forthcoming

Littler has said “I was always scared as a kid, always frightened of what I was faced with. … You’d walk into WHSmith… and see horror books with people’s faces melting. Kids’ TV included things like Children of the Stones, a very odd series you just wouldn’t get today. I remember a public information film made by some train organisation in which a children’s sports day was held on train tracks and, one by one, they were killed. It was insane. … I’m just taking it to the next logical step.
Scarfolk is a fictional northern English town created by writer and designer Richard Littler, who is sometimes identified as the town mayor. First published as a blog of fake historical documents, parodying British public information posters of the 1970s, a collected book was published in 2014.
Scarfolk, which is forever locked in the 1970s, is a satire not only on that decade but also on contemporary events. It touches on themes of totalitarianism, suburban life, occultism and religion, school and childhood, as well as social attitudes such as racism and sexism.
Scarfolk was initially presented as a fake blog which purportedly releases artefacts from the town council’s archive. Artefacts include public information literature, out-of-print books, record and cassette sleeves, advertisements, television programme screenshots, household products, and audio and video, many of which suggest brands and imagery recognisable from the period. Additionally, artefacts are usually accompanied by short fictional vignettes which are also presented as factual and introduce residents of Scarfolk. The public information literature often ends with the strapline: “For more information please reread.”
The aesthetic is utilitarian, inspired by public sector materials in the United Kingdom such as Protect and Survive.
A television series co-written by Will Smith was described as “in the works” in 2018.
Irma Boom (born 15 December 1960) is a Dutch graphic designer who specializes in bookmaking. Her innovative and experimental designs often blur the lines between art and literature, challenging the convention of traditional books in both physical design and printed content. Boom has been described as the “Queen of Books,” having created over 300 books and is well reputed for her artistic autonomy within her field. Boom’s work earned her numerous awards and accolades, highlighting her status as a visionary in the field.
website: Irma Boom Office https://irmaboom.nl
Guerilla Girls, a feminist group fighting sexism in arts practice. Formed in New York in 1985, the group maintain their anonymity by wearing gorilla masks and using the names of dead female artists as pseudonyms, e.g. Frida Kahlo and Hannah HÖch.
They put pressure on organisations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by uncovering statistics that reveal the extent of patriarchy in the art world past and present. The original group disbanded in 2001 but several Guerrilla Girl spin-offs still exist.
Recent campaigns include ‘Unchain female directors’ targeted at the male-dominated world of the Hollywood film studio.
David Carson (born September 8, 1954) is an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography.
He worked as a sociology teacher and professional surfer in the late 1970s. From 1982 to 1987, Carson worked as a teacher in Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California. In 1983, Carson started to experiment with graphic design and found himself immersed in the artistic and bohemian culture of Southern California. He art directed various music, skateboarding, and surfing magazines through the 1980/90s, including twSkateboarding, twSnowboarding, Surfer, Beach Culture and the music magazine Ray Gun. By the late 1980s he had developed his signature style, using “dirty” type and non-mainstream photographic techniques.
As art director of Ray Gun (1992-5) he employed much of the typographic and layout style for which he is known. In particular, his widely imitated aesthetic defined the so-called “grunge typography” era. In one issue he used Dingbat as the font for what he considered a rather dull interview with Bryan Ferry. In a feature story, NEWSWEEK magazine said he “changed the public face of graphic design”.
He takes photography and type and manipulates and twists them together and on some level confusing the message but in reality he was drawing the eyes of the viewer deeper within the composition itself. His layouts feature distortions or mixes of ‘vernacular’ typefaces and fractured imagery, rendering them almost illegible. Indeed, his maxim of the ‘end of print’ questioned the role of type in the emergent age of digital design, following on from California New Wave and coinciding with experiments at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
In the later 1990s he added corporate clients to his list of clients, including Microsoft, Armani, Nike, Levi’s, British Airways, Quiksilver, Sony, Pepsi, Citibank, Yale University, Toyota and many others. When Graphic Design USA Magazine (NYC) listed the “most influential graphic designers of the era” David was listed as one of the all time 5 most influential designers, with Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Saul Bass and Massimo Vignelli.
