One of the most significant and daunting steps in creating a book, booklet, or even a musical album is choosing the design for the cover and text or the creation that you have labored over for hours. Some creators will think about how the book will look even before the ink has even dried, while others may not give the matter a second thought. Proper formatting will significantly improve the book’s identification, readability, and ultimately, its sales volume.
Book design includes much more than just cover design. It encompasses the book structure, the typographic design and layout of the text, images, headings, emphasis, illustrations or icons, pagination, and more – on every page.
Thus, the responsibility and reward of your book designer is to provide your readers with a professional and inviting appearance, smooth reading, and enjoyment of the content flow.
If we examine this in more detail, we can understand the technique and thinking behind proper formatting.
Here are some basic points:
- Typography | Choosing the appropriate font(s) based on both the font’s character and its readability in relation to the text.
- Page architecture | Spacing between lines, page length, text size, line length, column width, and more.
- Layout | Readers have longstanding habits on how the text should appear. Formatting a book deviating from accepted design principles may cause the book to be perceived as unprofessional or less successful and may damage the reader’s enjoyment.
- Readability | Readability is the most important thing in book design and formatting. Readability directly affects the continuity of reading and therefore the enjoyment of the work.
- Adaptation | Adapting the structure to the field, usage, and target audience.
- Production | In the world of printing, there are endless possibilities – from the type of paper, its thickness, the type of cover, the color profile, and even special elements tailored to the book’s purposes.
- Graphic design | Placement and adaptation of images, graphics, illustrations, framing, pagination, and more.
