Visual Diary: I Heart Book Design

Hello and happy Thursday everyone, the weekend is almost here and I’ve got some lovely eye-candy here to get you through to Friday. For those of you who don’t already know, when I first went into graphic design, I was very specialized; I only wanted to design books and most of all, book covers. Fortunately for me, I landed a job doing just that, fresh out of school.

For four years, I worked for Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, designing textbook covers for the College Division. On average, I created about three covers a day, for books covering everything from mathematics to science, to humanities, etc. And although rewarding, the job was creatively draining. On the days that I couldn’t get the artistic mojo flowing, I would flip through two of my favorite books about book design; Front Cover: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design by Alan Powers and, By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design by Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger. These books have saved me many a time during periods of creative frustration. Even since leaving my job at Houghton, I still refrence these books for the graphic genius they contain.

Here I’ve showcased just a sample of some of my favorite covers from each book. I tend to gravitate towards books designed between 1940 and 1960; I especially love the late-modern use of sans serif type and strong silhouetted graphics that were popular throughout this time. If you have any interest in design, particularly the design of books, be sure to check out either of these titles the next time you hit the book store, it’ll be worth it. Happy reading!

{All images via “Front Cover: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design” by Alan Powers and, “By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design” by Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger}