Although book design as most modern practitioners would understand it did not gain
recognition until the beginning of the twentieth century, there is nevertheless a long
history of books without a known designer which can in no sense be regarded as
undesigned. Manuscripts and early printing often point to immediate solutions as well
as offering a longer-term yardstick. There is a wealth of data on record here about the
reading process itself over the centuries, and our eyes have not changed. The same
stories and lessons are re-told with greater or lesser sophistication. Conventions
concerning the content and structure of the book slowly evolve; some features retain
their worth, others become archaic. Standards of raw materials and techniques of
manufacture progress and regress. The book remains unique and inimitable, and the
designer has a definable role in promoting its culture from childhood onwards.
The Practice of Book DesignBook design is a behind the scenes activity, employing relatively few in-house or
freelance designers at multifarious levels. Designing demands self-motivated expertise,
sustained through teamwork involving at least two functions within any publishing
house: editorial and production, and—if the work involves the design of jackets and
publicity material—with the sales organisation as well. The editorial function entails
creative involvement with author and illustrator from the outset, and the production
department is responsible for specifying materials and monitoring manufacture. Design
may be combined with other tasks in a small firm or with running a studio for a larger
organisation, whereas freelance consultants normally work for several publishing
houses in different capacities.
The design process starts with an initial reading of the text and a briefing on the
publisher’s intention for it, from which the experienced designer will sense what work
will be necessary to help the book reach and serve its intended public. A high proportion
of books published present few complexities or fall naturally into established series, but
over-regimented design procedures have been shown to have limited application and
success, for each book is different and none so elementary as not to benefit from
considered design. At the other extreme a manuscript may need to be extensively re-
worked to address its true market, and the designer sometimes has to take the initiative
for presenting the author’s material visually and thereby transforming it into a
marketable product.
Some confusion may arise if the roles of book designer and book illustrator are too
closely identified. Designers do not as a rule aspire to imaginative illustration, while
illustrators, although appreciative of the contribution good typographic design has to
make, are usually thankful to leave it to the specialist. This distinction may help to
highlight that precise interface between author and illustrator in which the children’s
book designer operates: striking a balance between the primacy of language and that of
the pictorial image; mediating between those who think and express themselves in
words and those who think and create in a visual language. This elusive goal is well
stated as the purpose of the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award which is given ‘for a work of
imagination for children in which text and illustration are integrated so that each
enhances yet balances the other’.
456 THE CONTEXT OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE