Look at the current state of book design from the most beautiful Hardcover Books

Look at the current state of book design from the "most beautiful" Hardcover Books

Zhou Chen: book decoration designer (currently working in Jiangsu Education Publishing House); Liao Jie Lian: Hong Kong book designer (Judge of the "2007 World's Most Beautiful Books", Associate Professor, School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Zhou Chen: So far, there have been six "China's Most beautiful Books" selection activities. Since 2004, there have been five batches of 107 "China's most beautiful books" presented in Leipzig, Germany, and six of them have won the title of "World's Most beautiful Books". "The Most beautiful Book in China" has become a platform and bridge for Chinese books to go abroad and to the world. For example, Mei Lanfang's Collection of Historical Pictures of Tibetan Opera, which won the gold medal of "The Most beautiful Book in the World" for the first time, is very convincing in subject matter, design and printing technology, representing the high level of design and production of contemporary Chinese books. The book conveys Chinese culture to the international community both in content and form. The "Most beautiful Book in the World" competition has attracted a lot of attention because of the title "most beautiful". You were an international judge of the competition in Germany. Can you talk about the competition? Do the judging criteria of this activity represent the latest ideas and trends that are generally accepted in the international book design field today?

Liao Jielian: I have been invited to participate in the selection of book binding design in different countries and regions, such as Germany, Japan, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And the feeling of being a judge in Germany is particularly profound. The jury is made up of judges from different countries. Although there are cultural differences, the aesthetic standards of book design are very similar. Of course, the perspective of appreciation will be different. In Germany, after the first round of voting, each member of the jury has the opportunity to express their professional opinions and communicate with each other, which can allow everyone to fully understand each work selected from different countries, and then proceed to the second round of voting. So far, I haven't had this experience anywhere else. Personally, I think this can be an exchange activity between different cultures, which cannot produce any new ideas or trends, because many books leading the fashion of design and creating design concepts did not participate in the competition, so this activity can not represent the international standards completely, but it can reflect some phenomena of book design. The knowledge and understanding of book design under different cultural backgrounds are narrowed, and the development of book design in a certain direction is promoted to some extent.

Zhou Chen: There was a time in China when most of the winning books were big picture books with beautiful and luxurious packaging, but these books were rarely favored by the judges in the selection of "The most beautiful Book in the World". For example, in the traditional aesthetic view of the Chinese public, a large picture book like "Splendid Articles" would still be more acceptable for such beautifully bound and well-made books. Generally speaking, some of the award-winning books are controversial among readers. I think this controversy stems from readers' lack of understanding of the award's aesthetic standards and judging criteria, or these standards are different from the traditional aesthetic cognition of Chinese readers. What do you think?

Liao Jielian: Whatever the reason, I think the controversy among Chinese readers is clearly related to the differences in traditional aesthetic cognition among Chinese readers. The pursuit of beauty in Chinese books is based on the quality of the material, which can be understood when we look back at the history of China. However, the combination of "concept" and book design theory has just started, and is still in the period of running-in between designers and readers.

Zhou Chen: The selection of "The Most beautiful Book in China" for so many years has objectively promoted the improvement of the design level of Chinese books, and made progress in both design concept and printing process. China is a country with a long history of books and a rich and colorful book culture. However, under the background of such an international review, how should the book form and cultural connotation of our nation be displayed and expressed? How should our nation's aesthetic pursuit be carried forward and communicated?

Liao Jielian: "How to show and express" and "how to carry forward and communicate", don't worry. The whole (world) is being attuned in this direction, each nation is rethinking its own identity and establishing another phenomenon. So it's important to have an "open mind" that guides these two "hows."

Zhou Chen: In book design, font design is a very important part. In Hong Kong graphic design, Chinese font redesign is very prominent. You have been focusing on Chinese font design for many years and have accumulated a lot of experience. Can you talk about your feelings?

Liao Jie Lian: I'm a little unsure how to share this with you. The approach to Chinese font design reflects Hong Kong's design scene to some extent. Generally speaking, the aesthetic taste of Hong Kong characters may be influenced by the English font; The second is to use the image method to process, which can get a special effect. The common phenomenon is that many people understand Chinese characters and calligraphy, do not understand Chinese font design, let alone Chinese font design theory, designers and teachers need to work harder in this regard.

Zhou Chen: Hong Kong has always been a very active area for Chinese graphic design. Chinese and Western cultures have blended together and entered the international environment relatively early. What is the current situation of book design in Hong Kong? Are there any lessons that the Mainland can learn from?

Liao Jie Lian: I have a different view, that is, Hong Kong book design and mainland book design should learn from each other. For example, except for Hong Kong, many designers around the world can survive only by focusing on book design, while in Hong Kong, no designer can survive only by book design. I always feel that the culture of every place has a kaleidoscope of forms of expression, there is no need to force any way, progress is inevitable. Finally, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to share a little perspective.

Zhou Chen: Well, your experience has given me a lot of inspiration, and it also gives us a new perspective on the current state of contemporary book design.