Colophonics

A colophon is the finishing stroke or crowning touch of your book. It appears, most often on a single, right-hand page at the end of your book, after any other endmatter should you have any. For limited editioned books it is most often written by the book’s designer and usually includes information regarding typography and production methods. It is also an opportunity to do a nice typographic layout of your choosing if you like, and does not necessarily have to adhere to your page layout of the rest of your text block. You may also consider to number your edition of two books. Editioned books are often numbered – just as limited editioned prints might be.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Colophons:
A colophon, in publishing, is a brief description usually located at the end of a book, describing production notes relevant to the edition. In most cases it is a description of the text typography, often entitled A note about the type. This will identify the names of the primary typefaces used, provide a brief description of the type’s history, and a brief statement about its most identifiable physical characteristics. A colophon may also identify the book’s designer, software used, printing method if letterpress, the printing company, and the kind of ink, paper and its cotton content. Detailed colophons are a characteristic feature of limited edition and private press printing. Books publishers Alfred A. Knopf and O’Reilly Media are notable for their substantial colophons.

Some of the items you could choose to include when writing your colophon:
- Mention the primary fonts used, sizes, history and designers of the fonts.
- The paper you will be using is an 80 lb. Classic Crest Text sheet, Natural White.
- You can mention the software and printers used.
- You can add information about your photography, illustrations, media, methods and inspiration.
- The reasoning for choosing your specific book to redesign.
- And give yourself a credit for all the great work you performed!
- Add the date!
- “This is edition (blank space here to fill in later by hand) of two”.

Overdue Books Will Be Fined Accordingly

Within 3 weeks time, all of your books should be printed and your book jacket designs prepared for final output. This is a reminder to alert all of you to stay on track and keep pace with the schedule. You should all be nearing the editing stage at this point. All of your style sheets should be predetermined by now and your text mostly in place. The front matter should be taking shape too, and you can be thinking about the text for your colophon. (I have examples of others if you would like to read any). Illustrations should be completed, scanned and dropped into place. I encourage you to spellcheck your texts and continue to save and back up your work as you go.

We will be doing the actual binding the week of Dec. 3/6 which is a little less than one month. I would suggest you try to do the sewing of your two books sometime the week before this – or in class the week of November 26/29th. With the Thanksgiving Holiday on the 22/23rd, time is short, and I wanted to give all of you a head’s up on the schedule. If you feel you are falling behind, please talk to me. The best thing for all of you to do, is to step back, break it down into manageable steps and do one thing at a time. Don’t try to take on too much and simplify if you must, but stay inspired!

Fore-edge Clearcut

Click on image for closer view of clearcut.

Assignment Week 7

You Can Judge a Book By Its Cover. Produce a knock-out design that conveys your book’s story or message. Treat it as you would a poster design, but remember this cover is a marketing tool to promote your book. You must entice people to want to pick it up on a table with a sea of other books. Refer to the specs of the full jacket in the Part 14 pdf of Week 6. Present book jacket designs when class next meets.
des123-assignment-wk-7.pdf.

Book Jackets Required

Cover art & book jacket design. Mostly contemporary examples here with exception of a small few. book-cover-designs-07.pdf

Assignment Week 6

This weeks assignment is all about book jacket design. Download pdf to read more about it.
des123-assignment-wk-6.pdf

Read Part 14 on Jacket Design from “Book Typography” before you begin your thumbnail designs.
jacket-design-part-14.pdf

On the Topic of Books

This “Anxiety Book”, Designed bty Boston-based artist Pete Froslie, is a motorized book that remains open while scanning its surroundings for nearby people. When approached, the book quickly shuts its cover and remains closed for a certain duration. When left alone, the book re-opens and continues the cycle. This project aims to integrate emotional responses into inanimate objects.

Artist Book Exhibit on Bainbridge Island

Bainbridge Island Arts and Crafts Gallery is hosting the exhibit, Art of the Book, 2007 of new works by Northwest book artists. This opens on November 2nd and promises to be a great show.

The Art of the Book, 2007
November 2 – December 4
Artists’ Reception, Friday, Nov. 2, 6-8 p.m.

http://bacart.org/exh-upcoming.html

Gallery hours: Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Directions from Seattle:

At Colman Dock, (Marion Street at Western) take the Bainbridge Ferry
Travel off the ferry to Winslow Way
Turn left at Winslow Way
The Gallery is about 1/4 mile on the left
151 Winslow Way East
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Assignment Week 5

Here is a pdf of the assignment you can download for the week of Oct. 22/25.
Headings, Title Page & Contents Design

The Story Behind the Clearview Font

How a graphic designer and a typographer and their obsession with fonts and legibility led to a painstaking effort to clean up America’s road signs, one letter at a time. [1.1 MB]
Clearview Font Story

And listen to an interview on the radio show, Studio 360 with the designer of the Clearview font, Don Meeker. Studio 360 is hosted by Kurt Anderson. This show, On The Road, was originally broadcast on 9.14.07, and it is available in their archives at studio360.org