Genre
I offer this topic at the risk of limiting anyone’s workload from lurking art directors. I am curious about the type of books you enjoy working on most. This topic may be especially relevant to in-house designers or art directors who design for the same imprint (or even author) continually. Do you like the restrictions or do you feel a bit stifled?
Beggars can’t be choosers, but I probably would have to give the nod toward nonfiction titles. I like designing fiction. (Pander alert: don’t get me wrong Mr./Ms. Art Director. If you would like to assign me a fiction project I will gladly accept it. And love it.). That being said, I tend to read biographies, history, theology, and general nonfiction more and may be why I particularly enjoy designing for those kinds of books. But as they say, variety is the spice of life.
Image courtesy of Flickr.
13 Responses
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Love this new forum Tobias! I’d have to agree with Charles on variety. But, if I were to select a favorite “type” of book to work on, it would probably be academic. I love being introduced to new knowledgeable content that I would never come across otherwise.
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Unlike Charles, I don’t get a big variety because of what the publishers that I currently work for produce. I do, however, agree that more variety is better and more challenging for any designer and some day hopefully there will be a genre I have never designed before on my desk. I think my favorite book genre to design would also have to be academic and theology because of the content and challenge (usual lack of restrictions) of most of the books.
I think I could use more spice.
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I really like working in fiction….HOWEVER, not every fiction book is created equal, and I do appreciate non-fiction and historical books as well. I think every genre has potential, if both the publisher and art director are willing to risk a little.
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Fiction has got to be a genre I think most of us would like to work on if not for the simple fact that it has a lot of potential to be something really cool through and through. Meaning that it could be a great cover and a great read at the same time. In general i think most designers like the notion that they would read the book they are designing for. But how often is this the case…
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Ditto on the need for variety. I am thankful for the wide array of projects I get to work on, and the unique challenges presented by each. Hard to pick just one type of project that I most enjoy. That’s kinda like picking my favorite Radiohead album. Often the projects that I’m not initially excited about will turn into some of the most rewarding, because I have to overcome more obstacles to achieve something I’m proud of. I’m more impressed when I see an amazing cover for a title/subject that I can’t imagine expressing visually vs. a slam dunk title like A Three Hour Tour of Duty: The battle for Giligan’s Island (okay, I’m pretty sure there is no such book).
All that said and all filters aside, I would have to agree with Nate. I dig me some fiction, with a shout out to non-fiction and historical books. I also like capturing the mood and essence of a nostalgic memoir. These kinds of projects get me the most excited, but I’m often surprised by the projects that I grow attached to.
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I don’t truly fall into the realm of book design, though some aspects of my job shares similarities. I work as an in-house designer for a camp in SoCal called Forest Home with a boss who shares some striking similarities to Steve Carell’s character, Michael Scott, and at times can art direct in kind.
Our typical “genre” of design doesn’t necessarily fall into a non-fiction/fiction category but more of a nature/kid category. It makes more sense if you look up http://www.foresthome.org to see what I mean.
All of that background to say that I greatly enjoy every chance I get to mess with type forms in my projects. I agree with Tim and Charles that variety keeps things interesting and fresh for me. If I had the chance to design in an area more so, I would love to mess with more modern design. Most of what I do has to have depth and tactility, which is great as well, but I love well done designs that have a more flat, striking feel.
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Glad to have you here, Nate. I appreciate your comments.
Love the website for the camp. That has to be rewarding work.BTW, if your boss is like Michael Scott, who are you most like?
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YA fiction, Adult fiction, Literary fiction, Creative Non Fiction, Poetry and social/environmental and Historical pieces. That’s my list. I guess that broadens it a bit much, but I can’t really say I have a favorite. I think there is a certain pleasant, initial freedom that I feel when working on fiction titles. But then it goes to review and comes back with comments that usually take that initial joy out of it. That does not mean I put less thought or energy into it, it just means I’m no longer sitting at the edge of my seat living a breathing that particular title.
Certain genres are defined by a particular approach that seems to work for most publishers, so they end up looking for the same overall treatments almost by default.
I think the bottom line for me is, that it’s about the creative process. Everything needs a solution that is appropriate for the genre. Everything needs a typeface chosen, an image selected, a composition designed. It becomes less about the types of books that I would read or be interested in than about the details of the process. Just to give one example, one of my favorite jobs was doing the full design for the SF Giants 50 year anniversary book. It was epic, each spread was fun, there was bookplus items throughout the piece etc. I know nothing about nor do i like Baseball, but the whole process was very cool. Same thing goes for a recent book on the SF Cliff House. Never been there and don’t much care to go, but it was a very pleasing process and end result.
For the record, I am not a huge fan of business books and hippie dippie self-help mumbo jumbo. That shit drives me nuts.
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I agree with Charles and the others who love the excitement of not knowing what project is going to land next (only surpassed by the excitement of not knowing when a check shows up in the mail). For me the thrill is taking whatever book and making it legit.
Does anyone think there would be any benefit for a designer to zero in on one genre of book design? For instance, if I was Tobias’ Outerwear for Cookbooks (which I enjoy doing, by the way).
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Covers I have most enjoyed working on are not those that are of a particular genre or subject matter. What really excites me about a new project is when I can detect good content. If I can tell that there was a lot of thought put into the writing or a new and unique concept or approach I am inspired and therefore rise to the challenge. Often the book designer is asked to salvage a mediocre manuscript, which always feels awkward because you want to be honest to your audience. I especially like to see titles and subtitles that are well thought out as well. Basically, no matter what type of book assignment I am given, if I find myself saying, “this is a really cool significant thought” it then becomes a collaborative effort between the authors thoughts and the visuals.
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As I work in-house for a textbook publishing company, I have no experience with the fiction vs. non-fiction debate. However, I do have experience with repeated topics/subjects. The simplest answer I have to the type of books I like working on are topics I didn’t just work on, or projects with requests from the authors/editors that sound like they will give the most creative freedom.
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I love working on first time authors— fiction or non-fiction— or an author that they want a new look for. It gives you the ability to create a brand and a look that’s unique to that writer and then carry that through their future titles. It’s equally great when you get a title that no one knows what to do with. That situation allows you to really start from square one and build up the concept with no restraints. I like when I can just hit the ground running and try a million things.
On the flip side, it’s really hard when you get a project they want to look like the author’s last book, especially when you weren’t the designer on the last book…
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