He named and designed the first issue of the adventure lifestyle magazine Blue, in 1997. David designed the first issue and the first three covers, after which his assistant Christa Smith art directed and designed the magazine until its demise. Carson’s cover design for the first issue was selected as one of the “top 40 magazine covers of all time” by the American Society of Magazine Editors.
In 2000, Carson closed his New York City studio and followed his children, Luke and Luci, to Charleston, South Carolina where their mother had relocated them. In 2004, Carson became the Creative Director of Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, designed the special “Exploration” edition of Surfing Magazine, and directed a television commercial for UMPQUA Bank in Seattle, Washington.
Carson claims that his work is “subjective, personal and very self indulgent”.
Carson, David (1995). The End of Print: The Graphic Design of David Carson. Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-1199-9.
Carson, David (1997). David Carson: 2nd Sight: Grafik Design After the End of Print. Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-0128-8.
Meggs, Phillip B.; David Carson (1999). Fotografiks: An Equilibrium Between Photography and Design Through Graphic Expression That Evolves from Content. Laurence King. ISBN 1-85669-171-3.
Stecyk, Craig; David Carson (2002). Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing. Laguna Art Museum in association with Gingko Press. ISBN 1-58423-113-0.
Mcluhan, Marshall; David Carson, Eric McLuhan, Terrance Gordon (2003). The Book of Probes. Gingko Press. ISBN 1-58423-056-8.
Carson, David (2004). Trek: David Carson, Recent Werk. Gingko Press. ISBN 1-58423-046-0.
Mayne, Thom; David Carson (2005). Ortlos: Architecture of the Networks. Hatje Cantz Publishers. ISBN 3-7757-1652-1.
Book design has generally been collaborative since the invention of printing. A designer usually works with a range of people within the publishing and printing industries. A printed book is the culmination of a group effort, between author, publisher, editor, designer and printer at least; often other specialists are also involved to realise the book. With the rise of self-publishing the traditional relationships between different actors has significantly changed. The person creating the content, designing its form of communication and distributing it may now be the same.
There are three main publishing models that can be distinguished that have a different role for the designer.
Model 1 the mainstream conventional model used in the large publishing houses
Writer – Publisher – Editor – Designer – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail
The writer’s manuscript is the main source. The designer’s input comes between editor and production and the design and production of the book involves predominantly dialogue with these two departments. The production department of large publishing houses most often deals with the printer, but in smaller organisations, or for freelance book designers, this role is often assumed by the designer.
Model 2 design-led (eg artists’ books)
Artist/Designer/Author – Publisher – Editor – Production – Printer – Distribution – Retail
The ‘author’ is the designer (or photographer/artist/illustrator) and it is their concept, content and vision which drives forward the book from initial stages through to completion.
Self-publishing is publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. It is seen as a means for authors and designers to ‘take back the power’ and enjoy a creative independence in the writing, design and printing of books.
Self-publishing is not new – artists books and vanity publishing have a long history as a means of challenging the power of the large publishing houses. But in the twenty-first century the rise of digital printing on demand and electronic publishing have enabled self-publishing to become much more widespread. In 2008, for the first time in history, more books were self-published than those published traditionally. In 2009, 76% of all books released were self-published, while publishing houses reduced the number of books they produced. According to Robert Kroese, “the average return of the self-published book is £500”.
A self-published physical book is said to be privately printed. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including, in the case of a book, the design of the cover and interior, formats, price, distribution, marketing and public relations. The authors can do it all themselves or outsource all or part of the process to companies that offer these services.
In all cases it is essential to have a good understanding of how the book will be printed. In the first two models the designer will need a good working relationship with the printer, as this will provide valuable guidance about the best way to print any individual book eg technical parameters including format, page size, paper stock, binding methods and print finishes. In Print on Demand there are also usually choices to be made, some of which have cost implications depending on anticipated volume of sales, but it is easier to change later with the next print run.
As part of the Arts and Crafts movement at the end of the 19th Century, early English small presses were used by authors/artists to express their vision through the craftsmanship of book design, and enjoy ownership of the design and production process as a whole.
In the 1970s Fanzines emerged as a counter-cultural response to the aesthetics and associations of mass commercial book production…(more here)
Some artists and designers are producing different types of artist books, rediscovering the craft and skills inherent in traditional printing processes such as letterpress and returning to a more physical relationship and contact with print, using materials and processes of the pre-digital age, such as photocopying and hand- binding.
