What is a Book?

A book by definition is relatively broad: simply, a set of printed or illustrated material hinged at one side. Its purpose is to communicate information, whether that be a story, a set of rules or instructions, some art, or a record of events.  The success of a book is decided by the initial intention of the publication, however as a general rule a successful book is engaging; it forces you to pick it up and flick through it. It's beautiful; it keeps your attention and visually pleases you. And it leaves an impression through the information it gives you, either because you make use of it then and there or because you're still thinking about it a few days after reading it. 

This otherwise monochromatic and minimalistic publication is given a shot of life and vibrancy through the IK Blue block taking up the lower left of the cover. It helps to immediately draw attention to the book, and its existence intrigues us to discover more. 

The contrasting block colours give this design a contemporary and minimalistic appearance. The serif typography contrasts with the modern aesthetic in an effective and harmonious way. 

The grid system used here is almost reminiscent of a contemporary restaurant menu, with multiple sections of varying sizes and a group of contrasting typefaces. Without good alignment and a working grid system, this double page spread would be a chaotic mess. Because of the presence of the former, it's a constructed, effective and harmonious piece of editorial design. 

Neon colours are a current trend in graphic design, and colour edged pages, which have been in use for centuries, still prove to entice the reader and differentiate the publication. 

The minimalistic, almost Norse-like aesthetic of this magazine book is representative of a lot of contemporary editorial and publication design. The natural landscape photography serves to add harmony and calm to the industrial and digital appearance created by the sans serif type and 'mechanical' layout. It's clean, crisp and fresh, but it would be a harsh shame is everything had this aesthetic. 

IK Blue, seen in use on the book above, is a leading trend in graphic design. It's bold, sophisticated and calming. 

This double page spread is an example of how to present something potentially dull in a visually exciting way. So many times before has the same kind of story as above been presented in such a boring and uninspiring way. In this publication, the central placement of the images (large enough to eclipse the spine they're overlapping) the large, bold and contemporary typography and the variation in type angles and placement make this spread interesting and inspiring. 

Colourful text used alongside monochromatic type is often very successful, and it's very effective in this case too. Additionally, the use of a different stock size for the front cover adds a bespoke and elegant feel to the issue. Bold, overlapping text is a favoured trend.

Thick borders like the one above have been used often in design from the past few years. It serves to frame the spread and focus the reader on the content.