Since human beings invented writing, books have been produced, that is, a collection of writing and writing carriers. Books are the most dazzling stars on the vast horizon of human civilization. As the ancients said, the book has its own Yan Ruyu, and the book has its own golden house. Ancient scholars in China were proud of their ability to write books and make statements. They were determined to read thousands of books and take the road of Wan Li, which shows the lofty position of books in the development of China. From the Shang ancestors carved symbols on tortoise shells and animal bones, to the Western Zhou Dynasty carved characters on the inner wall or back of utensils, carved historical events such as wars and ceremonies on stones, and then to bamboo slips, wooden slips and tall books. After Cai Lun invented papermaking in the Eastern Han Dynasty, he invented the scroll book and the folding book, and the front cover and back cover began to appear, followed by whirlwind, butterfly, back packaging and thread-bound books. With the development of modern printing and art technology, the book design of book publishing industry is booming.
When you walk into a bookstore or library, the dazzling array of books on the shelves often makes people feel at a loss and don't know which one to read. We choose to pick up a book, one reason may be attracted by the title, and another reason is attracted by the cover and binding of the book. From the design style of a book, we can see whether the book is suitable for the people who buy it. Sometimes we choose to buy a book, largely because we like its cover. It can be said that modern book design art has changed from traditional elegance and pure aesthetics to pure artistic expression that emphasizes visual effects, and has evolved from practical, economical and beautiful binding principles to an independent artistic expression form. The design of a book is a long process. Some people say that book design is "a story starting from a piece of paper". From the initial selection of paper to the design of front cover, back cover, spine, title page, catalogue, inner page, page number and header, the selection and drawing of illustrations, the completion of printing, the selection of special printing technology and the selection of suitable binding forms have indeed gone through a long process. In this process, every link is very important and closely related to the final effect of the book. Therefore, any link in the middle should be studied. The cover used to be called "book coat", "book cover" and "written". Book binding includes many processes, involving many artistic fields, but the cover is the most important binding of a book. Cover art contains a strong artistic emotion of book binding artists, which is consistent with the emotion carried by words, that is, the form and content are highly unified. Good cover art can arouse readers' interest in reading. "those who touch people's hearts, don't be sentimental first." Pattern form is more powerful than language. It enables people of different nationalities, cultures and languages to exchange things and feelings.
Second, ancient thread-bound books.
Although paper was invented in the Han Dynasty, bamboo was still the main writing material at that time, followed by silk. Writing books on paper, from the perspective of literature records and archaeological discoveries, does not have sufficient evidence to show that it was popularized in the Han Dynasty (especially in the Western Han Dynasty). Thread-bound books appeared in Baobeizhuang in the middle of Ming Dynasty in14th century. This is the first time in the history of China binding technology that scattered pages are gathered together and bound into a book by splicing.
Deng Yunxiang, a famous scholar, said when talking about thread-bound books: "The root of China traditional culture lies in its carrier thread-bound books. Without thread-bound books, there is nowhere to read, and the roots of China's traditional culture are almost lost. " It can be said that thread-bound books contain a strong and elegant cultural atmosphere.
The beauty of thread-bound books is hidden in the simple cover: yellowed rice paper, many neat binding lines on the far right, the carved characters are quite powerful, the spacing is moderate, the calligraphy is magnificent or elegant, the ink is dark and bright, and the whole cover also reflects the beauty of the golden ratio. The seal printed on the cover, big or small, round or square, adds a touch of bright color to the simple cover.
Simple, concise, solemn, elegant and practical, this style is also closely related to China's pursuit of practicality and spiritual level in ancient times. The styles of thread-bound books, fonts and plates will be different in different times and regions. Through the ancient art of book design, we seem to meet and talk with the ancients of different times and ages under the dim light. Between circulation and historical time, we have a strong awe of history.
Third, the book design culture of the Republic of China
With the gradual infiltration of western culture into China, great changes have taken place in the style of literary and artistic book publishing in China.
Book cover design is no longer a simple title and author, but reflects the contents of books and periodicals in the form of artistic image design. Graphics, colors and words are the three elements of cover design. Binding has also changed from a single thread-bound book to a 32-format book, which has become the mainstream of book layout.
During this period, different themes appeared in the cover design. The first is the traditional writing theme. During the Republic of China, the main covers of calligraphy or artistic fonts in China were running script, official script and seal script. These fonts not only have traditional aesthetic significance, but also are rich in fashion elements of form and volume.
