Though somewhat rarer than they used to be, half title (or bastard) pages sometimes appear at the beginning of books, followed by a blank verso page and then the full title. The practice of half title pages arose as a means of protecting the full title page from the wear and tear of the printing and binding processes. Of course, an alternative solution would be to simply add a blank page, and indeed, some book designers do exactly that. When books have to lose a couple of pages to fit into a certain page signature, the half title is the first thing to go. Personally, I think some publishers like the extended throat clearing involved in blank pages, half titles, full titles, endless prefatory pages and so on because it distinguishes their work of literature from other less exalted works that get down to business within half a dozen pages. It is a bit like those high art movies that start by listing all the nested organisations responsible for the production of that particular masterpiece — the list is sometimes startlingly long.
Dancing Between the Opposites — Exploring daoist Practices
Craig Mallett’s “Dancing Between the Opposites — A daoist guide to balance and self-cultivation” has just been published and is now available online and directly from Craig. The title is available at Amazon and Book Depository in addition to other outlets. An accompanying page has been set up at the author’s website. WorkingType typeset the title, with excellent illustrations and cover design by Pelin Ko.
“Drawing on his extensive experience across traditions in meditation, Daoism, and other forms of self-cultivation, coupled with his background in Martial Arts and many other forms of physical movement and exercise, Craig Mallett brings his readers a guide that is both practical and spiritual. His approach to the Da Xuan tradition of Daoism will help those interested to engage with its ideas and practice their application. ”
Directly Importing Author Comments and Corrections into a Book
Most books are set up in Adobe InDesign. Very few independent authors subscribe to Indesign, and therefore have no capacity to directly edit or correct their own book. Typically they will supply a list of corrections to the designer. However, Adobe have recently added an interesting feature to InDesign that will at give authors the chance to at least annotate the PDF proof, and have the designer import the PDF (and annotations) directly into Indesign (provided the comments are properly made). This should increase the speed and accuracy of book proofing and streamline the workflow. An article on the process from Adobe.
Australian Book Designers Association
There's an organisation for everything, even book designers. ABDA showcases the work of a group of designers with diverse approaches and workflows. It even organises awards, a few events and posts interviews with individual designers. Here's my interview from their archives.
Culture Shock — Cover Design
An Egyptian man leaves his homeland for a better life in Europe, but must navigate his way through different cultural mores and expectations, and enter the minefield of a cross-cultural romance. Our cover blends the two worlds, with a muted colour scheme to match the era covered in the story.