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INTRODUCTION

Design is all around us, from the products we use to the books we read. Good design can enhance our experiences, make information more accessible and enjoyable to read, and even influence our emotions and behavior. In this book, data from five well-designed books will be analyzed, explaining why they have a well thought out and user friendly design. The books that are examined within this book are not only well-designed visually, but also provide valuable insights into how design can be used to convey information to the reader in a certain way. The analyses in this book will be broken down into five categories: construction, typography, layout, color and image, and publishing. Through the analysis in this book, good design will be proven to be more than just aesthetics. It is about creating a seamless and engaging user experience, making information accessible and easy to understand, and capturing the essence of the content in a visually compelling way. By studying these books and exploring their design elements, it is hoped that readers will find a greater appreciation for design and its importance in our lives. The following pages introduce and describe the five books that will be examined within this publication.

NEW PAGE DESIGN LAYOUT AND EDITORIAL DESIGN BY WANG SHAOQIANG, JOSE MORENO

New Page Design offers a comprehensive technical explanation of basic layout principles, a crucial graphic design field that covers the arrangement of typefaces, images, colors, objects, and grids on a page. New Page Design presents also a panorama of contemporary editorial design trends and styles through a selection of 100 projects, from newspapers and magazines to catalogs, books, brochures and posters. Supported by case studies and tips and tricks, within this book readers will gain an overall understanding of the fundamentals of editorial design, including paper size, typographic units, the history of typography and the styles of different typefaces, layout elements, interaction between sections, and the optimum way to visually convey a message. It is a perfect reference for designers who are looking for practical solutions and inspiration. The book includes interviews with Bruch —Idee & Form, Any Studio, Pyramid and Linus Lohoff.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR BY SEAN ADAMS

Award-winning educator Sean Adams provides an in-depth look at 30 colors key to art and graphic design. Organized by spectrum, in color-by-color sections for easy navigation, this book documents each hue with charts showing color range and palette variations. Chapters detail each color’s creative history and cultural associations, with examples of color use that extend from the artistic to the utilitarian—whether the turquoise on a Reid Miles album cover or the avocado paint job on a 1970s Dodge station wagon. Adams writes, “A traditional approach to color is to start with primary colors, then expand into a secondary, and finally tertiary. These are included here. However, rather than following this convention, I have organized the colors into warm, cool, neutral, and specialty colors. This separation is connected more to the designer’s creative process than the academic exercise of painting a color wheel. Each color also includes a list of successful applications. These are listed to guide further research on that color and specific application listed.” A practical and inspirational resource for designers and students alike, The Designer’s Dictionary of Color opens up the world of color for all those who seek to harness its incredible power—graphic designers, interior designers, artists, crafters, and everyone else who uses color to decorate or express themselves.

CONSTRUCTION

Studying a book through its construction can provide valuable insights into the overall design and user experience. The cover, spine, trim size, binding, page count, front matter, and end matter are all important elements that contribute to the book's design and functionality. The cover is the first point of contact with the reader, and its design can influence whether or not someone picks up the book. The spine and trim size can affect the book's shelf presence and readability. The binding can impact how the book opens and stays open while reading. The front matter and end matter can provide additional context and information about the book, and their design can affect how accessible and engaging that information is for the reader. By examining these elements in detail, a deeper understanding can be found about the book's design and how it contributes to the overall reading experience.

COVER NEW PAGE DESIGN

Paperback

The front cover features a background image of a grid system, made up of orange and blue lines. This grid design is indicative of the book's content. On top of this, the book's title is written in title case, using a large sans serif font. The subtitle appears below this, in a smaller size, using the same font. The back cover features the same grid design, and more information on the book is written in the same typeface.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

Hardcover

The front cover features a vibrant, multicolored design of a gradient of color making up a square grid system. The title of the book is displayed above this color grid in a sans serif font, featuring the author's name below it in a small font size. The back cover consists of more information on the book, displayed in the same sans serif font and features the same red spot color used on the front cover.

CONSTRUCTION

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

Hardcover

The color of the front cover is black, and it features a square, white lineart design. Above this, the title of the book is written in a sans serif font in all caps. The book's subtitle appears underneath the title in the same sans serif font in a sentence case. And below this, the author's name appears. The back cover features a white background color, and the same sans serif font is used for providing more information on the book.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

Paperback

The front and back cover both have a black background color. The front cover features the book's title in a white, centered, sans serif font. Underneath the title, a three-circle color symbol appears. And below this, the author of the book is stated. The back cover features more information on the book in the same white sans serif font as well as a typewriter style font.

