Book Design in Self Publishing - Breaking New Ground

Book Design in Self Publishing - Breaking New Ground Book Design in Self-Publishing: Breaking New Ground Self-publishing is often about pushing the boundaries, and this is what today’s interview is all about. The Perfect Capital by Karen Healey Wallace isn’t just any self-published book, it is one whose design is ingrained into its very being, both through the story it tells and through its sophisticated layout and typography.The Perfect Capital has truly broken new ground and was nominated for Best British Book Award Shortlist and Best Editorial Design Award Shortlist 2014. We   spoke to Karen about the inspiration behind the book, it’s design, and typographer Eric Gill’s role in the story. For those who love video, just hit play. If you prefer images with an edited text, feast your eyes on the text and words below.â€Å"Book production in the hands of writers should create books nobody’s done, nobody’s even dreamed of. Because they come unimpeded out of your imagination.† Karen Healey WallaceWelcome Karen it’s great to have you with us, to start with, can you please tell me a little more about you concept of book creation in the hands of authorsHi! Well it does seem illogical to me that books in the hands of authors aren’t the best books on the market. There was an age when ‘vanity publishing’, as they called it then, was the high-end of the market and the idea that an author can see their book through exactly the way they wanted it, should produce the most beautiful books. So it seems to me a strange anomaly that a lot of self-publishing now seems rubbish - lots of Print-On-Demand books, often with typographical errors etc - but it doesn’t need to be that way and it shouldn’t be! So I hope that The Perfect Capital is a pathfinder for more books like this.Please show us what the book looks like! It’s quite an object†¦Well to start with, here’s the spine - the spine title has replaced the collator’s marks which was probably one of the bravest thin gs I did because you can’t actually see the title at all. I made the executive decision that people don’t make book choices from 15 feet away, they usually walk right up to it and see whether they want it.A brief background around how this thing came into being: The Perfect Capital is a piece of literary fiction. It’s about one woman’s quest to find the perfect letter form of the typographer Eric Gill (1882-1940). So the story weaves in that character’s artistic discoveries, which looks at Eric Gill’s real-life inscriptions in London. This is woven into the other side of the story line where an old-fashioned character (Maud) falls in with the most imperfect man (Edward). The fiction and narrative is based in Gill himself: I took the perfect artist and put him in one character; and then I put the other part of Gill as a highly imperfect man into another character.That was originally where I was going to leave it†¦ What I didn’t re alise was going to happen was put perfectly by Beatrice Ward who said that â€Å"Either the whole man comes up, or else the tweezers slip†. It was everything or nothing. I absolutely experienced that in my relationship, so I found myself unable to pick and choose. I was writing the design brief for the book and the book when I knew I was going to be self-publishing it, the book literally appeared fully formed in my head. Whilst I did need to find a designer and a printer, I actually never needed to submit that brief because I knew exactly what I wanted, I just needed to find the people to make it happen.Talk us through the thought process of making the bookThe nice thing is that although I ended up making something special, I never decided to make something special: I didn’t sit down and say â€Å"this is going to be a really beautiful book†. My only decision was to make a book that was absolutely right for my story. The perfect book in my mind isn’t jus t an advertisement for the story that’s inside it, it actually tells the story from the moment you pick it up.Because I didn’t know what I was doing, I was in the lovely position to make the book that I chose to make, rather than make the book that convention or machinery would allow. It’s having the idea and saying â€Å"how can I make this work† rather than knowing how things work and limiting your ideas to that. I knew that I wanted a type-only book that fit with my story. The book is of course in paper and not in stone, but it has a feeling of stone. It’s very simple and feels like an art book and obviously the story is about an artist inside.service@reedsy.com to claim your discount!

