Posts Tagged ‘book design’

The Best Book Cover Designs of 2012

Posted on: March 13th, 2013 by Shaun Hensher 104 Comments

I am so sorry. I know some of you have been waiting for this, but it’s been a nutty time for me. I’ve had to put blogging on the backburner. But excuses are not what you came here for, so without further ado, I present to you the best book covers of 2012.

It was a really strong year for cover design. It took me forever to go through it all and even paring down to these 80 was a real task. I hope you appreciate the effort!

Do you have a favorite? Is there a cover I’m missing that you think belongs in this list? Sound off in the comments (look waaaay down).

As with the 2011 list, I will try to include designer credits where possible. If you want to help me out, please let me know if you can fill in some of the blanks.

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Book Review: Creative Stuff

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012 by Shaun Hensher 27 Comments

Creative Stuff: An Activity Book for Visual ThinkersDesign is hard. The creative mind is a finicky thing. Sometimes you can get in a flow state and it seems like no design problem is a match for your supreme wit. On the other hand, sometimes you just can’t seem to get in the groove and feel like you couldn’t design your way out of a wet paper bag. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

We all have little tricks and ways of jump-starting the creative process, but sometimes what you need is a little guidance.  That’s what a new book by Dave Gouveia and Chris Elkerton offers. Creative Stuff: An Activity Book for Visual Thinkers is stuffed full of activities and exercises designed to help break that mental block.

 The review

Overall, I think the creators of this book have done a pretty good job. Admittedly, there are some pages that seem like filler to me (word games and puzzles that I don’t think help much). That being said though, there are plenty of fun and challenging activities that make up for the fluff. The book itself is well designed, colourful,and playful. There is also an abundance of useful information and interesting trivia.

If you need a little kick in the pants to help get those creative juices flowing, this might be just the thing.

www.creativestuffthebook.com

The Best Book Cover Designs of 2011

Posted on: December 19th, 2011 by Shaun Hensher 90 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Time to showcase the best book cover designs of the year. If you missed last year’s list, check it out here: The Best Book Cover Designs of 2010.

Once again, I’ve sorted through thousands of new books to find the gems for you. 2011 has turned out to be a pretty darn good year for book design. The themes of the year seem to be great art, understated typography, the return of white space, and unique materials/binding/packaging.

Enjoy!

At the request of my readers, I’ve tried to include the designer credits where possible. If you know who designed any of the unknowns, please drop me a line with the info.

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What the Heck is Kerning?

Posted on: September 7th, 2011 by Shaun Hensher 8 Comments
Kerning grafitti

Image courtesy of Justin Henry / flickr

So, what is text kerning all about anyway? Well, before we answer that question, let’s talk about why typography even matters.

A thorough understanding of typography—the art and process of setting and arranging letter forms—is one of the primary things that sets the professional graphic designer apart from the less skilled practitioners of the graphic arts. To many, the fine details of quality typography may seem like minutia—unimportant details that nobody will ever notice. This could not be further from the truth. A careful consideration of typography, whether on a book cover, a storefront sign, a poster, or in the body text of a book, can make or break your image. Poor typography can lead to being seen as cheap, unprofessional, of  low-quality and disorganized. On the other hand, good typography can give you the appearance of being professional, elegant, organized, and of high quality. It may be finicky and a bit time consuming, but it’s a bit like sculpting. Anyone could rough out a basic statue of a man, but it took the careful hand and patient mind of Michelangelo to make David.
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The Best Book Cover Designs of 2010

Posted on: August 7th, 2011 by Shaun Hensher 9 Comments

Ok, I know we’re WELL into 2011, but it’s better late than never right? I mean gimme a break, this here graphic design blog was just started in July, o.k. Mr./Mrs. Fussypants?

Anyway, all in all, last year was actually a pretty average one for book cover design. I went through thousands of designs (quite literally) to find the gems. I can’t actually vouch for the quality of the writing, as the only book in this list I’ve actually read is To Kill a Mockingbird, and it wasn’t even this version (I’m not illiterate, just busy o.k.?). If you have read any of these, let us know in the comments. Good? Not so good? So bad you want to punch yourself in the face for reading it? So good you want to take it home and do disgusting things with it (you pervert)?

So without further ado, here are 20 of the best book cover designs of 2010.

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