THINKING WITH TYPE

Paperback

The front cover features an orange square in its center, containing the book's title written in an all lowercase, serif font. The authors name appears above the title, while the subtitle appears below. The boarder of the cover is filled with type pulled from what looks like a newspaper. The back cover features the same orange color, with reviews and more information on the book displayed in various typefaces.

SPINE NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

The spine features the title of the book, written in the same sans serif font as the cover. The subtitle is also featured, written in a smaller size of the same typeface. Both titles are outlined by hairlines on the top and the bottom, referencing the grid system design used on the cover. The author's name is not noted on the spine. The publisher's logo is placed at the bottom.

The title of the book is written on the spine using the same sans serif font in black as the front cover. The author's last name is written below the title, using the same typeface and the red spot color as used on the front and back covers of the book. The publisher's logo is placed at the bottom.

CONSTRUCTION

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

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THINKING WITH TYPE

The publisher's logo is placed at the top of the spine. Below it, the author's first and last name are written in the same sans serif font as is used on the cover of the book. Next, the book title is written in all capitals, in the same sans serif font as is used on the front cover.

The author's last name is written first, at the top of the spine. Below it, the books title is written in the same white color and sans serif font as the front cover. The same black background color that is used on the front and back covers is used on the spine as well. The publisher's logo is placed at the bottom of the spine.

The book title is placed at the top of the spine, written in all lowercase in a serif font, the same way it appears on the front cover. "2nd Edition" is written below the title, in an all caps version of the typeface. These words are also written in the same orange spot color as is used on the front and back covers. Next, the authors name is written in an italic version of the typeface. The publisher's logo is placed at the bottom of the spine.

TRIM SIZE Each cover representation is shown at scale.

NEW PAGE DESIGN

8.2 × 11.1 inches

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

7.5 × 9.69 inches

CONSTRUCTION

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

8.27 × 9.76 inches

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

6 × 9 inches

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THINKING WITH TYPE

7 × 8.5 inches

PAGE COUNT NEW PAGE DESIGN

240 Pages

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

256 Pages

CONSTRUCTION

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

200 Pages

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

255 Pages

THINKING WITH TYPE

224 Pages

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BINDING NEW PAGE DESIGN

Perfect Bound

Perfect binding is most commonly used when binding paperback books. The process involves gluing the pages, separated into signatures, directly to the spine of the cover, resulting in a durable and bendable book.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

Case Binding

Case binding is most commonly used when binding hardcover books. The process involves sewing the books signatures together using thread or adhesive. A separate piece of board is attached to the spine of the pages, and the cover material is then adhered to the boards.

CONSTRUCTION

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

Case Binding

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

Perfect Bound

Perfect binding is most commonly used when binding paperback books. The process includes gluing the pages of a book directly to the spine of the cover, resulting in a durable and bendable book.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

Perfect Bound

Perfect binding is most commonly used when binding paperback books. The process includes gluing the pages of a book directly to the spine of the cover, resulting in a durable and bendable book.

FRONT MATTER THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

End Sheets

The inner front cover of the book features a bright fluorescent orange color. It is a bold and bright color that draws the reader's eye to its energetic presence. It exudes a feeling of excitement and anticipation that serves as an first impression of the content within the book, and the bold orange color sets an exciting tone for the reader looking to learn more about color as an artist.

CONSTRUCTION

Title Page

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The title page spread in the book features even more color for the reader to look at, continuing to build anticipation about the book's content. The left page shows a green square bordered by a light blue gray color. The right page shows a white rectangle bordered by the same green color. The books title and author's name are written in the same typeface as the cover of the book, and are left justified, placed in the upper right corner.

FRONT MATTER A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

Inner Front Cover

The inner front cover spread of the book features a bright yellow color on the left side and a simplistic title page on the right. The yellow color evokes a feeling of interest and anticipation for the reader about what the book's content will be. The title page on the left features a black and white photo on the bottom right corner, while the book title is written in a small sans serif font on the top of the page. This is a visually engaging layout for the viewer.

CONSTRUCTION

Title Page

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The title page of this book is particularly interesting. The book's title takes up the full spread of pages, with half of the title being on each page. The centered type treatment and typeface are the same from the book's cover, yet their placement is different. A brief paragraph appears on the bottom left hand side of the spread in a typewriter-like typeface. This spread is visually surprising and intriguing for the reader as it is different from other title pages.

BACK MATTER NEW PAGE DESIGN

Last Page

The final spread of this book consists of the last page of book content on the left, and the beginning of the book's index on the right. Both the image captions on the left and the index header and body text are set in a sans serif typeface.

CONSTRUCTION

Inner Back Cover

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The inner back cover pages include the book's acknowledgments on the left and the same cream colored inner cover as in the front of the publication. The acknowledgments header and body text are typeset in the same sans serif typeface as the rest of the book.

TYPEFACES NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

The headings and body text in this publication are set in a sans serif style typeface (similar to: This by Suomi Type Foundry).

The headings and body text in this publication are set in a slab serif style typeface named Sentinel.

TYPOGRAPHY

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

THINKING WITH TYPE

The headings and body text in this publication are set in a sans serif style typeface (likely: Helvetica).

The headings and body text in this publication are set in a sans serif style typeface named Gerstner-Programm.

The headings and body text in this publication are set in serif style typefaces named Scala Pro and Thesis.

TYPE SIZE THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

Body Text

Heading

NEW PAGE DESIGN

The headings in this publication are set in 16 point type. The body text is set in 8 point type.

TYPOGRAPHY

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

The headings in this publication are set in 9 point type. Additionally, the body text is set in 9 point type.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

The headings in this publication are set in 11 point type. The body text is also set in 11 point type.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

The headings in this publication are set in 11 point type. The body text is set in 9 point type.

LEADING NEW PAGE DESIGN

11 points of leading.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

12 points of leading.

TYPOGRAPHY

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

11 points of leading.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

13 points of leading.

THINKING WITH TYPE

11 points of leading.

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GRID AND MARGINS NEW PAGE DESIGN

Margins

The outer margin is 0.63 inches. The inner margin is 0.5 inches. The top and bottom margins are 0.5 inches.

LAYOUT

Grid

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Each full spread page in this book follows the same grid layout. The heading and body text about the spread is always placed at the top of the left page. The rest of the layout is used for images, a larger scale one appearing on the left page, and a smaller assortment of images and captions appearing on the right. The page numbers and headers are always placed on the outer edges of page at the bottom and the top.

GRID AND MARGINS THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

Margins

The outer margin is 1.25 inches. The inner margin is 0.63 inches. The top is 0.63 inches. The bottom margin is 1.0 inch.

LAYOUT

Grid

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Each full spread page in this book follows the same general grid layout. The left page is always reserved for a large scale image. The right page either contains a header of the color being discussed and body text and captions underneath, or it is used for a spread of smaller sized images. The page numbers and headers always appear in the center of the page on the outer edges.

PAGE NUMBERS AND HEADERS NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

The page numbers are always placed on the right pages of the book. The page numbers identify both the current page number of the book and the previous page number, and they are broken up by a slash. The running headers are placed on the opposite page as the page numbers, and are always typeset in all caps. Both the page numbers and the headers are typeset in a sans serif font.

The page numbers are always placed right-side-up in the center of the page, on the outer corner of said page. They are typeset in a serif typeface using old style figures. The running headers are always placed in the center of the page, on the outer corner, below the page number. However, they are placed vertically on the page and set in small caps.

LAYOUT

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

THINKING WITH TYPE

The page numbers are positioned in the bottom center of the page, quite close to the edge. They are typeset in a sans serif typeface. This book does not include running headers to identify its sections.

The page numbers are always placed in the right hand corner on the top of each page. They are placed underneath a hairline that runs across the top of each page. The headers are always placed in the upper left hand corner of the left page in each spread. Both the page numbers and the headers are typeset in a sans serif typeface.

The page numbers are positioned in the bottom outer corners of each page. Both the page numbers and the running headers are placed next to each other and are separated by a vertical line. Additionally, they are both typeset in a serif font, with the headers being set in small caps and the page numbers being set with old style figures.

COLOR PALETTE NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

HEX: EF3D27

HEX: CCDABF

HEX: 323A90

HEX: F2A685

HEX: EEE9DE

HEX: F4F4F1

HEX: 000000

HEX: D6DFF1

This publication employs a bright and bold, yet minimalistic, color palette that will grab the reader's attention and make the content of the book that much more engaging.

This book, understandably, utilizes a great amount of color throughout its pages. However, the book designer sticks to a light pastel color palette for its introduction pages, so that the color used in the book does not become too overwhelming for the reader.

