Book cover design (on)

First, the task of protection

Judging from the term itself, the term "enclosed seal" does not fully explain or only partially explain its meaning. Of course, the task of the seal is to protect the cover. Under normal circumstances, books are wrapped in paper during transportation so as not to be damaged by dirt on the way. But after the bookstore, it was the seal that protected the books. We can imagine that readers in the bookstore are curious to pick up a book and read the inside of the book, but most readers still put it back and continue to choose the books he needs. As a result, a book is often sold after being read by many hands. It will inevitably suffer some damage. After the cover is soiled or damaged, it can be replaced with a new one. In addition, the books placed in the window are susceptible to fading and curling due to light and sunlight, and the seal can reduce this damage.

But the most important thing for the seal is another task, that is, the seal can help sales. It is the reader's introducer. It draws the reader's attention to it, approaches it, introduces readers to the book's spirit and content, and encourages readers to purchase the book.

The display window of each bookstore is a small seal art exhibition (which also includes the cover of paperback books). While the reader pays attention to the content of the book, he will certainly notice its appearance. We know that every reader has a certain aspect of his hobby books: literary, political, sports, artistic, professional, and other kinds of hobbies. They put their curious eyes on the showcase, hoping to find new books for their needs in terms of their hobby, but these eyes are first of all on the appearance of the most eye-catching books. Here, the seal seems to be many small posters. They are eager to tell readers that their clothes are particularly refreshing, beautiful, interesting, and admirable, and they have the highest achievements in the content of books, artistic values, and technical production. How to also buy it.

Of course, there are also some readers. They look for books that they are familiar with and trust from the title of the book, and do not pay attention to the seal and are not affected by the appearance. However, most of the readers will still be affected by the seal, pay attention to and like it, and can become one of the reasons for buying this book.

It can be seen from this that the task of protecting the seal is first of all its advertising function, and secondly, the protective effect. It is a propaganda tool, a small advertisement that fits into a book. Some people compare the seal to a small poster, but this only explains part of the problem of the seal, which determines the essence of the seal is related to the contents of the book and must adapt to the shape of the book in appearance.

The history of the second guard

The earliest visor to be seen today is the work of the German Jarer Shapf at the end of the 15th century. From 1478 to 1517 he was a bookbinding worker and woodcutter in Augsburg. Another German, Schönppegger, used a similar protective cover with a woodcut ornament on a small book, Health Care, in Augsburg, 1482. In addition to Augsburg, there are also places where the use of seals in books is in Venice and Vela in Italy. No seal was found in later years. It was only in the 19th century that the use of the seal was discovered.

In 1949, the International Book Sealing Exhibition entitled "Book Clothes Art" was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. The initiator of the exhibition was Charles Rossner of the United Kingdom, who later published a book entitled "Book Seal Art". This may be the first professional book on protection. According to the book's record, the first seal in modern times was the "Stone of Heath Heath" published by the British Longmans Press in 1833, and the red book title was sealed on beige paper. Its front cover is a symmetrical composition composed of words in the online box, and advertisements for other books of the publishing house are printed on the back cover. Seven years after the cover was published, linen was used for the first time on the cover. Only four years ago, a cover book was used outside the cover of a silk fabric. Obviously, the use of fabric covers has promoted the production of seals.

German book art senior F. Prof. H. Emke put forward his point of view. He said: “The paperback book popular in France for more than one hundred years has a roll of yellow paper wrapped around it. This is the origin of the seal.” It can be seen that the seal was created from the paperback, and the fabric was sealed and turned into something between the seal and the book. The exterior of the book used to be the front page, then the cover, and then the paperback jacket. Now it's the jacket with the advertising task. The seal became an integral part of the book.

The promotion of protective seals is very slow. In the latter half of the 19th century, some of the books of the publishers and booksellers were wrapped in a simple transparent paper and they could see the following seals. Later on the kraft paper was printed powerful text or randomly printed with a simple picture. It wasn’t until the 1990s that multicolor overlays began to be used on white paper, and famous painters and designers were asked to design the seals. Before and after this century, France's Sternand and Lautrec produced a number of seals that inspired inspiration from the poster art. In Germany, the paintings of Sluggurt and Heine, the decorative patterns of Ekman and Peyrens, and the fonts of Weiss and Emke enrich the expression of the seal. In many cases, the seal is designed by illustrators. The complicated school of plastic art in the 20th century was reflected in the seal. German Hatfield first applied the photographic clips to the jacket. The application of the poster design method in the protection of seals has become increasingly dominant. Some types of books that had previously deliberately given up protection, such as classical editions, scientific books, and professional books, rarely dared to hit the book market without a seal. The development of the seal art has gradually produced its own design rules, and it has formed a tendency of various styles that are important for the design.

