Five Hundred Years Of Book Design

This study of five centuries of book designs looks at the successes and failures, and examines some classics of layout and production from Western Europe and America.

Describes the developments in book design and typography through profiles of notable printers, artists, and styles such as the Elseviers, William Morris, Swiss typography, Irma Boom, and Joost Grootens.

This classic work, first published as a Pelican Original in 1955 and maintained in successive editions until 1980 is now available in a finely illustrated larger format book, drawing on the collections and curatorial expertise of The British Library. It has been completely revised and brought up to date, covering topics such as censorship, best-sellers, the invention of lithography and the connection between printing and education. It is of particular use to anyone studying the huge technological changes that the printing industry has experienced during its long timespan.

A unique look at how Futurism influenced and changed twentieth-century graphic design In the early decades of the twentieth century, European artists, poets, and designers called for the destruction of outdated assumptions about vision and language. Numerous manifestos resulted, demanding new artistic forms. None of these manifestos was more aggressive and poetic, or wider in scope than Filippo Tomasso Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto of 1909. Painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, theatre, cinema, and music were all caught up in its net. Typography--until then a distant relative in the arts--also played a major role in Marinetti's program. Written by leading design scholar Alan Bartram, this fascinating book examines the rise and evolution of the Futurists' approach to typography and graphic design, placing it within the context of contemporary artistic and literary movements. The volume features examples of some eighty Futurist books or other designs for print, many of them relatively unknown or previously unpublished, accompanied by new translations of over twenty of the featured texts. Bartram illuminates the complicated meanings of the Futurist designers' graphic works in order to provide a new understanding of their extraordinary and influential visual language.

'Book Design' takes the reader through every aspect of the subject, from the components that make up a book, to understanding how books are commissioned and created, to the intricacies of grid construction and choosing a typeface.

Seasoned designer Debbie Berne presents an accessible introduction to book design for authors, editors, and other book people. Design is central to the appeal, messaging, and usefulness of books, but to most readers, it’s mysterious or even invisible. Through interiors as well as covers, designers provide structure and information that shape the meaning and experience of books. In The Design of Books, Debbie Berne shines a light on the conventions and processes of her profession, revealing both the aesthetic and market-driven decisions designers consider to make books readable and beautiful. In clear, unstuffy language, Berne reveals how books are put together, with discussions of production considerations, typography and fonts, page layouts, use of images and color, special issues for ebooks, and the very face of each book: the cover. The Design of Books speaks to readers and directly to books’ creators—authors, editors, and other publishing professionals—helping them to become more informed partners in the design of their projects. Berne lays out the practical steps at each stage of the design process, providing insight into who does what when and offering advice for authors on how to be effective advocates for their ideas while also letting go and trusting their manuscripts with teams of professionals. She includes guidance as well for self-publishing authors, including where to find a designer, what to expect from that relationship, and how to art direct your own book. Throughout, Berne teaches how understanding the whats, hows, and whys of book design heightens our appreciation of these cherished objects and helps everyone involved in the process to create more functional, desirable, and wonderful books.

A stimulating survey of how the Bauhaus and the modernist revolution have shaped graphic design. This lively and authoritative book explores the influence of the Bauhaus and modernism on typography and book design. Distinguished book designer and author Alan Bartram examines work by such key figures as Max Bill, F. T. Marinetti, El Lissitzky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Jan Tschichold, and Paul Rand. All of the carefully chosen examples--some of which have not been previously reproduced--clearly demonstrate the modernist revolution that took place in graphic design. In an informative introductory essay, Bartram surveys the German art and design school known as the Bauhaus. Under Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus intended to create an academic, theoretical, and practical synthesis of all forms of visual expression--a marrying of art, architecture, industry, and design that had never been attempted before. Although the Bauhaus existed for only fourteen years, from 1920 to 1934, Bartram asserts that its philosophy influenced the appearance of almost every kind of modernist artifact throughout the twentieth century and continues to do so today. Engagingly written and handsomely illustrated, this volume is a valuable resource for designers and book lovers everywhere.