Print-On-Demand (POD) technology can produce a quality product equal to those produced by traditional publishers – in the past, you could easily identify a self-published title because of its quality. Many companies, such as Blurb, Createspace (owned by Amazon.com), Lulu and iUniverse allow printing single books at per-book costs not much higher than those paid by publishing companies for large print runs. Most POD companies also offer distribution through Amazon.com and other online and brick-and-mortar retailers, most often as “special order” or “web-only” as retail outlets are usually unwilling to stock physical books that cannot be returned if they do not sell.
Vanity publishing differs from self-publishing in that the author does not own the print run of finished books and is not in primary control of their distribution. The term ‘vanity publishing’ originated at a time when high publishing costs meant profits were only possible on large print runs, so companies only sign contracts with authors whose books would sell well. ‘Vanity publishers’ aimed to give authors an alternative: they would publish any book in exchange for payment up front from the author. The term “vanity publishing” reflects a perception that the authors paying for services had an exaggerated sense of their own talent.
The line between vanity publishing and traditional publishing has become increasingly blurred in the past few years. Some companies (known as joint venture or subsidy presses) offer digital and/or print publication with no up front cost and make the majority of their income on fees for intangible services and add-on services (such as editing, marketing and cover design paid for by the author), rather than sales revenue. Self-publishing companies that fit this model include:
Technological advances with e-book readers and tablet computers that enhance readability and allow readers to “carry” numerous books in a concise, portable product. Because it is possible to create E-books with no up-front or per-book costs, E-book publishing is an extremely popular option for self-publishers. Some recent bestsellers, such as Hugh Howey’s Wool series, began as digital-only books.
The challenge is the multiplicity of E-book formats and different software needed to create them and keep them updated for reading. The most popular formats are epub, .mobi, PDF, HTML, and Amazon’s .azw format. Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords all offer online tools for creating and converting files from other formats to formats that can be sold on their websites.
Self-publishing and vanity publishing are not necessarily the same business model.
Both models share a common characteristic of shifting risk and primary editorial control to the author; both encounter the same issues of lax editorial control. This differs from the conventional model (royalty publishing) in which a publisher pays an author an advance to create content, then assumes full control of the project and any commercial risk if a tome sells poorly. Also excluded is sponsored publishing, where a company pays an author to write a book on its behalf (for instance, a food manufacturer marketing a cookbook written by outsiders or a hobby materials supplier publishing a book of blueprints).
Unless a book is to be sold directly from the author to the public, an ISBN number is required to uniquely identify the title. ISBN is a global standard used for all titles worldwide. Most self-publishing companies either provide their own ISBN to a title or can provide direction; it may be in the best interest of the self-published author to retain ownership of ISBN and copyright instead of using a number owned by a vanity press.
Children’s publishing is a good example of the range of design approaches, with design styles adapted to suit the range of ages, from learner readers through to the teen and young adult market.
Early reading books need to be robust – large, sturdy board books with
thick pages strong enough to withstand heavy handling by toddlers.
Young children’s books have a small amount of text per page, usually in rounded, easily readable typeface – like Garamond, for example – to encourage letter recognition.
lllustrations play an important role, adding interest and providing scope for interactivity, as these books are often written and designed to be read aloud. The children’s market is alivewith vibrant, playful and fantastic book illustrations which do more than merely accompany the text; they are embedded and integral to the overall design. As a child’s reading improves, so the amount of text increases accordingly, through to the teenage and young adult audience.
The Task
Using one of the hardback books that you sourced in Part One, create a flatplan of the first eight pages of your selected book, similar to the example on the previous page.
Indicate where important text and images occur, on a recto (right-hand) or verso (left-hand) page, or as a double-page spread.
Indicate images by a crossed box, as in the example for ‘front cover’ in the diagram on the previous page. These crossed rectangles indicate image boxes in desktop publishing (DTP) software, and are used in drafts and sketches to signify image material. There is no need to go into detailed drawing regarding text or image material at this stage. Text can be indicated by a series of thick horizontal lines, with main headings sketched in.
Use the flatplan to familiarise yourself with the structure of a book. Note the blank pages and how they are organised to complement the preceding or following page. Note the extent (number of pages) in the book and whether it has been printed in signatures, or sections. Document your flatplan and research in your learning log.
