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Tag: book designer

Published September 7, 2021

Jack Smyth: Jacket and Spine

Irish designer Jack Smyth, whose work has featured here more than a few times, talked to Totally Dublin about his process for designing book covers:

The best briefs are the ones that give you everything you need but prescribe nothing, and are genuinely trying to achieve something new… When I’m working on fiction, tone is the thing that really interests me. I think trying to capture the tone of the author’s writing can be a really powerful way of communicating with the viewer and, as a result, I often try to avoid leaning too much specific imagery. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but I do always try to keep tone/the author’s voice as the main directive element. I think this is what makes or breaks a book for a reader, not necessarily the location, any element or makeup of characters… I try not to rely on figurative elements too much in the hope that I can draw people in in more subtle ways.

Jack also recently chatted to The Resting Willow blog about book covers, including his design Pure Gold by John Patrick McHugh:

The cover is quite simple – it’s type and colours and textures, but hopefully it captures the tone of John’s voice and the character of the stories. I think these are my favourite types of covers, the ones where there’s almost no figurative elements, but they feel right.

Nice work, Jack. :-)

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Published March 13, 2013

Q & A with Misha Beletsky, Art Director Abbeville Press, Part One

Misha Beletsky is the art director of New York’s Abbeville Press, an independent publisher of fine art and illustrated books.

Towards the end of last year, Misha was kind enough to send me a copy of his recent book, The Book Jackets of Ismar David, published by RIT Press.

A German-born graphic artist, David worked in Germany and then Jerusalem before moving permanently to the United States to become part of a group of accomplished calligraphers who also worked as book jacket designers in New York in the 1950s. David’s bold and expressive style was informed by a mastery of the typographic tradition (he designed a calligraphic Hebrew typeface called David Hebrew), and he worked for many of leading publishers of the day including Alfred A. Knopf, Harper and Row, Houghton Mifflin, Random House and others.

In this post, the first of a two-part interview, Misha discusses the book and his interest in the work of Ismar David.

When did you first come across the work of Ismar David?

Anyone who reads Hebrew is familiar with David’s work, whether they are aware of it or not: David Hebrew, a font he designed happens to be one of the most ubiquitous Hebrew typefaces for text setting. I was first exposed to his work outside of type design as I researched my article on the history of Hebrew typography around twelve years ago.

What interested you about him?

David’s work is powerful and beautiful, yet little known. He had a rare ability of using traditional skills and historical knowledge to arrive at strikingly contemporary results.

Did David’s work change when he moved to the US?

His work matured and became more diverse, as he grew in his craftsmanship and absorbed many exciting influences of 1950s’ New York design scene. He was working alongside other accomplished calligrapher jacket designers like George Salter, Warren Chappell, Arnold Bank, Phil Grushkin, Charles Skaggs, Oscar Ogg, Jeanyee Wong, and Lili Wronker, among others. They all knew each other and learned from each other’s work.

Do you consider David to be primarily a book designer or a calligrapher?

He was a graphic artist who used calligraphy as a primary means of expression. He was equally comfortable designing book jackets, architectural interiors, logos, advertisements, and monumental inscriptions, depending on the project at hand.

What was special about his Hebrew typeface ‘David’?

It was the first 20th c. Hebrew text type, whose letterforms were not based on an existing typographic model, but found inspiration in historic calligraphic hands. David distilled the idea of the Hebrew letter to its purest form.

How did David’s work differ from his contemporaries Paul Rand and Alvin Lustig?

His work could not be called clever or conceptual. He relied on the sheer power of the letter, shape, and color to create stunning jackets that told the book’s story through a primary visual vocabulary.

Is David’s work still relevant today?

I believe it is. Twenty years into the “conceptual revolution” in our book cover design, the Modernist idiom is getting a bit tired. We are ready for something different. There is a renewed interest in traditional typography and design craftsmanship, and it is here that we could learn a thing or two from David.

