Design

Introduction

When reading and viewing a picture book, it needs to be analysed and understood as a whole. That is, everything in a picture book is worthy of analysis and evaluation. This of course incorporates elements of text and image, which will be discussed later in the topic, but also refers to the following:

Elements of design:

• Text (discussed in Chapter 4), including layout, format, font and size
• Illustrations (discussed later in Chapter 5), including layout, shape and size of images and colour
• Borders
• Shape and size of the book itself
• The number of pages
• Front and back cover
• Front and end matter
• End papers
• Gutters
• Motifs

Of course, most of these elements are governed by the use of image and text. When learning about the effect and meaning of elements of text and image you need to be thinking of the picture book and its overall design. Elements not covered in the text and image sections of this topic will be discussed here.

General design notes

• Many, but not all, picture books are 32 pages long. This is simply because it is easier and cheaper to bind pages together in groups of 8. Some picture books will be 24 pages, 40 pages or 48 pages, but 32 is the standard.
• Picture books do not often have more than 100 words of narrative text.

Shape and size of book

Picture books are almost always either rectangular or square in shape. If rectangular, then they are either presented vertically or horizontally. A rectangular picture book that is horizontal will have very wide double-spread pages compared with a rectangular picture book that is vertical. You will need to consider the effect and the choice for each picture book that you study, according to its overall design. Some possible effects and practical reasons are as follows.

Rectangular horizontal

• Appropriate for landscapes
• Can include action (such as an animal running from left to right)
• Ideal for stories that involve travel

Rectangular Vertical

• Appropriate for demonstrating tall buildings, characters and objects
• Better for narratives involving a change in an individual rather than a change of location as they cannot present as much action as if they were rectangular
• Appropriate for stories that examine or express emotions of characters.

Square

• An unusual shape for a book of any sort
• Can add to a sense of solidness
• Notice that a double- page spread in a square-shaped picture book is, in fact, a rectangle

The front and back covers

The cover of a picture book is part of the design. The purpose of a front cover, as with a novel, is primarily to attract potential readers and viewers. Another important aspect of the front cover of a picture book is that it will also have the same design style as the remainder of the picture book. This may include borders, font, colours and images. Often a theme or character will be introduced via the front cover.

The back cover of a picture book is slightly different. As with novels, the back cover will often contain a blurb (a short promotional description). It will also continue the design features of the book such as borders, font colours and images. It differs, however, in that the back cover of a picture book often contains elements of the story that are at a tangent (not directly relevant) to the main plot. In other words, where a world has been created by an author and illustrator, the back cover may contain another element of the world not directly related to the plot. Another example that you might come across is where a minor character is depicted on the back cover.

End papers

When a picture book is first opened, there is usually a page glued into the binding before there are any titles or acknowledgements. This occurs at the end of picture books also. These pages are designed in line with the overall design concept of the picture book. End papers are usually used to enhance mood rather than to directly influence plot or character development.

Front and end matter

At the beginning of a picture book, before the plot begins and after the end paper, there is front matter. This front matter includes title pages, author, illustrator, publisher, editor and publication date, much like in a novel. The difference, again, is that in picture books these pages fit the overall design of the picture book and incorporate elements of design such as font, format size, colour, border and images.

The same elements apply to end matter, except that end matter includes topics such as acknowledgements.

Borders

Borders are used to frame any part of the page that does not have image or text. This can be simple or complex and intricate. Often borders are used to add to the overall tone and mood of the picture book.

Gutters

Gutters in picture books refer to the place between two pages where the binding meets. Designers of picture books need to be aware of gutters to avoid parts of images disappearing. Be on the lookout for the way in which designers avoid this difficulty.

Motifs

It is common for picture book design to incorporate motifs. Motifs are recurring images, symbols or text. Have you ever read a picture book that makes you want to re-read it so that you can find all the examples of a recurring image? These are motifs. The meaning of motifs is dependent on the picture book. You will often find that a picture book is designed in such a way that motifs and symbols are included in all parts of the book and not just in the storyline.