Re: Top Ten Tuesday

I think many of us begin browsing bookshelves (or Amazon) in search of a next great read and find ourselves picking up a stack of books to purchase based solely on what we see. Like Amy mentioned in class last night, it's kind of like an ad for what's inside.

We all have different tastes and aesthetics we gravitate towards. When I started collecting a few images of what it is I love in book cover design- and in this case, what I would hang on my wall- it validated what I already knew about myself: I love typography and old beautiful things! Here are some examples of what I found.

This cover, designed by the amazing Marian Bantjes, makes ornate look effortless. But really, it's difficult to do well and as beautiful as this embellished type. I also love that the type is foiled against the texted blush paper. It brings in an old worldly style to this modern design. This cover illustrates the romanticism of the book's content well.

This Italian-designed book cover was crafted by Marco Campedelli. The hand drawn motif is so elegant, and the placement of the script is really interesting.

True to the Art Nouveau style, these covers were designed by Margaret Armstrong in the early 20th century. I've said it before, but I just can't get enough of old books! These here are expertly crafted with rich color and intricate, organic detail (and the gold stamping!).