Customer Reviews

Art Direction and Editorial Design (Abrams Studio)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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There's an interesting magazine spread reproduced on page sixty of this fascinating book, it arrows only the typographic items like: folio, headlines, byline, body copy, credits, running heads, panel/sidebar copy, intro/second deck text, stand-first, pull quotes, captions/cutlines. Not arrowed are photos, illustrations, cartoons, graphics and other visual elements. I thought it was interesting because it sort of sums up the many items that publication designers work with all the time. Publications seem separate from other areas of print communication because of their regular appearance and they have a dedicated staff handling words and images. Because of this team effort it is not really practical to teach the subject in design college. The best learning curve is to join the editorial department of a title.

The book is essentially concerned with the look of publications and I thought it was impressively thorough in its coverage. Most of the illustration spreads feature magazines but newspapers are considered as well, including their supplements. The five chapters really do cover everything you'll see in a weekly or monthly, explained by text and comprehensive captions. The pages are broken up by some interesting magazine profiles and some dummy pages to further explain editorial concepts: how grids shape design, changing impact with headlines and photos. The back pages feature work from well known magazine designers from the last few decades, a glossary and index.

The book's production is as impressive as the contents, printed on glossy paper in 200 screen with a layout that is easy to follow considering the large amount of information. If I have a criticism it is that most of the illustrations come from publications that are aimed at a design receptive readership. It would have been useful, I think, to have included some publications where design is not so obvious: down-market celebrity magazines or titles for children (like the brilliant Sesame Street Magazine) or trade weeklies. All these need designers to be just as creative as those on many of the titles that have spreads in 'Editorial design'

I think it's worth pointing out that this is not a 'how to do magazine layouts' book but a detailed look at the nuts and bolts of what makes up the visual side of a publications editorial.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

What I like most about the book is the diversity of ideas presented. Many of which I would never have created on my own. It is out the box thinking at its best. You might not use any of the ideas but the theories behind the ideas will take you far from where you would have gone without reading it.

I'm new to editorial design (coming from a web background) so this book was one of the first ones I read about designing magazines and other print media. The information is very well written and researched and I learned quite a bit about the industry. The images and examples are ok, but could be updated with more recent and better quality examples.

I've been looking for a book that concentrated on Editorial Design.

I am very happy with this book. It presents a progressive sequential explanation of what a magazine/publication

is, it's parts, the language, terms and functions and roles of the Design team for a publication.

The examples are very good and the case studies represent some of the best known names in Editorial design history.

Varied styles, topics and genres are presented in a clear and concise way.

A great book for inspiration and for a better understanding of any designer interested in print and publications.