A book’s cover is a promise about what the reader will find inside. For example, this cover for Treasure Island promises, “I will be boring and badly designed.” A book cover is a promise Books that don’t have cover art get automatically generated covers–these covers don’t quite do justice to the swashbuckling going on inside the […]

This article is in: Book Design, Books, Community, Cover Design

Illustration adapted from this image “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird…” Thank you, Harper Lee.

This article is in: Being Human, Books

“Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence just boils down to curiosity.” —Aaron Swartz

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No story has power, nor will it last, unless we feel in ourselves that it is true and true of us. …A great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last.

This article is in: Being Human, Books

I was recently asked what the best font would be for designing material for kids who are learning to read. The truth is that the best font for kids, or for anyone, is always going to depend on the context. Readability is relative Readability in a font has a lot to do with what the […]

This article is in: Book Design, Books, Type Design, Typography

When I started reading the novel, it seemed distant, disconnected from my daily life. Then the shootings took place at the in Charleston, South Carolina.

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A #shelfie of the books we’re reading in our house–some for me, and some for the kiddos. The International Day of the Book The 23rd of April is celebrated in many places as the International Day of the Book, or World Book Day. UNESCO declared April 23 to be World Book and Copyright Day as […]

This article is in: Book Design, Books, Community, Ideas, Social Media, Travel

Market is primed for “readerless books” After seeing the growing interest in driverless cars, I’m designing a new line of readerless books. I think the market is ready for an innovative solution like this. Imagine the time saving potential–a book that sits quietly in a corner and reads itself! These books are virtually indistinguishable from […]

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Why read books? Books take us beyond ourselves and give us access to experiences, thought and wisdom that we could not otherwise reach in our short time.

This article is in: Book Design, Books, Ideas, Illustration

“A chart showing the percentage of excellence in the physical properties of books published since 1910.”
Infographic c. 1920

This article is in: Book Design, Books, Illustration