Book Desing by Walton Mendelson

Book Design at 12on14

Book design is the craft of designing a book—its size, the margins, the type font, size and leading, the running heads, chapter openings—so that it suits or enhances the content. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is hard.

On one hand, you might want a stunning typeface for the text, something that just knocks your socks off, but, on the other hand, for anything much more than a few paragraphs, it is not particularly readable. Where is the balance? The most readable type is, well the type this text is set in. It's not remarkable, except that it is eminently practical.

A publisher wants to keep costs down: small print and small margins means less pages. Less pages means the cost is reduced, but again, at the expense of readability. Most of us pick up a book before we buy it and thumb through the pages. In those few seconds, we see if the text is dense and offputting, or open and welcoming. Most writers are aware of the need to breakup text into paragraphs: page after page of solid text is daunting. We may not be conscious of this, but like a magician getting us to pick a card or make a specific choice, it influences our choices.

I've designed books for forty years. And under the name 12on14, I'm designing books. I don't accept every book, cover, or art project: If I cannot do it, I don't pretend I can. If it is . . . well, boring or stupid, I won't do it. Why? Because to do it right I have to live with the project, and in that sense it becomes my project too. I want to be proud of it when it is printed, just as much as the you, the writer or publisher.

If you have a project that you're proud of, visit me at www.12on14.com look at some examples of my work, and let me know.