Do you think we’re seeing a revival of calligraphy, lettering and hand-drawn type?

Somewhat: if Pinterest stats are any indication, lettering compositions are trending along with pictures of fashionable outfits, cute puppies, and expensive home interiors. It’s not a complete comeback, though. On one hand, a few talented designers like Marian Bantjes and Jessica Hische are enjoying a tremendous degree of success with their decorative lettering work. On the other hand, the work of traditionally trained calligraphers is still in relatively low demand. What seems encouraging, though, is a renewed interest in, and appreciation of, calligraphy as a craft. I would attribute the interest in this and other handicrafts to the backlash against the proliferation of the computer that has left the hand out of the creative process. At the same token, the plethora of visual resources now available on the Internet provides unprecedented access to the rare historical calligraphic books and manuscripts. In this case the same computer is actually helping to make the handicraft popular again.

Thanks Misha.

You can find more images from The Book Jackets of Ismar David on Facebook. Part two of my converation with Misha will be available tomorrow.

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Published April 4, 2012

David Pearson, Insights 2012 Design Lecture

Designer David Pearson recently gave a lecture at the Walker Arts Center as part of the Insights 2012 Design Lecture Series:

My interview with David is here.

(via Ace Jet 170)

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Published April 27, 2011

If You Haven’t Saved By Now… | Lauren Panepinto

Lauren Panepinto, Creative Director at Orbit, whose Making of a Book Cover video was such a hit last year, has made a new video about creating the graphic optical illusions she originally intended to use in the design of the Simon Morden’s Equations of Life trilogy:

The no less stunning final covers actually look like this:

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Published February 20, 2011

Penguin Great Food | Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Creative Review has an early look at three of the covers for Penguin’s Great Food paperback series to be released in April.

Designed by the wonderful Coralie Bickford-Smith, each cover draws on a decorative ceramic style relevant to the period of the writing.

Meanwhile, in new article for Fast Company Coralie talks about the inspiration behind her book covers:

“I want these books to be cherished like the literature inside,” says Bickford-Smith of her obsessive attention to detail. “If something is well considered, it will entice. People want to explore it, feel it. That design shines through and connects.”

And, if you missed it, my Q & A with Coralie from 2009 is here.

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Published October 19, 2010

Q & A with Karen Horton, Design:Related

It is possible that the cover for Follow Me by Joanna Scott — with its lovely typography and curious undertones of David Lynch’s small town America — was the first time I noticed the name of designer Karen Horton. But then again, it might have been because of something on Design:Related, which she co-founded, or her blog Daily Design Discoveries, which is (as the name suggestions) a daily source of eclectic design inspiration.

Certainly, once I started to notice Karen’s name, I kept noticing it.

I’m grateful to Karen for taking time out from her busy schedule to reply to my emails and questions, and for providing all the amazing covers accompanying the Q & A (full credits and notes can be found at the end of the post).

What inspired you to become a book designer?

Working as a book cover designer almost happened by accident. Shortly after graduation I moved to NYC. I wanted to work on print design and started by applying to either magazines or book publishing houses almost exclusively. If the right opportunity came along to work at a magazine, I might be on a different track today. I liked the idea of designing something tactile and I already loved books.

Until recently you were the Art Director at Little, Brown & Company. Where did you work previously?

The first position of my professional career was as a Junior Designer in the Ad/Promo department of St. Martin’s Press. One of my responsibilities involved being a liaison between the Ad/Promo department and the Trade Art division. This might’ve been my lucky break. I felt that I was a nag visiting the cover designers weekly to remind them we needed layered files and cover tiffs for an upcoming catalog. When a junior level position opened in the cover art department, the art directors thought of me and suggested that I apply. I’m so thankful that I had the chance to work among such a talented group of designers and mentors. The job was very challenging and after a couple of years I began to question if I was a book cover designer just because I fell into that role and if it was my real niche. I wanted the experience of designing more than what fits within the constraints of a 6×9 rectangle. This led to my next position at The Children’s Museum of Manhattan where I had opportunities to work with my hands with an endless variety to the kinds of projects I collaborated on. The people working with me were fantastic, but I knew from the beginning that I missed book publishing. It took leaving it for me to appreciate what I left behind.