The second is the theme brought by scholars of "Yuanyang Butterfly School". They first subverted the unchangeable style of ancient books and costumes and put talented people and beautiful women on the cover. In the 19 10 and1920s, most of the "Yuanyang Butterfly School" books and periodicals invited famous painters to draw cover paintings instead of ready-made photos. Before the popularization of photography technology, hand-drawing is still the most important technical means of cover binding. Today, with the proliferation of photo covers, I feel the value of hand-painted covers even more. Hand-painted covers can be called "amnesia images" today. This kind of books is mainly for recreation, with the pursuit of fashion on the cover and aesthetic on the plate. The photo of the cover girl is covered with the whole cover, periodical name and other text information marks and photos, which can clearly reflect the title and the main published information, and has a strong visual impact on the whole.
The third kind is a mixture of Chinese and western pictures and texts. There are traditional styles of wash, Jane and Jing Ya, and there are also "academic schools" influenced by western artistic styles and formalism modern design concepts, with abstract and imaginative expressions.
At this stage, due to the new culture movement, Wen Yiduo, Lu Xun, Shen Congwen, Feng Zikai and others changed the style of Yuanyang Butterfly School. Lao She described the cover of "The Ideal China Literature Journal" as follows: "Dull and flowers alternate, half a year is dull, and half a year is spent. Plain color is light yellow or milky white, inscribed by a famous calligrapher, just a title, and then write a poem or several essays.
Change it once and never repeat it. Flowers are painted by famous painters, and both Chinese and western paintings are acceptable, not pattern paintings. Change the face and never repeat it. Cover coated with cellophane to avoid contact with calligraphy and painting, each cover can make people look at it for at least a few minutes, and some people even collect it and frame it into album pages. "
In this era of collision between China and the West and the replacement of the old and the new, these arts embody the beauty of verve and the designer's high self-cultivation-they have a deep memory of poems, books, paintings and Chinese characters, which makes the books of this period begin to have both form and spirit, strong innovation spirit and adherence to traditional culture.
Fourth, modern book design.
With the diversity of modern culture and the progress of science and technology, there are more skills in art design, and the combination of modern art, psychology and natural science is more extensive and in-depth. Up to now, we can't simply summarize the characteristics of modern book design in China. If there is, it must be diversified.
In the process of cover art creation, such as book layout size, font selection, spatial organization, color configuration, hierarchical relationship division, etc. All require the rigor of its formal structure, the visibility of its form and the regularity of its aesthetic feeling. Some books have an impact through strong contrast, some emphasize the harmonious and unified picture sense, some design is dynamic, and some are rigorous and solemn. There are different decorative patterns, concrete expression images, abstractions, and blank spaces. ...
The highest honor of book binding design in the world today is "the most beautiful book in the world". There are four criteria for this selection: first, the unity of form and content, and the harmony of words and images; Second, the physical and chemical beauty of books, the high standard of texture and printing level; Third, original innovation, encouraging imagination and individuality; The fourth is to pay attention to the accumulation of history and reflect cultural inheritance. It can be said that this world-class evaluation standard is also the highest goal that China book publishing should pursue.
Interestingly, most of the books that won the China Prize for "The Most Beautiful Book in the World" were related to traditional culture. For example, The Book of Songs, although bound in the western way, was specially designed with the spirit of China's traditional thread-bound book. The cover is shaved kraft paper, and the black and white feel rough and simple. There are some bamboo leaves in the lower right corner and two birds are flying. The words "detailed explanation" and "precise translation" are made into seal shapes and placed in the blank space of the cover to balance the picture. It not only has the simplicity and agility of modern book packaging, but also conveys the traditional charm of China culture. Another example is Cao Xueqin's kite art, which adopts the simple and elegant style of thread-bound books. The dotted line on the screen makes the kite feel flying, and the bright colors make the overall effect simple but smart. Mei Lanfang's Historical Paintings of Traditional Chinese Opera
It is also a gold-plated thread-bound book style.
Of course, there is another kind of book that wins more by virtue of its design creativity, such as Ant Family, which provides readers with sufficient interactive space, and the blank space reflects a kind of Zen. The design of "no cut" is made of wool paper, which has not been cut. Readers must cut the book to finish reading. Of course, the cover design of such books also has its own uniqueness.
After reading the covers of many books, I finally summed up a rule: in fact, the best things are always the simplest, without too many gorgeous colors or pictures. Simplicity, uniqueness and its ideological nature are the most precious. It is also the most outstanding design among many books today, which can make people walking between reinforced concrete feel an atmosphere different from that of commercial society. In addition, the national is the world's, and we also need innovation and persistence to keep the design with China traditional cultural elements alive and charming.
The cover book is a hundred gardens of literature and art, a fossil of memory, a cultural relic, a silhouette of history, a fragment of the world and a treasure of collectors. Mo Tao is all the ups and downs he has ever seen in the world. The lights are dim, the light and shadow are hidden, and there are still books and clothes. This kind of scenery makes people want to stay.