The silent world of bookbinding: Four book designers who captivated editors

Fujieda Dai of Shoshi Kankanbo chose some of the most attractive books in recent years. He is an editor who creates books and is involved in the establishment and management of the bookstore Ajiro, where books are found. In other words, these are books selected from the perspective of both creators and sellers. We began by asking him to talk about the essence of book design from the perspective of an editor.

The other day I read a book called "Mary Shelley." It's a biography of the author of "Frankenstein." I found a quote from Mary Shelley in this book that I found wise and relevant to book design. She says, "When I think of the greatness of her soul... I feel a renewed sense of urgency to avoid degenerating from that spirit as much as possible."

"She" in question was Shelley's mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneer of feminism. She died shortly after giving birth to Shelley, but left behind many books, including her own. Her mother's philosophy led her to say, "We must do our utmost to prevent books from deteriorating as much as possible." The same goes for book design. To borrow Shelley's words, "We must do our utmost to prevent the soul of a book from deteriorating as much as possible." This is essential for books to be purchased now, and for future readers to discover them.

Specifically, book production begins with planning. I discuss with the author what goal we should aim for to create a good book. It's mostly intuition. At the same time, I have a strict understanding of the genre of the book. I keep it within a certain framework. As the book nears completion, I become more conscious of what I need to respect about the book. To give a simple example, is it closer to "motion" or "stillness"?

Then I ask a designer to do it. Of course, I make an offer to someone who has a similar image to the book. For example, I asked Mori Keita to design my poetry collection "Boom-Bap." I thought Mori, who can give a sense of groove to the cover, would be the perfect person to express the dynamic movement of the book. In every meeting, I start by talking about my vision of the soul of the book. After about five minutes, most designers will take over (laughs).

Once I've shared the important parts, I leave the rest to them. The cover of "Boom-Bap" features an illustration of a car, but that wasn't something I requested or dictated. If the result is a book that transcends the boundaries of its genre and reaches the people it should reach, even if they're far away, then that can be considered excellent book design.

The books we have selected this time are from recent releases and were created by four designers who have expressed the appeal of each book with their own unique sensibilities. We hope you will pay attention to the ingenuity that has been put into every detail, from the cover art and title lettering to the binding.

Viewed from close up or from afar? The distance reveals the connection between the two books

Designer Yuri Suyama

Fujieda cited these two books, saying, "I was blown away by the book design in 2024!" Both are works by philosopher and critic Takumi Fukuo. The covers actually show the same work, with a close-up shot of "Non-aesthetics" and a full-length shot of "Hitogoto." Yuri Suyama, who designed the covers, had this to say about them:

"For the cover, at Fukuo's suggestion, we used Yukari Motoyama's Ghost in the Cloth (Cosmos). The image, drawn with stitches, crosses the boundaries of color, and what you see changes depending on where you look at it from. I thought that the difference that arises from this distance resonated with the nature of these two books. Since they were written around the same time and are deeply related, we decided to feature a portion of the work in Hibitigaku and the whole in Hitogoto.

I thought it was important that when you look at both at the same time, you get the feeling that the same motif looks different. From the beginning, it was decided that two books would be made, that they would be the same size, and that the release dates would be different. If they had been published simultaneously, things might have turned out differently. I feel that this overlaps with Fukuo's approach of connecting not just books but all of his activities, from existing and upcoming publications to advertising and publication commemorative events." (Suyama)

A small, light, and light-conscious format

Art Director: Mori Keita

Mori Keita is in charge of the format and binding of U-NEXT's book label, 100 min. NOVELLA. The "groove feeling" that Fujieda spoke of is present not only in the cover but also in the binding.

"Because it's a label of novellas that can be read in about 100 minutes, I talked with my editor about how it would be nice if people could pick one up as casually as they would watch a movie. For example, we decided to set the retail price at 990 yen. We also aimed for it to be easy to carry around and read on the train, etc.

The book is a small B6 size that can be easily opened with one hand, and the paper is Adonis Rough, which is light and rough, reducing glare. I read each book carefully and am conscious of visualizing the contents. To make the photographs and illustrations appear as individual works, the title and author's name are not printed on the front page." (Mori)

Design that commits to today's society

Editorial designer Satoko Miyakoshi

Satoko Miyakoshi has honed her skills in the world of magazines, and her sensibilities are in line with what Fujieda said about her "unique perspective on the present."

"Many feminist books in recent years have a bright and soft design. In that respect, 'Rise Up From Within Your Bedding' is a book about feminism and anarchism. The author, Takashima Suzu, had a clear intention, so we were conscious of 'strength.' We wanted 'How to Walk Through Criticism' to be a fun, adventurous book like the magazine 'TRANSIT.' The cover symbolically incorporates modern motifs from criticism and the destination to aim for.

I call it a "good chuunibyou cover" that shows the passion for revolutionizing criticism (laughs). Both are ideas that should be communicated to society, and design should also participate. This stance may be connected to my "perspective on the present" (Miyakoshi).

The obi, cover, and even the inside of the book quietly speak to the book's charm.

Graphic designer Asuka Wakida

"Asuka Wakida 's designs are not dry, but not too sticky either; they have a modern and delicate impression. The Bell Jar not only looks great, but the softness of the book as an object also matches the content perfectly," says Fujieda. This was also something that resonated with Wakita herself.

"I think the construction of the book as an object is truly satisfying! Thanks to the bulky paper used for the main text, it doesn't feel heavy despite its thickness, and the thinner paper used for the cover gives it a pleasant suppleness. It's even easy to read with one hand. Foreign literature is a genre with a relatively fixed readership, but lightness was an important point that I couldn't compromise on in order to encourage a wider audience to pick it up and read it.

The same goes for the front, with the obi being easy to read and understand, and the cover featuring a full-page illustration that evokes the worldview of the novel, with a design that is conscious of conveying the book's contents widely and carefully in stores. Conversely, the cover itself, once the cover is removed, features a more sensual visual that is evoked from the image of the work. This is a book design that connects the book with the person who picks it up, not just when they see it for the first time, but also while they are reading it and after they have read it." (Wakida)

Fujieda University's Three Principles for Good Book Design

・Think about how to expand the world of the book.
- Understand the minimum rules for each genre.
- Trust the designer's sensibilities.