Course Description

Design is editorial. And yet in publishing, editorial and design concerns (and departments) are often kept at arm’s length. Designer Debbie Berne will talk about how a deeper understanding of the ideas and mechanics of book design can help editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders do their work better and create better books. (While ebooks are also designed, this talk focuses on design for printed books.)

Topics will include

• Imagining the manuscript as a finished book
• The importance of printer’s specs
• How a book’s title affects its cover design
• What you don’t know you don’t know about fonts
• Downton Abbey and the significance of space
• Line length, ragging, and a defense of hyphens
• And everyone’s favorite subject: the table of contents

Questions and conversation are encouraged.

Instructor Bio

Debbie Berne is a longtime Bay Area book designer. Her book, The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers, will be published by The University of Chicago Press in Spring 2024 as part of its series Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing.