Printing Custom Books Cover Design For Printing Custom Books

Printing Custom Books Cover design for printing custom books

 

The jacket is the appearance of the book, a major part of its design. In addition to the protective effect, the more important role of the jacket is publicity, that is, the book's small advertisement, therefore, the jacket should have advertising effect. However, the effective distance of the publicity effect of the cover is different from the poster on the advertising wall or advertising column on the street. It is a small volume of printed matter placed in the window. There is a distance of 2-3 meters here. Cover is different from general painting creation. It belongs to books and reflects the content, nature and spirit of books. Without books, there is no cover design. Therefore, the design of the cover should take into account the cultural nature, it is different from the strong effect of commercial advertising paintings, also different from independent painting creation, but can reflect the content of the spirit of the book, can give people the enjoyment of art and the joy of reading art works.

 

1. conception

Conception is the first and most important step in cover design. The theory of Chinese painting argues that "the intention is to write first," and the so-called "intention" is the conception, which is the soul of artistic modeling, and the cover design is no exception. A common cover, which simply illustrates and translates the content or title, is not only bland, but sometimes even distorts the content. There is also a protective cover, although the sense of form is strong, or even follow the law of art, but there is no ideological, may make people like for a while, but soon forget? . But we also see some excellent, thoughtful covers that are loved and recited over and over again. The reason for this difference is mainly the quality and depth of the idea.

 

After the designer has read the dispatch sheet or read the content of the book, the idea activity begins. So we say that conception is the beginning of design. Since the cover can reflect the content of the book, but only one point, one side, or an Angle, it cannot and does not need to reflect the whole content, so we should grasp the essence and typical content, refer to life materials and materials, summarize and extract, and then expand the wings of imagination. At this time, many ideas filled the mind. Some flash, some looming, gradually appear a variety of schemes. Some of them come by accident, which is called inspiration. On this basis, should draw more drafts, in more ideas, after a screening and contrast, complement and improve, choose an ideal scheme. This scheme may succeed, or it may have to be partially or completely dismantled to produce a better scheme. Obviously, the activity of conception is the process of knowledge and continuous improvement of things. The quality and success of the idea is based on the accumulated ideological sentiment, culture and artistic accomplishment of the designer.

 

Different types of books have different characteristics. Literature books depict images with words, political books are logical thinking, science and technology books have images or no images, if only the existing images, it is not enough to reflect the essence of the content. Therefore, designers should be good at converting the logical thinking that is not easy for readers to understand into simple and vivid image expression.

 

In the conception activities, the use of association, metaphor, symbol, personification, empathy, abstraction, exaggeration, create artistic conception and atmosphere and other methods can make the conception clever and profound, trigger the emotional exchange, resonance and extension between the designer and the reader, and jointly complete the complete aesthetic process. A good designer pursues the state of "infinite meaning and infinite words". The aesthetic appreciation of readers does not stop on the limited image of the cover, but continues to extend to the depth and breadth, so that the end of the designer's creation becomes the starting point of readers' re-creation. However, cover is a visual communication art, good ideas must also be through the right form and technique to express.

 

2. Technique of expression. The performance of the cover can be roughly divided into three kinds:

(1) Realistic techniques. The specific plots and images in the book are used to directly express the content of the book, so it is also called direct expression technique. For example, a book describing war would draw fierce battle scenes, and a book about agricultural production would draw tractors or fields, etc. This method of expression is intuitive and easy to understand. It is used in literature books, children's books and knowledge books.

(2) Symbolic techniques. By association, metaphor, symbol, abstraction and other methods to indirectly reflect the content of the spirit of the book, so it is also called indirect expression techniques. For example, a pen or paper is used for literature theory books, masks or curtains for drama books, Musical Instruments or notes for music books, etc. If this technique of expression is used well, it is more subtle and evocative than realistic technique, and it has more artistic appeal.

(3) Decorative techniques. Use lines, color blocks and decorative patterns that are in tune with the spirit of the book's content. This method of expression is suitable for the cover that is not suitable to express the contents of books with specific images. It is often used for theoretical books and academic works.

 

These three techniques of expression have different characteristics, according to the content and nature of the book, choose the appropriate technique of expression. But it's not about a certain kind of book jacket. It is only suitable to use a certain technique of expression, and sometimes these techniques are also used repeatedly. [next]

 

3. Design factors. Text, image, color and composition are the four factors in the design of the cover.

Writing is an essential part of the cover. A book always has a title, author's name and publisher's name, of which the title is the main item in the text section. The title of the book may be printed in a suitable font or written according to the design requirements. The title of this kind of writing is generally called the title of the book. The title not only helps readers to understand the content of the book in a literal sense, but also enhances the embodiment and expression of the content of the book by the characteristics of the font itself. Often some of the design of the cover is very good, but the word processing is not good, forming a fly in the ointment, or even destroy the whole work. Therefore, the choice of font, its size, position, arrangement method and color should be closely aligned with the overall composition, making the text a perfect part of the cover design.

 

In some cases, there is no concrete image, only the words themselves. Many people tend to overlook this kind of words-only cover. Many examples demonstrate that it is possible to produce impressive and decorative coverings using only words. If we use only words, the title or a group of words to highlight the picture, the other words to the back, it is possible to get a magnificent effect. Because this kind of cover has one advantage, the text can express itself without restriction, but the image of the cover can not do without the text, can not express themselves alone. Another advantage is that the text is more easily coordinated with the font of the cover and body than the image. In addition to the use of large size of the body font, you can also use other typography, calligraphy or fonts of your own design, just like the title page. This method of using other fonts is more flexible in the jacket than in the cover or title page, because the jacket is more loose in relation to the book. The purpose of using other fonts is mainly to improve the expressiveness of the title. The most convenient way to connect with the inside of a book is to print small text fonts next to titles in other fonts. This kind of word-only cover is suitable for political books, classics and science and technology books, and other kinds of books are perfectly possible.

Cover design generally focuses on the arrangement of two factors: text and image. In addition to the necessary text, the image part of the material range is relatively wide.

 

Lines, wide edges, geometric shapes, and especially patterns in typography have good decorative effects and endless combinations. We can not only combine them into two square continuous, square continuous, frames, small ornaments, but also freely combine with lines, wide edges, geometric shapes and so on, and obtain very beautiful changes in color. However, its use should also be related to the content and nature of the book. The use of this method in the design of the cover, in Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary has been a considerable success.

 

Another method is to use decorative patterns that have associations or symbolic meanings with the content of the book. In recent decades, the popular publishing house logo is a symbolic decorative pattern, which symbolizes a certain kind of books of a certain publishing house. It is worth advocating. Decorative patterns have a wide range of applications, from ancient or national forms of decoration as a symbol of the style of classical books or national books, to some books using modern abstractionist fun things, there are inexhaustible sources. However, the application of pattern decoration must also contact with the content of the spirit of the book, can not be arbitrarily copied.

 

Most literary book jackets are made up of illustrations and text. Many readers, especially teenagers, children and the less educated, have an easier time understanding illustrations than words. It is fitting, therefore, for a book aimed at the general public to have an illustration on the jacket that introduces the basic spirit of the book's contents. Sometimes an illustration from the book can be used on the cover, but it should not be used often, because the illustrations in the book are often to describe a specific plot, while the cover is mainly to show the content and spirit of the whole book.

Is the illustration or the text important on the cover? This depends on the content and design requirements. In any case, only one of the words or illustrations can play the main role, and they should not be equal. It is rare for illustrations and words to come from a single person, so it is necessary to unify the two styles as if they were from the same hand.

 

The cover of professional books, science books, popular science books and plastic arts books often uses situational photography, technical illustrations or reproductions of paintings. For example, professional books mostly use a photographic picture that truly reflects a certain operation process; The image should be advertising effective, crisp, black and white, and free of extras unrelated to the content. To enhance a monochromatic image, add a strong background color around the image. Instead, a colored picture needs an intermediate tone "such as a black, white, or gray undertone. A copy of a painting on a plastic arts book jacket; "It must be large, attractive, and of good printing quality; Because readers tend to see the quality of the cover as internal quality. Sometimes, to suggest to the reader that the book contains a variety of content and plot, it can also be a Mosaic of images in which many pictures are reduced in size with a medium tone background color.

