. This is the first page of the book with considerable text and should illustrate how future full pages will look. The forward is especially important for authors who are not yet famous or visible in their field.
In the preface, the author provides her rationale for writing the book and a brief summary of major problems encountered.
This page may be found almost anywhere and is often tucked away in the back matter. Like the verso of the title page, it is difficult to make all this information appear attractive. At the minimum, it should be clear and legible.
While required for non-fiction works, fiction has a table of contents only when chapters have distinctive titles. The table of contents should combine good taste and utility. The reader should easily access the various parts of the book. Ease of identification may be more important than the attractiveness of the design. There are a variety of approaches and there does not appear to be a standard one. This page should follow the design precedents established earlier. It also sets a precedent for similar lists of illustrations, figures, or tables. It is best to limit this page to one page if at all possible.
The quotation page is rarely found in today's books. However, it does add elegance to the opening and establishes a theme for the whole work. Like the dedication page, its design is simple and straight-forward.
The introduction, like the preface, is by the author. However, here the author tells the reader what the book is about and how it should or might be used. For example, the author might indicate that experienced readers should begin with section two or that it is better to read the work through before attempting the exercises. The introduction is the last part of the front matter and the end or pages with roman numbers.
With the chapter opening, we are now looking at the main part of the book. There should be a clear break between the front matter and the main body. The opening may be distinctive and interesting, but it should support rather than steal attention from the text. The chapter opening should continue with the design precedent established on the title page. Often, some tasteful ornamentation will make this page more attractive.
The text pages are the heart of the book. Design should insure
that the text is legible and easily understood. Although the text pages
may have a plain vanilla appearance, this is
where the quality of design and manufacture is really felt. These pages
may lack visual excitement, but they need to legible and comfortable to
the eye. At normal reading distance, the eye's span of movement is
about three inches. Wider lines require head or eye movement making
reading less comfortable so multiple columns should be used.
While there is some dispute about their utility, running heads at the head of the page need to be placed appropriately. Page numbers will also need to be placed appropriately.
White space is especially important for easy reading. It
provides "a
resting space or breathing room for reader's eyes" and makes reading
much more comfortable. Traditionally, the margin formula has been 1.5,
2, 3, and 4. Leading is the name for the white
space
between lines. If it is too little or too much, reading will be
hindered. Considerable marginal space usually indicates luxury or
formality unless limited content is being "puffed up" to look like more
than it is] while limited marginal space indicates economy.
Most books will have right justified margins, but that is a choice for the designer to make. Some evidence suggests that unjustified margins facilitate reading.
The nature and size of the type is of particular importance because it has an immediate impact on legibility and readability. Both text and display type will need to be selected. Display type [14 points and larger] often provides the designer with an opportunity to be innovative. Text type decisions are usually conservative, but that does not mean that every book must be set in 11 point Times Roman.
House style will determine how headings and subheadings are handled, but where they appear and how often will certainly impact ease of use and the ability of the reader to find particular elements when browsing.
House style will also determine how citations are to be handled. Because it is less expensive, there has been a notable trend to end notes batched at the end of the work rather than the traditional foot notes. Most readers strongly prefer foot notes.
The major decision regarding illustrations is whether they
will be
distributed throughout the text or batched in one or more dedicated
signatures. Batching is less expensive because higher quality paper
need be used only for one or two signatures. Integrated illustrations
are more useful to the reader and make the book more attractive. In
some coffee table books, the text is subordinate to illustration and
that leads to different design decisions. Note that the author is
responsible for securing illustrations and securing permissions. Fees
for illustrations may be substantial and inhibit their use.
How to handle caption placement, style, and text is an important decision. Illustrations may bleed off the page or they may be framed. The placement of page numbers is complicated when illustration occupies the entire page.
By definition, items in the back matter are to be useful but not necessary for the typical reader. This material is complementary to the main text. Placing this content in the back is usually more economical since it can be set with smaller type. Still, back matter should continue the design elements established earlier, should be legible, and should be easy to use.
Today, even in scholarly books, end notes are likely to be used and these are placed in the back arranged in chapter order. The designer must decide upon type size and whether to use one column or two.
Like the table of contents page, the index should be both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. It should provide quick, relatively comprehensive access to the intellectual content of the non-fiction book. A traditional problem with the index has been that the author is responsible (must pay) for it. This may encourage, especially with indexing software readily available, mediocre indexes. Information professionals argue that indexing involves many difficult decisions and is best done by a professional indexer. The better book indexers are members of the American Society of Indexers which was established in 1968.
A well-indexed book should have at least five index pages for every 100 pages of text according to one critic. Ease of use is the major concern. The designer and the indexer need to make decisions about alphabetic divisions, how to handle sub-topics, illustrations, tables, and figures. Appropriate and distinctive "see" and "see also" references need to be included. White space and type size need to be adequate to insure that the index is readable.
Although many books no longer have them, the colophon is the traditional end of the book page. The colophon is NOT a publisher's mark, device or logo. Instead it is a list of the ingredients used in the book. It indicates that the publisher took pride in the design and manufacture of the book.
Bring to class a hard cover book with a jacket. Be prepared to discuss the various parts of the book using your book as an example.
Assume that you are a book designer, bring to class a book of your choice and be prepared to tell how you would have designed it.
What do you find most attractive on the front cover of a book?
When you purchase a book, how important is your appraisal of the book's design?
Last major revision: June 2007.
