Fully Booked is a tome representing some of the best examples of cover art and design for books. Hitting our doormat with a real thud, Fully Booked is a hefty title announcing itself as an authoritative reference point on book design.
Everything about it has been considered and well planned. Before even thumbing the pages, an interesting juxtaposition unfolds through the book’s mirrored covers which split the codex into two separate sections, one focusing on book cover design and the other on books as an object and their content. The simple play of the diagonal cut cloth binding exposing the board underneath expresses the craftsmanship and concept in this experimental cover design.
After exercising our guns to pick the damn thing up, each side is introduced with a couple of essays from Katherine Gillieson and Maria Fusco as well as a couple more scattered throughout the book. Critically and culturally poignant, these essays discuss the concept of the artist book, the books longevity in an increasingly digital world, the act of reading and the oxymoron of the book itself; reproducing books through the very medium it’s trying to describe (without causing the universe to implode). These essays are well referenced and researched, thought provoking about what constitutes a book and how we can consume it—even if the essays are a bit conceptual and theory led in places. As the book is split in two, we found reading the side on ‘book content’ first made a lot more sense as there were a number of references in the essay on the opposite side which would have led to a lot of awkward book flipping to see the book that is being referenced.
The featured work shows off the diversity of books, displaying not only the wit and intelligence of the design and writing but the ingenuity and willingness to experiment from printers and production houses. Examples such as Joshua Reichert’s The Smallest Book in the World and Well Done by Bruketa & Zinic—a book you have to bake to reveal the text within—demonstrate how to push the possibilities of skills and materials to unexplored heights. Fully Booked isn’t all about process and technique showcasing just downright great examples of paper back book cover designs such as Editions Zulma by David Pearson.
Fully Booked’s design has an air of finesse and creativity that helps to elevate the work. Edited by Robert Klanten and Matthias Huebner, the book’s size and thick coated stock allows the images room to be appreciated and there’s certainly a lot of them. Alongside the work is plenty of commentary on the book’s content and/or cover design as well as detailed specifications such as the book’s designers, size and substrates, cost and in places the print run, which is very revealing.
Fully Booked does a good job of rediscovering that love of the artist book and the exciting journey that comes from reading them. If you’ve ever longed for your very own design library, dabbled in artist books or wanted to design book covers as a profession this book is likely to feed your thirst for some of the best examples. The biggest pitfall is its ingrained format and what it’s trying to represent; a book on book design. Thankfully Fully Booked commits to distancing itself as much as possible and in doing so creates a lot of the enjoyment that comes from reading the fine examples showcased.
Fully Booked: Cover Art and Design for Books is available from Amazon and all good local book stores now.
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Words: Gil Cocker
Photography: Liam & Dominique Shaw
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20th Dec 2009
4:59 pm
I would definitely recommend Fully Booked, it’s one of my favourite design books and nothing in it ever feels outdated.
Sian
21st Dec 2009
1:23 am
I’ve had this book for a while now and i’m still not tired of looking at it. Immensely good stuff. Certainly one of the best book design books around.