History and Geography of Germany

History and Geography of Germany Population: 81,471,834 (July 2011 estimate)Capital: BerlinArea: 137,847 square miles (357,022 sq km)Coastline: 2,250 miles (3,621 km)Highest Point: Zugspitze at 9,721 feet (2,963 m)Lowest Point: Neuendorf bei Wilster at -11 feet (-3.5 m)Germany is a country located in Western and Central Europe. Its capital and largest city is Berlin but other large cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt. Germany is one of the most populous countries of the European Union and it has one of the largest economies in Europe. It is known for its history, high standard of living and cultural heritage. History of Germany: Weimar Republic to Today According to the U.S. Department of State, in 1919 the Weimar Republic was formed as a democratic state but Germany gradually began to experience economic and social problems. By 1929 the government had lost much of its stability as the world entered a depression and the presence of dozens of political parties in Germanys government hampered its ability to create a unified system. By 1932 the National Socialist Party (Nazi Party) led by Adolf Hitler was growing in power and in 1933 the Weimar Republic was mostly gone. In 1934 President Paul von Hindenburg died and Hitler, who had been named Reich Chancellor in 1933, became Germanys leader.Once the Nazi Party took power in Germany nearly all democratic institutions in the country were abolished. In addition, Germanys Jewish peoples were jailed as were any members of opposing parties. Shortly thereafter the Nazis began a policy of genocide against the countrys Jewish population. This later became known as the Holocaust and around six m illion Jewish people in both Germany and other Nazi occupied areas were killed. In addition to the Holocaust, Nazi governmental policies and expansionist practices eventually led to World War II. This later destroyed Germanys political structure, economy and many of its cities.On May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered and the United States, United Kingdom, USSR and France took control under what was called Four Power Control. Initially Germany was to be controlled as a single unit, but eastern Germany soon became dominated by Soviet policies. In 1948 the USSR blockaded Berlin and by 1949 East and West Germany were created. West Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany, followed principles set forth by the U.S. and U.K., while East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union and its communist policies. As a result, there was severe political and social unrest in Germany throughout most of the mid-1900s and in the 1950s millions of East Germans fled to the west. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was constructed, officially dividing the two.By the 1980 pressure for political ref orm and German unification was growing and in 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and in 1990 the Four Power Control ended. As a result, Germany began to unify itself and on December 2, 1990 it held the first all German elections since 1933. Since the 1990s, Germany has continued to regain its political, economic and social stability and today it is known for having a high standard of living and a strong economy. Government of Germany Today Germanys government is considered a federal republic. It has an executive branch of government with a chief of state who is the countrys president and a head of government who is known as the chancellor. Germany also has a bicameral legislature made up of the Federal Council and the Federal Diet. Germanys judicial branch consists of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Court of Justice and the Federal Administrative Court. The country is divided into 16 states for local administration. Economics and Land Use in Germany Germany has a very strong, modern economy that is considered the fifth largest in the world. In addition, according to the CIA World Factbook, it is one of the worlds most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal cement and chemicals. Other industries in Germany include machinery production, motor vehicle manufacture, electronics, shipbuilding and textiles. Agriculture also plays a role in Germanys economy and the main products are potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, cabbage, fruit, cattle pigs and dairy products. Geography and Climate of Germany Germany is located in Central Europe along the Baltic and North Seas. It also shares borders with nine different countries - some of which include France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. Germany has a varied topography with lowlands in the north, the Bavarian Alps in the south and uplands in the central part of the country. The highest point in Germany is Zugspitze at 9,721 feet (2,963 m), while the lowest is Neuendorf bei Wilster at -11 feet (-3.5 m).The climate of Germany is considered temperate and marine. It has cool, wet winters and mild summers. The average January low temperature for Berlin, the capital of Germany, is 28.6ËšF (-1.9ËšC) and the average July high temperature the city is 74.7ËšF (23.7ËšC).To learn more about Germany, visit the Geography and Maps section on Germany on this website. Source:Central Intelligence Agency. (17 June 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - Germany. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html ï » ¿Infoplease.com. (n.d.).Germany: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107568.html United States Department of State. (10 November 2010). Germany. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3997.htm Wikipedia.com. (20 June 2011). Germany - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany

Relevance of Technology Pull and Push Debates Essay

Relevance of Technology Pull and Push Debates - Essay Example The paper concluded that the presumed assumption that market demand was important than technology push was ill-conceived and was not supported by any evidence. The conclusion practically undermines the policy notion that market demand brings about innovation and thus, the government is not required to intervene because innovation will be taken care by the market. Since the publication of the Mower and Rosenberg’s papers, there have been attempts to identify through survey research the factors that affect or influence innovation. These attempts have also led to debate whether market pull or technology push has greater significance in innovation. Mower and Rosenberg have indicated that those terms (market pull and technology push) lack precision, and they vary in meaning between research projects. Thus, they make comparison a difficult process (Howells 1997, p1210). Ottoson (2004, p279) argues that in order to solve one section of the problem, two forms of organizations must exi st; innovation push project organization to cater for the new innovations and a process-centered organization to take care of the current market demands or needs. According to Ottoson (2004, p280), the aim of innovative development is to create products that can be retailed. After the products have been sold and used, re-engineering is done to make sure that the market need or demand is generated. It is important to note that innovative development has not gained much attention because the main focus has been on re-engineering and engineering details (Ottoson 2004, p280). Most of the companies continue to function on a flawed supposition that demand... In the 21st century, market pull is common in the pharmaceutical industry. This report stresses that the growth of economies, industries, and corporations is accomplished through the application of services and products that relate to scientific and technological changes. There are researchers who argue that demand-pull leads to inventive activities. Other individuals such as Gaussling define demand-pull as the method through which there is direct response to the clear market demands. Rothwell’s innovation models explain, clearly, the meaning of technology push and market pull. According to the model, technology push is characterized by basic science, design and engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sales. On the other hand, market pull is characterized by market needs, development, manufacturing, and sales. This essay makes a conclusion that the technology pull strategy has been widely successful to a point that many have tended to believe that technology push is a waste of effort. This notion is, however, far beyond the truth considering the level of success that technology push has drawn for numerous companies. In fact, several companies thrive on innovation beyond what the customers actually need. In respect of these findings, both technology pull and push are important in the business environment and can draw pleasant result for businesses as long as they are properly and judiciously applied and implemented.