GDES2014 – Children’s Book Design
London Book fair – 2015
As part of this module we were offered a trip to London to see visit the book fair. This was an opportunity not to be missed, particularly as this task represents children’s literature which was well represented at the show.
The show was massive, with an overwhelming number of exhibitors, but I took along my camera to take snaps of some of the more interesting or innovative developments within the industry as a whole as well as in children’s book design.
We were set the task of finding 3 innovations in children’s book design, which was easy as there was so much to choose from. I will talk a little about some of the things I found below:
The first innovation that caught my eye was this series of “shine a light” books. The books are designed so that when certain pages are held up to the light, they allow light to shine through in various areas, revealing an otherwise hidden image. You can see this demonstrated below, and how it works on the following page.
Another innovation I was drawn to (partly due to my love of all things Star Wars) was these books and more specifically the special editions that came with really cool cases/displays. There are 3 books in the series so far – Jedi, Sith & Bounty Hunter, each with it’s own display case. They are motorised and with sound effects. They do however make the books rather expensive and so would only really appeal to serious collectors, cool none the less.
These pictures show another two books I found interesting. The first features glow in the dark print so that the illustrations and words glow when the lights are turned down. Being black an white, it’s very high contrast and so is easily read in the light too… very effective. The second book features tabs throughout the book that you can lift to get a glimpse into the past, both informative and fun.
I got talking to a guy who ran a publishing print company. After explaining to him that I was studying graphic design and had a real passion for all things print, he went on to show me all manner of wonderful printing methods. The opportunities to create something wonderful are endless, although unfortunately only possible on large print jobs due to the cost involved in setting up the machinery.
The Imperial War Museum were there and had a nice little display of some of their books relating to World War 1 & 2. I got chatting with the lady who was able to show me the prototype of a Churchill recipe book that is in development, very interesting to see. There were also a few books there that were beautiful, not to mention the old style typewriter.
There was so much to see and so much to take inspiration from. A great day out and a good opportunity to get a little insight into the industry and see all of the top publishers under one roof.
7six creative 