Posts Tagged ‘typography’

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.

(more…)

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.
(more…)