 

Color plays a very important role in cover design; Readers tend to see color first, then words and images. So our color is the plastic art works to give people the first impression.

 

White cover is easy to stain and must be protected by glazing or transparent film. Most designers like to paint a base color that connects with the content of the book to create an atmosphere and draw the reader's attention. The color treatment of the jacket is determined by the hue of the cover and the interior of the book, but it can be more intense and use more contrast methods to enhance the advertising effect. Bright and warm colors can create the illusion that the book is larger. Large blocks of interconnected color can enhance the effect of color. But the lack of organization of cluttered color blocks can create a feeling of instability.

 

The color of the cover is not bound by the natural color, according to the needs of the content of the book, the appropriate exaggeration and change, to enhance the decorative effect of the work.

 

Because the color of the cover is finally finished by printing. The performance of printing ink is different from that of water pink, the same hue is not exactly the same visually, especially in two colors or several colors overlapping the effect is different. Therefore, designers should understand the basic knowledge of printing ink, in order to achieve the ideal effect in color processing.

 

The success of the cover design depends largely on a good color treatment and a good composition. The idea is mainly to solve the problem of what to show and what to show. Composition is the organization of the image formed in the conception on the picture.

 

There are various forms of composition, such as: vertical, horizontal, slanted, curvy, crossed, centripetal, radial, triangular, superimposed, borderline, scatter, ground,... And so on. These forms provide a general skeleton for the whole pattern of the composition, but also pay attention to the specific arrangement of words and images on the skeleton. The form of composition should be used flexibly instead of blindly copying. What is more important is the accumulation of practical experience and the spirit of daring to explore and innovate. Although the forms of composition are varied, there are only two generalizations: symmetry and balance. The symmetrical composition gives a sense of stability and dignity. Equilibrium is a form of equal inequality, which is another way of arranging things not along the central axis. It feels lively, compact and original. In addition, approximate symmetry or including equilibrium in symmetry is more powerful and intriguing than the design effect of complete symmetry. The same is true of approximating equilibrium or including symmetry in equilibrium.

 

In nature, all vivid phenomena are concerned with contrast. Cover to have moving effect, but also to apply the method of contrast: size, height, thickness, density, black and white, simple, virtual and solid...... And so on. The application of contrast can make the picture produce a sense of change and rhythm, so that the primary and secondary. But pay attention to the organic connection between each other, so that they have a sense of wholeness.

 

The most important thing in composition is that the subject matter stands out. The main image should be properly handled in proportion and position, so that it stands out, and the secondary and foil images cannot exceed or interfere with it, resulting in the phenomenon of usurpation. Which is more important, the title or the image? It depends on the book content and design requirements.

 

The four design factors of text, image, color and composition are like four violins in a violin quartet, playing a beautiful melody together. If each of the four violas had tried to make its own voice the loudest and most beautiful, the listener would have heard nothing but a cacophony. It is necessary, therefore, to have a master of the orchestra, who can skillfully choose one fiddle for the first fiddle, and the other three to complement and set off the first fiddle, so that harmony and beauty can be made. As for who is the first violist, it is not fixed. It depends on the content and requirements of the work. It could be words, it could be images, it could be colors, it could be composition. They are all indispensable and equally important, yet only one can be the most prominent in the picture, and can never be treated equally.

 

In order to achieve the purpose of publicity and beautification books, designers are always looking for new ways of expression. The continuous emergence of new materials and new processes, especially the corresponding computer programming according to the aesthetic point of view, provides the necessary conditions for the innovation of book design. Powerful methods that use too much of each other or copy each other are more likely to lose their value than plain and subtle methods. If loud and steady, rough and sophisticated at the same time. It brings out their own characteristics. Compared with other parts of the book, the cover is even more artistic than the illustrations, because the design of the cover can more clearly show the breath of The Times and the designer's personal style and artistic views.