The three parts of the jacket and its special forms

The seal is a flat square print. Its height is equal to that of a book. Its length can enclose the front cover, spine and back cover of the cover, and on each side there is a 5 to 10 cm inward fold (also known as a fold). Protected paper should use good quality paper that is not easily torn. If the height of the seal is cut off by 1 to 2 mm, the risk of being torn can also be reduced.

The components of the seal are divided into front seals, spines, back seals, front mouths, back mouths and mostly unprinted sheets from its creases. Usually designers only focus on the front cover and the spine, because the books are laid flat or upright in the window. We only see these two areas. Some designers are restricted by this area. However, readers always have to take the book and sometimes change its direction. If we extend the design to the back cover, this extension will not affect the independence and integrity of the front cover, spine and back seal, then it may produce a more stylish and more effective seal.

The text applied on the seal is more flexible. Generally, the name of the book, the author's name, and the publisher's name are printed on the front cover. If there are author names and publisher names on the spine, only the title can be printed on the front cover if necessary.

At least the name of the book and the author's name should be printed on the spine of the seal. This is because the book is easily recognizable on the bookshelf. Vertical, horizontal, or line-breaking texts are determined based on the overall design and thickness.

After the seal was sealed, the publisher used to advertise other books for advertising purposes. This part that can be seen on the outside is best used for the design of this book, without destroying its integrity. If the design of the jacket is not extended to the next page, you can also introduce or comment on the contents of this book, or print the author's resume.

In front of the mouth is often printed with a brief or brief comment on the book. Its design can not be ignored, because it plays an important role for readers to understand the content of the book. Unfortunately, it is rarely used here, and it is often because the area is too small to fall off easily. The design elements of the front cover can also be extended to the mouth. For example, a thread, a color patch, a simple vignette, or a small floral ornament can be used to divide the area and decorate the mouth. If the advertising effect of the jacket is already very strong, the leap next to it should be consciously designed to be simple and plain, so that it is unified in the atmosphere of the book.

The author's resume and his portrait can be printed on Hou Lekou, and the reader is very welcome. It is also good if other author's books or similar books of this book are printed. In short, this is an advertising space for publishers to promote other books, especially books related to this book. The design of Hou Lekou should be consistent with that of Qian Lekou. On the cover, there is also an advertising space for publishers to promote books, which happens to be rarely noticed and used. This is the inside page of the seal. Of course, if the reader wants to see it, he must remove the shield from the book. If a line of indicative text is printed on the Hou Le mouth, the reader will know what kind of new book the publisher can offer him on the inside page. This design may seem excessive in literary books and classics, but it is fully applicable to science and technology books and popular books. The design of the page should be simple and simple, or only use text to print.

In recent years, the protective cover and the transparent film have become popular. Their effects are almost the same. Of course, the latter will be much more secure. This glossy cover is not applicable to any book, but also depends on the nature and content of the book. Improper use will not be true enough, and readers' preferences are not the same. Some readers prefer simple and plain, or use the natural color of paper, even more interesting and cute.

The other is using transparent film as a protective cover more. Some valuable books, often wrapped in a transparent film in addition to the protective cover, appear too much. The use of transparent film is to replace the paper seal, it plays the role of protecting the cover, and together with the visible cover play an advertising role. Some books are printed on the cover and printed on the transparent film. This is a good method. Print on the reverse side of the transparent film. Can be harmed in various situations.

A special form of seal is a girdle seal. It was added after the book was printed. It was often after the book that important events related to the book appeared. It must be added to the reader. For example, the author of the book received a literary bonus or was photographed. The movie and so on. The girdle wraps around the lower part of the jacket, which is about 5 cm high, and it is only the waist of the jacket. Therefore, it is called a girdle, also known as a semi-seal, and the cover is also called a full-seal. The use of a girdle should not affect the effectiveness of the seal. If the most important part of the title and cover is at the bottom of the quarter, the use of a girdle does not make sense.

There is a book cover with similar functions related to the seal. Most of the book covers are made of simple cardboard, which are bound on five sides and open on one side. When the book is loaded, the book spine is exposed. It is a kind of package for the book to be firm in transportation. If a sheet of paper with advertising effects is placed on the outside of the book cover, it can be used as a replacement for the cover seal. Therefore, books with book cover can also be used to seal off the seal.