Feb 27, 2018
GD154 Week 7
Book Design
February 27, 2018
GD154 Typography
- Type Presentation: Transitional.
- Review: Project 4 Exploration Series.
- Book cover design.
Book Design
The design of books has a long history that goes back to the invention of the alphabet and applying that to ways of making information portable. There were clay and stone tablets, parchment and papyrus scrolls. Then there were paper codices. That’s where we can start to talk about book design.
The Codex
A codex (from the Latin caudex for “trunk of a tree” or block of wood, book), plural codices, is a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials.
Technology since the invention of the printing press has brought us efficient ways of designing a codex or book. When there are many pages to assemble into a single book, a printer will arrange the book into print signatures, so that the content of the book can be assembled in the correct order.
Recto and Verso
The terms recto and verso refer to the text written or printed on the “right” or “front” side and on the “back” side of a leaf of paper in a bound item such as a codex, book, broadsheet, or pamphlet. The terms are shortened from Latin rectō foliō and versō foliō, translating to “on the right side of a leaf” and “on the back side of a leaf”, respectively. The two pages themselves are called folium rectum and folium versum in Latin, and the ablative recto, verso already imply that the text on the page (and not the physical page itself) are referred to.
Left-to-right language books (such as English) are typically arranged with the recto as the right-hand side and the verso on the left-hand side of a page spread.
Jan Tscischold
Jan Tschichold was a calligrapher, typographer and a book designer. He designed posters, was a teacher and wrote books on typography.
He was one of the leaders of the movement Elementare Typografie or “Elementary Typography”. Sometimes also referred to as “New Typography” of “Functional Typography”. His most famous typeface is Sabon.
When Tschichold wrote Die Neue Typographie he set forth rules for standardization of practices relating to modern type usage. He condemned all typefaces except for sans-serif types, advocated standardized sizes of paper and set forth guidelines for establishing a typographic hierarchy when using type in design. While the text still has many relative uses today, Tschichold eventually returned to a classicist theory in which centered designs and roman typefaces were favored for blocks of copy.
He spent part of his career with Penguin Books and while he was there he developed a standardized practice for creating the covers for all of the books produced by Penguin. He personally oversaw the development of more than 500 books between the years 1947–49. Every period of his career has left a lasting impression on how designers think about and use typography, and it will continue to affect them into the future.
Robert Bringhurst
The Elements of Typographic Style is the authoritative book on typography and style by Canadian typographer, poet and translator Robert Bringhurst.
A history and guide to typography, it has been praised by Hermann Zapf, who said “I wish to see this book become the Typographers’ Bible.” Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones consider it “the finest book ever written about typography,” according to the FAQ section of their type foundry’s website. Because of its status as a respected and frequently cited resource, typographers and designers often refer to it simply as Bringhurst.
Robert Bringhurst’s book The Elements of Typographic Style is on many a designer’s bookshelf and is considered to be a classic in the field. Indeed the renowned typographer Hermann Zapf proclaims the book to be a must for everybody in the graphic arts, and especially for our new friends entering the field.
Chip Kidd
TED Talks
Chip Kidd doesn’t judge books by their cover, he creates covers that embody the book — and he does it with a wicked sense of humor. In this deeply felt (and deeply hilarious) talk, he shares the art and the philosophy behind his cover designs. (This talk is from The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)
Book designer Chip Kidd knows all too well how often we judge things by first appearances. In this hilarious, fast-paced talk, he explains the two techniques designers use to communicate instantly — clarity and mystery — and when, why and how they work. He celebrates beautiful, useful pieces of design, skewers less successful work, and shares the thinking behind some of his own iconic book covers.
Ellen Lupton
Books Every Graphic Designer Should Read
I’m a designer who writes and a writer who likes to fuss with fonts, formats, and the techniques of publishing. Typography and writing are deeply connected. Writing makes thought exterior, converting fleeting notions into concrete things — indelible patterns of ink or pixels. My reading list includes in equal measure books that study (and exemplify) design processes and those that explore (and demonstrate) the qualities of strong writing.
Reading and writing are fundamental skills for any graphic designer. Designers are constantly called upon to present, explain, and market their work; these tasks require a powerful command of language. Furthermore, those designers whose impact extends beyond their own relationships with clients and audiences to shape the bigger discourse of our field are all confident and creative writers. When I make a list of in my mind of influential graphic designers, every one of them is an accomplished writer (Marian Bantjes, Michael Bierut, Bruce Mau, Stefan Sagmeister, and Paula Scher, to name just a few).
John Kane
A Type Primer
Grids
To understand book design means understanding grid systems. When talking about grid systems, inevitably, the subject of the golden section will come up.
The Golden Section
Ellen Lupton on the golden section.
No book about typography would be complete without a discussion of the golden section, a ratio (relationship between two numbers) that has been used in Western art and architecture for more than two thousand years. The formula for the golden section is a : b = b : (a+b). This means that the smaller of two elements (such as the shorter side of a rectangle) relates to the larger element in the same way that the larger element relates to the two parts combined. In other words, side a is to side b as side b is to the sum of both sides. Expressed numerically, the ratio for the golden section is 1 : 1.618.
Need to Know Type Tips
A compilation of best practices (C. Aitken, J. Felici, E. Lupton, J. Kane, R. Bringhurst) edited by Karin Jager and Nova Hopkins.
Measure (column width)
James Felici, 2012
- Determine the maximum measure (in picas) by multiplying the type size in points by three
e.g.: Type set in 10 pt should not exceed a 30 pica measure - The optimal line length is 9 words (approximately 6 characters per word)
- The optimal line length is between 1 1/2 and 2 times the length of the lower case alphabet
- Minimum line length is 27 characters, Optimum is 40 to 60 characters, and Maximum is 70 characters
Point size
- Standard point size for text in books ranges between 10 pt. to 12 pt.
- Minimum body text size is 8 pt., Caption 6 to 8 pt., Subhead 14 to 24 pt., Display 25 to 72 pt.+ (dependent on case)
- Kern characters (tighter or further apart) in any subheads or heads 24 pt. or larger. The larger you set your type the more likely it is that you will need to kern.
- Automatic kerning choices include metrics (default — usually ok if using a well-designed typeface) and optical (recognizes character shapes)
Leading (distance in points from baseline to baseline)
- Amount of leading depends on type size, x-height, line length and the length of the ascenders and descenders.
- Leading value is greater than the typeface size by at least one point.
- For excessively long line lengths, increase leading, shorter measures decrease leading
- Display sizes may use negative leading e.g. type in all caps generally looks better set tight
Paragraphs
- Options for marking paragraphs: — Line break + indent (do not indent first paragraph in a body of text); — Line break + add extra leading — usually half of what your body text leading is, e.g. body text is 11/14 + 7 pts extra (21 pts.) between paragraphs; — Line break + hanging indentation; or — Symbol to mark paragraphs (no indent or line break).
- Do not indent and add extra leading between paragraphs (choose one not both)
- Do not use a full line return between paragraphs
- Paragraph indents are a minimum of one EN — an EM is standard Type > Insert white space > EN space, EM space …
- Avoid widows (one with a past but no future) and orphans (one with a future and no past)
- Do not set paragraphs ragged left/flush right (limit is one or two lines of text.)
- Never hyphenate the last word of a paragraph. Use a soft return (shift return) and bring the entire word onto the last line.
Italic type
- If you are using italic type in a body of roman/regular text, any punctuation on either side of the italic type (commas, quotation marks, semi-colons) should also be set in italic. The only exception are parentheses (brackets)
Caps
- Use small caps in a body of text (OpenType feature), or use the default if no OT feature is available
- Track all-cap text slightly to improve legibility (create a character or paragraph style)
- For larger headlines use titling caps if available (OT feature)
- For all-cap heads larger than 24 pt., use kerning — sometimes, negative tracking works better for larger sizes
Punctuation
- Use only one space after punctuation (OpenType fonts) Hyphenation, en dashes and em dashes
- Hyphens: use for words only (not dashes)!
- Use non-breaking or discretionary hyphens to control hyphenation: Type > Insert special character > Hyphens and dashes
- Set the hyphenation at a minimum of 2 characters before a hyphen and 3 characters after
- Do not set more than 3 hyphens in a row.
- Never use — double hyphens as dashes, always use an { — } EN dash (option, hyphen), or an { — } EM dash (shift, option, hyphen)
- En dash: set with a character space before and after, and is often used in place of the word “to” e.g. 22–25 with no spaces
- Em dash: usually set with no character space before or after
- Use either EN dashes or EM dashes in your text (not both) and be consistent with character spaces — either with or without (not both)!
Mixing typefaces
- Pair a sans serif with a serif that have similar design characteristics e.g. x-height
- Avoid similar classifications (e.g. two slab serif, or two sans serif, or two serif typefaces) Quotation marks
- Use typographers quotes, not primes (set this up in preferences)
- Hang your quotes (pull outs) Figures (numerals)
- Use old-style numerals within u/lc text if they are available in your typeface family
- Use titling figures in all-caps text
References
Bringhurst, Robert. The Elements of Typographic Style, 2nd ed. Vancouver: Hartley & Marks, 1996.
Felici, James. The complete manual of typography: A guide to setting perfect type, 2nd ed. Adobe Press, 2012.
Adobe Systems Inc. Adobe Type Library Reference Book, 4th ed. Adobe Press, 2012.
Lupton, E. Thinking with Type: A critical guide for designers, writers, editors and students. 2nd ed. Princeton Architectural Press, NY. 2010.
Carol Aitken, typography instructor, Capilano University
Karin Jager, Karin Jager, M.Ed., CGD, Department Head, Assistant Professor — Communication Design, Graphic + Digital Design, University of the Fraser Valley
Nova Hopkins, Assistant Professor — Branding and Communication Design, Graphic + Digital Design, University of the Fraser Valley
