書設計：入行必備的權威聖經，編輯、設計、印刷全事典

by Andrew Haslam, 陳建銘 (Translator)

　提升出版專業的必備聖經
　　兩岸三地出版界，一致公認入行必讀
　　不只有設計風格，更有編輯實務、歷史沿革、版型全覽、印刷技術、產業趨勢、經典裝幀……
　　如此全面而完備，保證前所未見！

　　所有關於「書」的不解困惑，都可以在此找到答案。

　　如何落版？如何選擇開本、紙張、裝幀方式和特殊加工？欄位有多少種可能？統計數據有哪幾種變成圖形的方式？多語文版本要如何設計？圖文書有多少種版式？書背要如何設計？如何用插畫、攝影、圖紋、文字完成書封？如何做出風格化的封面？如何把頁面想成一幅畫來設計？什麼是西方歷代抄本最愛的版式？黃金分割是設計人的必備常識？從古典到現代，網格的設計有何變化？希特勒的《我的奮鬥》、毛澤東的《毛語錄》曾締造史上何等無敵暢銷數字？

　　◎從美術設計、編輯到出版人，兩岸三地出版界，一致公認入行必備聖經
　　◎500幅圖示，全面認識一本書的催生與完成，如此完備前所未見
　　◎編務如何分工？如何落版、開版、選開本、紙張，所有專業實務，一次學
　　◎從歷史沿革到產業趨勢，全面解析書籍的過去與未來
　　◎愛書人_陳建銘_翻譯，專家_江瑞彰_審定，絕對值得信賴的中文譯本。

　　關於一本書的學問，遠超乎你的想像！

　　這本堪稱介紹書籍設計裝幀的聖經，兼具全面性跟實用性。結構嚴謹的文字搭配豐富的照片及圖表，讓讀者從所有與跟書有關巨細靡遺的類目，包括選用字體、版型設計、圖片搭配、電腦軟體、紙張材質、印刷方式、圖書裝訂等，詳細介紹。

　　內容詳附各式好用工具及中英名詞對照，幫助提升你的專業能力。最特別的是，本書舉出各種不同屬性及功用的圖書，列舉這些不同圖書的不同設計及裝幀方式，更增加愛書人及設計者的見聞及知識。無論是愛書人、設計人、藏書人，都不能錯過的權威好書。

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Reference, Art, How To, Art Design, Books About Books

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2006

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have recently become interested in book design, mostly for self-publishing purposes. So I've been learning a lot about the arcane arts of typography and font selection and terms like "ligature" and "folio" and "optical alignment." Most of my work has been digital, learning to use modern software like Sigil and Affinity Publisher (a much cheaper alternative to Adobe InDesign). I have learned, for example, that I can design better ebooks than a lot of professional ebook designers, and I'm even pretty good at laying out print versions.

This weighty book, which showcases enough designs to be an artful design work in itself, is more of a textbook than a how-to guide. It covers every aspect of the bookmaking process, and the history of printing. A lot of it is interesting, if out of date, and the sheer variety and attention to detail that goes into everything from font design to line spacing to paper selection to binding will probably exhaust anyone but a professional printer. This is a dense and comprehensive tome. There are chapters about color separation and grids and visual presentation and people who are reviving old school binding techniques. There are also a lot of references to the then-new (this book was published in 2006) field of digital typesetting and layout. Mostly talking about QuarkXPress, which I guess still exists, but most professionals nowadays use InDesign. A lot of the "challenges" of digital layout and typography are now done automatically by modern software. And of course, this book was published before ebooks were really a thing, so no mention of them at all.

This is a nice book to have on your shelf to appreciate the art of printing and book design, but it's more of a reference and coffee table book than an instruction manual.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Design is exactly what I thought it would be, a text book on designing books. As a visual learner, I did find the many colored images and diagrams to be helpful to me in understanding concepts introduced in the book. It covers not just book design and layouts, but delves into paper quality and sizing, as well as binding and printing. There wasn't anything super fantastic about the book, it was practical in the extreme and performed its intended function. I will be keeping this as a reference text, as it is easy to navigate.

[KR · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found some information in this book to be helpful, but it wasn't the best design book I've encountered. It does give a good basic intro and cover a variety of areas.

[RW Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've worked in publishing as a designer for more than 8 years, and this is the book I have gone back to more than any other. A fantastic amount of information about book design.

[Davi Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realmente muito completo horizontalmente, abordando todo o processo de produção do livro do texto original à encadernação.

No entanto, perde aprofundamento em alguns dos temas intermediários, como a tipografia. Ele prefere apresentar superficialmente múltiplas abordagens sobre todos os temas a escolher algumas e analisá-las criticamente, e acaba ignorando pontos importantes nesse processo, como versaletes, que só são abordados brevemente num anexo.

Parte do conteúdo também já começa a ficar datada, apesar de sua publicação há menos de 20 anos. Julgo que, em parte, por essa ausência crítica e exclusividade informativa.

Enfim, vai ser útil pro TCC, mas não me apaixonou.

[H James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has so many design problems that it’s almost worth picking up as a visual comedy of errors. Diagrams are frequently nonsensical or indicate the opposite of what the paired caption states; multiple headers are found at the bottom of the pages preceding their intended locations; spacing between sentences is somehow smaller than word spaces within sentences (an error so odd that it would take special effort to reproduce); and the print quality is so poor that transfer of ink between facing pages makes some passages challenging to read.

Widespread failures of fact checking (no, Gutenberg didn’t print a 38‑line bible) and editing (is the statement “bound but unprinted books have symmetrical formats” misprinted, nonsensical, or a totally byzantine way of saying that all pages in a book are usually all the same size?) are merely frustrating rather than comical, so I’ll simply issue a general do‑not‑approach warning.

[Henry Sturcke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the making of books, there is no end. That was written in a book more than two thousand years ago, and the trend continues to accelerate. But how are books made? At some point the avid reader morphs into a book lover and becomes aware that there are different responses not only to the meaning of the words on the page (or screen) but also to how they are placed there and packaged. With the growing appreciation of the book as an object comes a commensurate curiosity about why one book, as an object, seems more right. This book offers an excellent, well-illustrated overview of the steps in book production and the decisions that a good designer makes. Fittingly, the book is a prime example of design that is both innovative and clean.

[Jiaying · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tbh, I haven't really read the contents in-depth it's more of a brief glance of what the book is about. I might borrow this book again in the future! It has been an enriching book thus far knowing the different stakeholders involved in the making of any books. I also like the chapter on devising your own design palette when it comes to the contents or elements you wish to include in the book. It also covers a few general workflows depending on the project's aim and intention.

I'd say so far it has been helpful for me as a budding designer myself. Many a times when we are just starting, things tend to get messy. But amidst the mess, we also find a way to discover our own kind of workflow.

[Elijah]

Reading this is like listening to a very long episode of 99% Invisible about how a book is conceived, designed, and printed. I'll never look a book the same way again. Granted, this is very much in the vein of my favorite genre - "someone who is good at something explains in great detail how they do that thing." It just happens to be about an object a interact with more than just about any other object - books. Incredible text.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

my work...

[Leighwoosey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, though perhaps a little self congratulatory, introduction. A useful reference.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical and useful overview. Will be a go-to reference.