Below are photographs of some pages from Sketchlog 1: Books where I produced flatpans showing the contents of different types of book. For further details see Sketchlog 1.
Origins of the book Edit
The binding of a Chinese bamboo book (Sun Tzu’s The Art of War)
The craft of bookbinding probably originated in India, where religious sutras were copied on to palm leaves (cut into two, lengthwise) with a metal stylus. The leaf was then dried and rubbed with ink, which would form a stain in the wound. The finished leaves were given numbers, and two long twines were threaded through each end through wooden boards, making a palm-leaf book. When the book was closed, the excess twine would be wrapped around the boards to protect the manuscript leaves. Buddhist monks took the idea through Afghanistan to China in the first century BC.
Similar techniques can also be found in ancient Egypt where priestly texts were compiled on scrolls and books of papyrus. Another version of bookmaking can be seen through the ancient Mayan codex; only four are known to have survived the Spanish invasion of Latin America.
Writers in the Hellenistic-Roman culture wrote longer texts as scrolls; these were stored in boxes or shelving with small cubbyholes, similar to a modern winerack. Court records and notes were written on wax tablets, while important documents were written on papyrus or parchment. The modern English word book comes from the Proto-Germanic *bokiz, referring to the beechwood on which early written works were recorded.[4]
The book was not needed in ancient times, as many early Greek texts—scrolls—were 30 pages long, which were customarily folded accordion-fashion to fit into the hand. Roman works were often longer, running to hundreds of pages. The Greeks used to call their books tome, meaning “to cut”. The Egyptian Book of the Dead was a massive 200 pages long and was used in funerary services for the deceased. Torah scrolls, editions of the Jewish holy book, were—and still are—also held in special holders when read.
Scrolls can be rolled in one of two ways. The first method is to wrap the scroll around a single core, similar to a modern roll of paper towels. While simple to construct, a single core scroll has a major disadvantage: in order to read text at the end of the scroll, the entire scroll must be unwound. This is partially overcome in the second method, which is to wrap the scroll around two cores, as in a Torah. With a double scroll, the text can be accessed from both beginning and end, and the portions of the scroll not being read can remain wound. This still leaves the scroll a sequential-access medium: to reach a given page, one generally has to unroll and re-roll many other pages.
Early book formats Edit
In addition to the scroll, wax tablets were commonly used in Antiquity as a writing surface. Diptychs and later polyptych formats were often hinged together along one edge, analogous to the spine of modern books, as well as a folding concertina format. Such a set of simple wooden boards sewn together was called by the Romans a codex (pl. codices)—from the Latin word caudex, meaning ‘the trunk’ of a tree, around the first century AD. Two ancient polyptychs, a pentaptych and octoptych, excavated at Herculaneum employed a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on thongs or cords.[5]
At the turn of the first century, a kind of folded parchment notebook called pugillares membranei in Latin, became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire.[6] This term was used by both the pagan poet Martial and Christian apostle Paul the Apostle. Martial used the term with reference to gifts of literature exchanged by Romans during the festival of Saturnalia. According to T. C. Skeat, “…in at least three cases and probably in all, in the form of codices” and he theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then “…must have spread rapidly to the Near East…”[7] In his discussion of one of the earliest pagan parchment codices to survive from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, Eric Turner seems to challenge Skeat’s notion when stating “…its mere existence is evidence that this book form had a prehistory” and that “early experiments with this book form may well have taken place outside of Egypt.”[8]
Early intact codices were discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. Consisting of primarily Gnostic texts in Coptic, the books were mostly written on papyrus, and while many are single-quire, a few are multi-quire. Codices were a significant improvement over papyrus or vellum scrolls in that they were easier to handle. However, despite allowing writing on both sides of the leaves, they were still foliated—numbered on the leaves, like the Indian books. The idea spread quickly through the early churches, and the word Bible comes from the town where the Byzantine monks established their first scriptorium, Byblos, in modern Lebanon. The idea of numbering each side of the page—Latin pagina, “to fasten”—appeared when the text of the individual testaments of the Bible were combined and text had to be searched through more quickly. This book format became the preferred way of preserving manuscript or printed material.