My next book-publishing job was at Oxford University Press where I started as a Design Associate and quickly moved up to the level of Art Director (partly due to unusual circumstances). It was surreal to have a team reporting to me, and this proved to be very rewarding. I have an incredible amount of respect for the editors and quality of books published by OUP, and there are many reasons why I loved the culture within a university press. All the same, I didn’t have the personal confidence yet to be in this leadership role and believed I still had much to learn before becoming the kind of art director I aspired to be. Also, I sought the opportunity to work on fiction in addition non-fiction books. After OUP, I worked at Little, Brown and Company as a Senior Designer and was later promoted to an Art Director.

Could you describe your design process?

This varies dependent on the kind of assignment.  For fiction titles I will always start with reading the full manuscript if available. I spend a good amount of time thinking, researching, and when applicable looking for historically appropriate typefaces. Although, sometimes I might be better off spending more time on the execution of my ideas than the preparation before-hand.

What are your favourite books to work on?

This is a hard question; there isn’t a clear favorite. Having a personal connection to an aspect or subject can greatly contribute to my enjoyment. Last year I had the privilege of designing the Picador paperback edition of Israel is Real. My mother is Israeli so I naturally had an interest.

What are the most challenging?

The same things that can make a project enjoyable can also contribute to the challenges. When you feel too attached to a cover design it can become tough to edit down your ideas and discard ones that you have an attachment to and may not appeal to the wider audience. In the past I’ve had the habit of saving my favorite projects to the end, wanting all the time to try out all options and make the design perfect.

Now you’ve left Little, Brown & Co., What’s next for you?

It’s too soon to tell. I’m still spending a good portion of my time designing book covers for various clients, including Hachette. The flexibility of working from my own studio will eventually allow more time to devote to the Design:Related project. The responsibility of managing a social community while having a full-time job was becoming increasingly difficult. I didn’t bring my Design:Related tasks to the office, but at a point it was evident that I was needed in a greater capacity if the site would succeed. I was always feeling behind (and lacking sleep) and the CEO and fellow co-founder of the site also had a full-time job he recently left. We both decided to make a greater investment of our time in order to take the project past the level of a side project and onto the next chapter.

For people unfamiliar with the site, could you describe Design:Related?

Design:Related is an online community where designers can share inspirations and resources to fellow creatives in a broad range of fields related to design. It also provides networking opportunities and portfolio tools to help with your online presence as a creative professional.

What motivated you and your co-founders to start it?

While Matt Sung (CEO, co-founder) and I were in school at the University of Florida we started conceptualizing a site for designers to share their work and ideas. It took a few years after graduating for us to transform our initial concept into a fully functioning design network.

Approximately how many users does it have now?

For now these numbers are subjective to me and the figures change daily. What’s interesting is how many quality members we have who contribute to the integrity of the site by sharing relevant design news, inspirations, comments, and encouragement to students. We are working on enhancements to the overall experience and functionality of the site that we hope will help continue to grow the network in a positive direction.
What is your current role at Design:Related?

I’m the Co-founder and Content Director. Since we are still a small team with limited resources, all who are involved with the project are continuously juggling tasks outside of their designated responsibilities.

You also blog at Daily Design Discoveries. Do you think it’s important for designers to have a strong presence online?

It’s important for a designer to have an online presence separate from Facebook, but I don’t think having a blog is necessary. For me it is just a welcome distraction from my real work. As a co-founder of Design:Related, all of the content I make is tied to our brand, which adds importance and value. With my Daily Design Discoveries blog I don’t overthink my posts, which is nice from time to time.

Where do you look for inspiration?

