🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Sep4.190133.1@cbrown.claremont.edu>,
dhosek@cbrown.claremont.edu (Don Hosek) writes:
>In article <1992Sep4.131308.8368@linus.mitre.org>,
  fkuhl@snare.mitre.org (F. S. Kuhl) writes:
>> I want a basic intro to typography--can anybody recommend a book?
>> I have enough fonts to be dangerous & would like to do them well.
>> I don't expect to duplicate an education in graphic design, I'd 
>> just like to learn the principles.  (There _are_ principles, yes?)
>
>Well, as a beginner's book, _Looking Good In Print_ isn't bad. [...]
[...]
>\item Martin, Douglas. {\em Book Design: A Practical
>Introduction.\/} Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York: 1989. 206pp.
>Along with Jan White's book (see below), this provides a fairly
>complete guide to book design. Martin's book is somewhat more
>conservative in outlook and also reflects his UK background.
[...]
>\item White, Jan V. {\em Graphic Design for the Electronic
>Age.\/} Watson-Guptill Publications, New York: 1988. 212pp.
[...]

These are good choices, but if you're interested in a book about
book design particularly, you must not overlook

\item Williamson, Hugh. {\em Methods of Book Design (3rd edition).\/}
Yale University Press, New Haven: 1983. 408pp.

It is a bit out-of-date as regards technology, but on issues
relating purely to design it is comprehensive and definitive.
Well, I suppose it could be argued that printing technology influences
design -- e.g. some types look fine in metal but lousy in digital
imagesetting -- and therefore a book that is out-of-date in technology
can't really be "definitive" in matters of design either. In any event,
{\em Methods\/} is more than adequate for a beginner's needs.
My paper-bound copy (ISBN 0-300-03035-5) was $13.95; cheap at
twice the price!

--Cameron Smith
  cameron@symcom.math.uiuc.edu