COLOR & IMAGE

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

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THINKING WITH TYPE

HEX: 262525

HEX: F0E40A

HEX: F04D25

HEX: 3D3E3D

HEX: 000000

HEX: C15B4C

HEX: D8D9D3

HEX: D9DAD9

HEX: F3F3F2

HEX: 000000

HEX: F2F1F2

HEX: BFBAB2

This publication is consistent with a simplistic and minimalistic color palette. The color palette reflects the nature of the book's subject matter.

This publication employs a minimalistic color palette as well, with only one spot color used for the inner cover pages. Because it is the most text heavy of all the books, it is understandable that the content on the inside would be kept mostly black and white, with minimal added color.

This book utilizes a great amount of color, which creates an inspiring experience for the reader. The palette is kept consistent throughout the publication and is vibrant and engaging.

TYPES OF IMAGES NEW PAGE DESIGN

This book displays both photographed real-life images as well as vector-based images.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

This book uses photographed images of physical objects as well as scans of other physical objects such as posters and artworks.

COLOR & IMAGE

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

This publication uses both photographed images of physical objects as well as vector-based diagrams.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

This publication uses photographed images of the work shown at the lectures that are transcribed within the book.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

This publication, for the most part, uses scanned in images of the work being referenced as well as screenbased images.

IMAGE RESOLUTION Each image was scanned directly from the publication at 600 ppi.

NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

This publication has clear and crisp quality to its images. When zoomed in, not much of the clarity is lost. This adds a much more professional feeling to the book.

This book likely employs the highest image resolution compared to the other publications. Its focus is on color, and it is understandable that the book designer would utilize a better image quality to have the most accurate tones as possible represented in the images.

COLOR & IMAGE

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GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

THINKING WITH TYPE

This publication could be ranked in the middle of all the books in terms of image quality. When zoomed in, the photographs tend to lose some of their clarity. However, an extremely high image resolution is not needed considering the images are shown at a smaller scale throughout the book.

This publication has a lower image resolution compared to the other books. It has a smaller trim size than the rest, so it is understandable that the images are displayed at a smaller scale, thus not needing to be as high of quality.

This book utilizes a very high image resolution. The book's focus is on teaching the rules and principles of typography to its readers, so it makes sense for the image quality to be at its highest in order to express more professionalism and authority.

BOOK DESIGNER AND PUBLISHER NEW PAGE DESIGN

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

The book designer is Sandu Publishing The book designer Sean Adams. The Co., Ltd. The publisher is Sandu publisher is Abrams, an imprint of Publishing Co., Ltd. ABRAMS, the Art of Books.

PUBLISHING

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

The book designer is Armin Hofmann. The publisher is Niggli, an imprint of Braun Publishing AG.

The book designer is IN-FO.CO (Adam Michaels, Shannon Harvey, Siiri Tännler). The publisher is Inventory Press, LLC.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

The book designer is Ellen Lupton. The publisher is Princeton Architectural Press.

PRICE AND BAR CODE NEW PAGE DESIGN

$49.95

The price of this book is noted on the back cover, in the bottom left corner, directly above the bar code. The US price is listed along with the price in pounds and euros.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

$24.95

The price of this book is noted on the back cover, in the bottom right corner, directly above the bar code. The US price is listed along with the Canadian price.

PUBLISHING

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

$59.95

The price of this book is not noted anywhere within the publication. However, a bar code is displayed on the back cover in the bottom right corner.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

$21.49

The price of this book is not noted anywhere within the publication. However, a bar code is displayed on the back cover in the bottom left corner.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

$27.95

The price of this book is noted on the back cover, in the bottom center of the page, directly above the bar code. The US price is listed along with the UK price.

ISBN NUMBER NEW PAGE DESIGN

ISBN: 978-84-17656-52-2

The ISBN number is written within the publication information of this book, which is located on the back of the title page.

THE DESIGNER’S DICTIONARY OF COLOR

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2391-9

The ISBN number is written within the publication information of this book, which is located behind the secondary title page.

PUBLISHING

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANUAL

ISBN: 978-3-7212-1006-4

The ISBN number is written within the publication information of this book, which is located behind the secondary title page.

A NEW PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN

ISBN: 978-1-941753-21-7

The ISBN number is written within the publication information of this book, which on the last page of the book, next to the inner back cover.

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THINKING WITH TYPE

ISBN: 978-1-56898-969-3

The ISBN number is written within the publication information of this book, which is located behind the secondary title page.