“The cover is a book’s first communication to the reader, a graphic representation not simply of its content, but of its point in history.” Ned Drew
This essay will examine book published by Knock Knock, The Convert’s Bible: Everything you need to know about 99 actual religions. First it will give brief introduction to their basic function and form as well as the content. Then it will go on to further analysis of the chosen design solutions such as choice of typeface and cover design. Drawing on the evidence of a previous edition it will be examined why the designer decided to resemble look of the Bible. With reference to the writings of authorities in the field it will be presented how different elements of the book are based on the historical development of printed publications and finally it concludes that the change from previous edition was successful.
The Convert’s Bible(Figure 1) is a compendium of knowledge about religions in the world. It’s not a self help book, but rather humorously presented basic facts about the subject. It’s a soft cover publication with leather look cover. In square shape and size A5. The construction is very basic with glued and stitched banding. It has some unique features like foldout chart quantifying all 99 religions side by side. It consists of few different components. First is an introduction, then main body text with content organized on a grid with one page devoted to each religion. Those pages are divided with 16 sections each every three to ten pages. Then there is conclusion section which instead of summarize the content tries to give tips on how to create new religion. After that reader can check index and also make some notes on eight dedicated pages.
Knock Knock is a young pub...
... middle of paper ...
...ck Knock, The Convert’s Bible: Everything you need to know about 99 actual religions. Los Angeles: Knock Knock, 2011.
Meggs, Philip B. Meggs' history of graphic design. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2012. 5th ed.
Miller, Abbott. Design writing research. London: Phaidon, 1999.
Powers, Alan. Front cover: great book jackets and cover design. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2001.
Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry. Five hundred years of printing. Bristol: Penguin Books Ltd, 1969.
Figure 1. 2nd edition front cover and content page. Source: http://www.oscarandlibbys.com/books/converts-bible/
Figure 2. 1st edition cover. Source: http://www.amazon.com/Savvy-Converts-Guide-Choosing-Religion/dp/1601060343
Figure 3. Vintage covers. Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/485896247267926296/
Figure 4. Buckley, Paul, ed. Penguin 75 : designers, authors, commentary. New York: Penguin Books, 2010, 55.
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
Lawson, Bryan. How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified. 4th ed. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2006.
...’ (21). These rhetoric questions force readers to stand on her side and to ponder in her direction. She compares the contents of the twentieth-century chapters in current books to ‘a modern-art museum’ (22), which ironically and humorously criticizes the fancy design of the current books. She also directly quotes the original texts to show the changes of current books such as a paragraph from Sellers’ book ‘As It Happened’.
Frick, Frank S.. A Journey Through The Hewbrew Scriptures. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1995.
Crim, Keith. Ed. The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1981.
The beginning of this book was somewhat confusing, we all wondered if the book was really the authors trouble of putting the book together that led to its structure or if it was meant to represent something else. We had
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel explains greatly about a famous phrase that starts with “Don’t judge a book by its cover. People aren’t who they seem to be because most people have qualities that they hide/fake about. This theme is the most significant aspect in the novel. Boo Radley is a character that does a perfect example of hiding his lifestyle the people in Maycomb heard rumors about him being a monster. Atticus is also another great example. In the beginning of the book, Jem refuses to eat dinner until his dad, Atticus, promises him to play football. When Atticus does not tolerate to do that promise, Jem calls/consider him a boring dad. Mrs. Dubose is considered to be a cranky lady, but she is a whole different person. Out of all
The Russian writer Ivan Turgenev wrote in Fathers and Sons in 1862, "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound” (Turgenev 196). Mark Twain was a living testament to that belief because iillustrations were an integral part of Mark Twain’s published work. They embellished his stories, informed the reader, and often reflected his humor. However, today’s fictional novels rarely include illustrations beyond the cover and fly leaf. This lack of illustrations has become more the norm in the digital publishing world because the illustrations often do not translate well to the digital format. My research paper will delineate the reasons that illustrations were relevant and necessary for the 19th century publication and why they are less relevant in the digital age. I will show that illustrations played an essential part in the success of Mark Twain’s books (1) because he made them an integral part of his writing, giving clarity to his written words; (2) because of the subscription publishing model of his era, and, (3) because of Twain’s dependence on them to describe his characters. However, the digital and audio publishing market of today has lessened the impact of illustrations in modern literary works. In Twain’s 19th century era, books were often a work of art as well as a literary treasure. The books I read today on my e-reader or listen to on “Audible” versions -- even Twain’s books -- almost never have a visual impact like Twain’s books had in the 19th century.
Cimino, Richard, & Lattin, Don. (1997). Shopping for faith: american religion in the new millennium. San Franciso, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.
The Cover Art number five speaks about Traveling Companions Caroline and her fathers that are unknown guests in both the city and Forest. Both have chosen to live in the loving shelter of each other instead of living in the dangerous city. Life doesn't necessarily go backward but instead they follow our own path. While on their journey they revisit issues that are old and new. This artwork keeps the life of the city as well as the life of the wilderness in solitude with each other.
Hegeman, J. (2008). The Thinking Behind Design. Master Thesis submitted to the school of design, Carngie Mellon University. Retrieved from: http://jamin.org/portfolio/thesis-paper/thinking-behind-design.pdf.
The New Yorker, with 47 publications each year, often generates some debate. In July 2007, the literary magazine released its latest issue. The cover included the title, price, edition, and three differently dressed women sitting on a bench. The first woman’s face and body are covered, except for her eyes. The second, with long blonde hair, is wearing a halter top, short shorts, sunglasses, and flip flops. The third is wearing a tunic and veil. Our first impressions are often stereotypical, and we must look deeper than the cover. Immediately, different conclusions are drawn based on each woman’s appearance. Just from this magazine cover, we can assume different things about each individual: including her religion, self image, and family life.