One of my favorite past times is browsing a flea market or used bookstore.  As a kid I used to beg my mom to take me to garage sales on weekends. I’m fortunate to be walking distance from The Strand and the Chelsea Flea Market. This is dangerous for my bank account though. Some book assignments can lead you on field trips. For the book Worst Case by James Patterson, the kind of imagery I was looking for was limiting with just search browsers. My Creative Director suggested that I spend a couple hours browsing the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Right when I was about to leave, I found the perfect book at the museum’s shop. It is more exciting when you find imagery in an unexpected source.

Who are your design heroes?

Although I admire many designers, Alvin Lustig comes to mind.

What does the future hold for book cover design?

I wish I knew. At times I think the profession of being a book cover designer is in jeopardy with the increasing popularity of reading on smartphones and other portable devices. There may be greater emphasis placed on starting with a strong design, without the luxury of relying on fancy printing effects or being neatly displayed in a shop window. For example, designers may need to review their covers as small thumbnails to determine the legibility of delicate text and elements when sitting in an iBooks shelf. Who knows? Maybe in an over-saturated marketplace, with rampant closures of bookstores, design could be more important than ever before.

Thanks Karen!

Images:

  1. Follow Me by Joanna Scott
    Jacket photograph ©Christine Callaghan/Arcangel Images
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
  2. The Natural History of Uncas Metcalfe by Betsey Osborne
    Art Director: Michael Storrings
    Cover illustration from Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris/Archives Charmet/The Bridgeman Art Library
    Publishing house: St. Martin’s Press/Griffin imprint
  3. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You by Matt Dobkin
    Art Director: Michael Storrings
    Cover photograph of Aretha Franklin ©Michael Ochs Archives
    Publishing house: St. Martin’s Press/Griffin imprint
  4. Dictionary of American Art and Artists by Ann Morgan
    Jacket photograph: Installation view: 20th Century American Art, 1989. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
    Paintings, left to right: Summer Table (detail), 1972-73 © 2007 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Day One (detail), 1951-52 © 2007 Barnett Newman Foundation/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York. Three Flags, 1958 © Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York.
    (Karen’s note: securing the image rights for this photo was very difficult/tricky because not only did it include an interior wall from the Whitney Museum, but included artwork from three different artists. I worked with a photo researcher who helped with dealing with the vendors directly.)
  5. Discovering Modernism by Louis Menand
    Cover photograph of T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf courtesy of Princeton University Library
    Publishing house: Oxford University Press
  6. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Jacket painting credit: Leda, 1832 by Francois Eduard Picot, Paris collection © Peter Willi/Superstock
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
    (Karen’s note: final jacket has foil and embossing, printed on Neenah Eames painting paper stock)
  7. Israel is Real by Rich Cohen
    Art Director: Henry Sene Yee
    Cover painting of Jerusalem: William Holman Hunt/Getty Images
    Publishing house: Picador USA
  8. Kabul in Winter by Ann Jones
    Art Director: Henry Sene Yee
    Cover photograph © Ann Jones
    Publishing house: Picador USA
  9. The Lion’s Eye by Joanna Greenfield
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Cover photograph of lion © blickwinkel / Alamy
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
  10. My Paper Chase by Harold Evans
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Cover photograph of Harold Evans © Lord Snowdon
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
  11. Angel Island by Erika Lee & Judy Yung
    Art Director: Brady McNamara
    Jacket photos provided by authors and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
    Publishing house: Oxford University Press
  12. China: Fragile Superpower by Susan L. Shirk
    Art Director: Kathleen M. Lynch
    Jacket photograph © Andrew Wong/Getty Images
    Publishing house: Oxford University Press
  13. Worst Case by James Patterson
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Jacket photograph from Faces in Stone: Architectural Sculpture in New York City by Robert Arthur King. © 2008 by Robert Arthur King. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
    (Karen’s note: final jacket has foil and embossing)
  14. Don’t Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Jacket painting credit: Leda, 1832 by Francois Eduard Picot, Paris collection © Peter Willi/Superstock
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
    (Karen’s note: final jacket has foil and embossing)
  15. The Postcard Killers by James Patterson & Liza Marklund
    Creative Director: Mario J. Pulice
    Jacket Photo imaging by Debra Lill
    Jacket photographs: man running ©Yolande de Kort/Arcangel Images; woman in running © Roberto Pastrovicchio/Arcangel Images; street in Stockholm, Sweden © Karin Smeds/Getty Images
    Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
    (Karen’s note: final jacket has foil and embossing)
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Published June 8, 2010

