Wednesday, April 10, 2013

How To Choose A Freelance Book Designer

By Alba Durham


People may say that you can't judge a book's contents by its cover but the majority do so anyway. Covers have a dramatic impact on profitability, and a freelance book designer needs to achieve a design that demonstrates a book's contents tastefully. The spine, interior pages and back cover cannot be ignored, and need to achieve a uniform style that is echoed by all other areas of the cover. The new media available have extended the requirements of professionals, who now have to create layouts for many different platforms.

Laying out a book in preparation for publication is more complex than it might appear. It is time consuming to create only one layout, so a single design will ideally adapt to tablets, print and PDF documents. With a highly adaptable layout, a publisher can achieve its ultimate goal more affordably.

The uniqueness of a front cover is a pivotal part of the returns it will generate. It needs to tell readers about the work itself, and it needs to demonstrate genre. There are also concerns about typographical needs. Many publishers prefer to hire typographers to design new fonts, but there are many popular existing options that are more affordable and do the task equally well. It is expensive to have a font designed, and popular pre-designed fonts are extremely clear and tasteful.

Any product in the commercial sector needs to be potently branded. Book branding is a unique niche that requires special skill, but the usual branding concerns apply. Designers who are clearly informed about the target audience will produce a more attractive result for their niche consumers.

The new media available today have allowed illustrators to achieve more interesting visual effects than they could using traditional media, but such software comes with its own challenges. Software, when used well, can achieve the kind of look that truly impacts on consumers. This does not mean that readers prefer the slick effects graphic software can achieve. In fact, grittier designs tend to attract more attention in many cases, and professionals who combine traditional media with software are often better able to offer unusual styles.

The global marketplace has expanded drastically since the advent of the online marketplace. Searching for a freelancer online can thus be an intimidating task. Rates and portfolios are highly variable from contractor to contractor. Publishers are hiring workers on foreign soil more frequently, which gives them greater access to the best talent in the industry.

Less skilled designers often make the mistake of exploiting their graphics software too much. By making use of every tool at their disposal, they tend to create a cover that is too busy and has no focal point. Talented professionals who focus on design instead of tools can often achieve a more startling and attractive result through simple, strong designs.

The current move away from traditional media makes illustrations that use only traditional media more noticeable. A cover that uses watercolors or charcoal in isolation is often more striking than one created with graphic design programs. A freelance book designer who has mastered several media is often better able to achieve publishing goals.




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