Photography book design including art books

Photography book design including art books.

Photography book design and art books as well, have certain guiding principles. They are the use of large images, small type, good use of white space, and simple typography. These books are quite often minimalist in their look and feel. The art or photography always takes center stage in the design of this book style. Any other design elements are secondary to the subject of the book — the art or photography.

What you need to know …

Dimensions

Such books are always large format. A 10 inch by 10 inch square book is a good size, as is 11 to 11.8 inches square. Books with either a portrait or landscape orientation work well too. The largest book size that Star Print Brokers currently prints on press is 11.8 inches wide by 15 inches in length.

When discussing the width and length of any book, the width is always first. Sometimes authors say they want a photography book design that is 8 x 10, and later we find out what they really meant is 10 x 8 which is a landscape orientation book. depending on the dimensions and the quantity, this could change the printing quote.

Orientation and avoiding book torque

Think about the length of landscape orientation books. We’ve run into situations where an art book layout for instance, is already through the design phase, is too short in length to bind correctly. The danger is that the book binding might twist or torque. We can guide you as to length of your book. It depends on the page count, paper weight, and binding type.

Be sure to get a printing quote before deciding on the final dimensions. That way, you can avoid the time and possibly the cost of repositioning text and images on all of the pages.

Simplicity of design

Use ample margins and white space. Position a large image on the page and captions, text, and possibly the headline are supplemental. you are in fact selling the image of the art or the photo.

Consider the typical dimensions of the artwork or photography. This does not mean the page and image orientation should match. Depending on the book, you may choose to plan a text block side by side with the image. Conversely, a text block may appear under the image, but it should not appear over an image. Simple design is best.