Gil Scott-Heron Redesigns by Stuart Bache

Born in Chicago, April 1, 1949, poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron is perhaps best known for the politically infused bluesy soul and proto-hip-hop he created with Brian Jackson in the early 1970’s.

Although recently troubled by drug addiction and in and out of prison for drug possession, an apparently resurgent Scott-Heron released his first studio album in 16 years, I’m New Here (XL Recordings), in February, and two of his novels — The Vulture (1970) and The Nigger Factory (1972) — were reissued (for a second time) by Canongate Books with new cover designs by talented UK designer Stuart Bache.

I recently talked to Stuart about Gil Scott-Heron and the redesign…

How did you get into book design?

I fell upon book cover design by shear luck. In late 2005, after a stint of travelling, I decided it was time to think about my career. I found, applied and was surprised (and ecstatic) to be given the job of Junior at Hodder & Stoughton and moved to London.

When did you discover the work of Gil Scott-Heron?

I first discovered Gil Scott-Heron way back in school. We had been reading and discussing To Kill a Mocking Bird in English Class and I remember taking a real interest in the subject, which my teacher at the time picked up on and loaned me both The Vulture and The Nigger Factory.

How did you come to design the covers of his books?

It was a great pleasure to be asked to design the covers for the reissues. I had already been doing some work for Canongate and so when the Art Director asked if I had time to come up with ideas for the reissues I jumped at the chance. It was a fairly short deadline, but I believe those to be the best kind, great for creativity (and a few extra grey hairs).

Could you describe your design process for the covers?

The brief asked for them to be fresh, streetwise, graphic and contemporary. I designed a few covers for each title, with different images and branding styles, which were then passed on to Canongate for their prefered direction.

The final The Vulture cover centred around John Lee (the young lad who is murdered) and the title cried out to be used in some sort of graphic function. The Nigger Factory relied heavily on an image that both showed and did justice to that moment in US history. It also needed a graphic so I added the stripes to represent the flag, but the use of red paint strokes shows the heat and anger involved too.

What is the typeface?

The typeface I used is Futura, probably light. I have a thing about Futura, Century Gothic and the like. It’s the perfect circles of the ‘O’ and ‘C’.

Are they a departure from your usual design work?

These covers stand out for me, especially compared to my usual style. I take a lot of pride in my work but I’m never usually proud of it — I always see something I could have done better. But the Gil Scott-Heron’s showed I could do something completely different…and in a short timescale too.

What are you working on currently?

At the moment I’m working on another title for Canongate called Super Cooperators and Aline Templeton’s new thriller Cradle to Grave for Hodder & Stoughton. This time of year tends to be quiet, too quiet really, but these are nice titles to be getting along with. Cradle to Grave gives me the opportunity to play with my homemade textures and brushes in Photoshop, and Super Cooperators is, once again, going to be something very different from the rest of portfolio.

Where do look for inspiration and who are some of your design heroes?

Ever since I’ve been freelance I have had a renewed enthusiasm for design, I notice everything and I’m hardly out of bookshops — I see books all the time that I think ‘I wish I’d designed that’. It really keeps you on your toes and gives you the incentive and the push to do better.

I owe a lot to Hodder & Stoughton, their Art Department has some of the best designers in the industry and I learned an awful lot during my time there — and if they had never given me the chance I wouldn’t be writing this now.

Thanks Stuart!

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