Printing technology

Our print buyer sent me this diagram today to help explain in what order printing technology is applied to covers. I found it very helpful so I thought I would share...

Cell phone apps, barcodes, and book sales

Somewhat related to my post here about barcodes and the new empowered consumer... I came across this video on NPR about an app for the G1 T-Mobile phone called Compare Everywhere. It turns your T-Mobile phone into a barcode reader that not only gives you info about a book but, more interestingly, it shows you how much different retailers charge for it. (I think there is a similar iPhone app as well.) This could be deadly for brick-and-mortar bookstores which tend to be more expensive than online retailers. But then again, sometimes it's worth paying a little bit more for instant gratification, no?

Check out the NPR video here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=98658952&m=98658953

Civil War novel jacket and the power of symbols

This week was all about jacket build outs. Here is the final jacket design for the Civil War novel shown here and here.

For this design, I recommended using an uncoated paper and doing a sculpture emboss along with ink over a gold foil to really make the locket pop. Deckled-edged paper for the book's interior pages would have been nice too, but the author wasn't too keen on it.


A couple of interesting things came up during this project. One is that the author is a history buff and therefore a stickler about authenticity. For instance, I chose the Confederate and the US flag solely on how their draping worked with my design. The author liked them but pointed out that there were too new looking and that the stars and stripes were machine double stitched with blue and red thread—neither of which was appropriate for the late 1800s. So I did some Photoshop work to age the flags, to delete the second row of stitching, and to make all the thread white. The original portraits of the sisters inside the locket were also rejected for a similar reason—their hairstyles were too 1900s. Luckily the author was able to provide me with new era-appropriate images.

The second issue was more subtle. Somehow, as a mixed-race Midwesterner who went to middle school in Illinois and Indiana, I just wasn't taught that much about the Civil War. Of course I was taught about slavery and the war and Lincoln, but the Confederacy was not really dwelt upon. The South lost... slavery was abolished... Lincoln became a hero... and we all lived happily ever after, no? So when I started on this cover I knew that the main character was a Southerner and so I went hunting for Confederate imagery. Flags are usually very bold and colorful and the Union Jack looked nice, so I included one prominently on every comp. My design manager (who grew up in Corpus Christi) suggested that I show at least one cover without a flag—which I thought was a little odd—but I complied. The author liked many of the ideas I presented, but he was adamant about not having just the Confederate flag on the cover. This is why the final design includes both it and the Union flag (a 'fair and balanced' cover, if you will). It's a cultural thing I was just not aware of. Obviously, the Confederate flag is still a very salient and loaded symbol which must be used with caution. (You can read the Wikipedia entry here.) Lesson learned.

Off to press...

Here is the final jacket design for the business book discussed here, here, and here. Notice that the screen on the cell phone changed. In place of the globe image is a functioning QR code that gives info about the book if your smart phone is enabled with a reader app. The second QR code on the back has even more information embedded in it. This image was provided by the author and is an interesting way to visually represent the wealth of information consumers have near instantaneous access to these days.

I'm most excited about the bright yellow background. It is Pantone Hexachrome yellow. Should be eye popping bright! The author took some convincing that a strong, cool yellow was the way to go. But when he saw a proof comparing several yellows, it was the clear winner.

From book to audio

This is the CD case cover for the audio book version. This sleeve will be printed with the same brushed metallic foil that will appear on the book jacket. See the original book cover design here.

Hot off the Press

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, this book actually came back from press last week. But I did not have a camera then—so here it is, a little late. More about this project here.

DESCRIPTION

Paperback book

DATE

November 2009

TYPE USED
Didot and Avenir

DIMENSIONS

5.5 in × 8 in

NUMBER OF COLORS

1 spot ink (Pantone 165 orange ) and 4-color process for cover
1 spot ink (Pantone 3005 blue) and black for interior

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
die cut
gloss and matte areas
french flaps

Typeface: documentary as infomercial

I caught Justine Nagan’s documentary Typeface at the Alamo Ritz last night. As a documentary, I found it wanting as it lacked both compelling characters and strong story arc. For instance, the film seemed to want to say that the Hamilton Wood Type Museum was doomed to close and that an important slice of American history would be lost along with it. But then, the credits tell the opposite story, highlighting a new more energized curator, an increase in interest and support from the design community, and a successful 10th anniversary celebration.

But despite its deficiencies as a documentary, Typeface succeeds in spades as an infomercial for the Hamilton Wood Type Museum. Located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, a small town 3 hours outside of Chicago; the museum is bound to benefit from the film as designers and type aficionados will surely flock to see first hand and touch for themselves all the gorgeous wood type featured on the screen. But if you can't swing a visit another way to support the museum is to purchase one of their gorgeous prints.

To its credit, the film also draws interesting parallels between the current resurgence of hand-made design and do-it-yourself crafts (exemplified by events such as Renegade Craft Fair, Maker Fair, and Etsy.com) as a response to our ultra-digitized world; and the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements, which according to the film, were a similar reaction by artisans to the over-mechanized production methods of the industrial revolution.

As a creative who would love to get her hands on some gorgeous wood typography, I became the 311th fan of the museum’s Facebook page.

I was excited to see on the Hamilton website that Jim Sherraden of Hatch Showprint, Nashville, TN will be hosting a letterpress workshop at Hamilton from December 11th–13th, 2009. Shortsightedly limited to 16 attendees, this event unfortunately became waiting list only as of 11/02/09. Damn! I will keep a lookout for similar events in the future.

Or perhaps I'll just take a trip to NYC for the Yee-Haw Industries industrial letterpress exhibition 10/4/09–01/02/10 in the Chelsea Market...

Author Featured on CBS Early Show

Recently, Mary Lou Quinlan, one of our authors was interviewed on CBS’s Early Show. See the video here.

This 5.5″ x 8.5″ softcover book features french flaps, a bright orange spot color, and a die cut. The interior is a two-color blue and black design.

As a veteran author and astute businesswoman, Ms Quinlan had a specific vision for this book based on her knowledge of her audience and her business purposes. From a design perspective, she wanted this book to be friendly, accessible, and convey a respect for women. We worked very closely with Mary Lou and her two co-authors to achieve these objectives. We collaborated to achieve the right length for the interior, a good balance of images to text, and the appropriate emotional tone with the photographs. This was a time intensive project for all involved, but the outcome was a unanimous success.