The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design (Classic Typography Series) [Paperback]

Jan Tschichold (Author), Hajo Hadeler (Translator), Robert Bringhurst (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Hartley & Marks (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881791164
• ISBN-13: 978-0881791167
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any designer., April 3, 2000

By 

Eric Heupel (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design (Classic Typography Series) (Paperback)

This collection of 23 essays on book design and typography should be read at least once by all typographers and students of design. Written over a period spanning 42 years, these essays cover many aspects of typography from paper color to tight typesetting to page proportions. A few of the ideas presented in the essays may indeed be outdated now (due mainly to the economic freedoms in modern digital design), but they are few and are still important from an historical persective. Folloowing the rules of design presented here will help ensure a well designed book that does not detract from the contents in any way and best serves to allow that content to speak for itself. Even if you want to always break the rules of design, isn't it better to understand why and how those rules came to be? Of interesting note is that Jan himself was in his youth a radical rulebreaker in his designs, but he learned when it was best to work inside and outside the rules to present the best effect, his design legacy shows how effective he was, and how influencial he remains to this day.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it. Learn it. Live it., June 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design (Classic Typography Series) (Paperback)

High-handed, even pompous, Tschichold doesn't coddle the "I gotta be me" crowd. He lays down the laws of type and, by God, they work. You can bend, even break, his rules and still do great work. But you must do so consciously for a specific purpose, not willy-nilly because you feel like it. As Robert Burton put it "A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than a giant himself." This giant has broad shoulders, indeed. Standing upon them will give one an excellent view

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essential guide to classical book design, July 2, 2003

By 

D. A. Holman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design (Classic Typography Series) (Paperback)

there is little to say other than the fact that this book is essential reading for all current and aspiring book designers. Tschichold's views seem limiting at first, but his knowledge is based on years of careful research into the basis of our written culture. many will choose to deviate from his instruction in small or great ways, but to practice the craft of book typography (or typography in general) without this information would be unwise.