Another Waterstone's Visit

During another trip to Waterstones, I noticed that there seemed to be more 'luxury' books than ever. For I found numerous hard-backed, special-edition book covers (some examples seen above) when browsing the store. In interviewing numerous graphic designers and illustrators, I found that many of them had explained that they thought the physical book was beginning to be seen as a more special and treasured thing, which is made obvious through new styles of book covers, and I think that this definitely confirms that theory.

The physical book is becoming more special and treasured, like a collector's item. With the rise of ebooks, I think that designers are trying to think of new ways about what would make a person now buy the physical copy and this is the working solution they have came up with. In this case, I actually think this could be a great step forward in design, for book covers are now being treated with the utmost care to make sure that they are beautiful and wanted. As a result, more aesthetically-pleasing book covers are being produced and a number of techniques (such as experimentation with textures etc.) explored to highlight their physicality and increase their beauty.

In my interview with him, Joe McLaren, I think, called it perfectly: "Around half of the commissions I receive for book cover design now are for 'luxury hardback' editions of previously published books. Typically these will be bought as gifts, or by people who have a great fondness for the book in question and want to dignify it with a special purchase. Those commissions tend to revel in textures, materials and processes associated with 'traditional' book design- foil printing, registers, belly-bands etc;  all of which fetishise the book as an object, and none of which really serve the content in a physical way."