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A Useless Guide to Book Design


According to Dieter Roehlstrate, “Martin Heidegger described books as ‘voluminous letters to friends.’ Anyone who has ever ‘made’ a book will immediately grasp the depth of feeling communicated in this admittedly romantic view of the book publishing business.”1


 Most publishers understand the making of a book very differently. As Karel Martens puts it, design “commissioners are no longer professional experts with noble ideals, but cynical managers with only one desire: how to make money as soon as possible.”2

              Notes

  1. Roelstraete, Dieter. “Art Books Now: 7 Theses (From an Accomplice’s Point of View).” Dot Dot Dot 12, 2006.
  2. Karel Martens, Robin Kinross, and Jaap van Triest. Printed Matter = Drukwerk. London: Hyphen Press, 2010, pp. 194 and 196.







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