What is a protective seal?

First of all, the task of protecting seals

From the term itself, it can't fully explain or only partially explain its meaning. Of course, the seal's task is to protect the cover. In general, books are wrapped in paper during transportation to avoid being damaged by soil on the way. But after arriving at the bookstore, it is the seal that protects the books. We can imagine that the reader curiously picks up a book in the bookstore and rummages through it, but most readers will still put it back and continue to choose the book he needs. In this way, a book often has to go through the hands of many people before it can be sold, and it will inevitably be damaged. If the cover is dirty or damaged, it can be replaced with a new one. In addition, books placed in the window are easy to fade and curl due to the irradiation of light and sunlight, and the protective seal can alleviate this damage.

But the most important thing about seals is another task, that is, seals can help sales. Is the reader's introducer, let readers pay attention to it, get close to it, introduce the spirit and content of this book to readers, and encourage readers to buy this book.

The window of every bookstore is a small exhibition of cover art (including the cover of paperback books). While paying attention to the content of the book, readers will inevitably pay attention to its appearance. As we know, every reader has some aspects of his favorite books: literature, politics, sports, art, majors and other hobbies. They cast their curious eyes on the window, hoping to find some new books in their hobbies, but these eyes first cast their eyes on the appearance of the most eye-catching books. Here, the jacket seems to be many small advertising paintings, competing to tell readers that its clothes are particularly fresh and beautiful, interesting and commendable, and it has achieved the highest achievements in book content, artistic value and technical production. You should buy it anyway.

Of course, there are also some readers who look for books that they are familiar with and trust from the title, without paying attention to the seal, and are influenced by the appearance. But most readers will still be influenced by the jacket. Paying attention to it and liking it can be one of the reasons to buy this book.

It can be seen that the task of the seal is firstly its advertising function, and secondly its protection function. It is a propaganda means, a small advertisement adapted into a book. Some people compare the protective cover to a small poster, but this can only explain part of the problem of the protective cover. The essence of the protective sleeve is the connection with the content of the book, and the appearance must adapt to the shape of the book.

The history of the second protective seal

The earliest cover that can be seen today is the work of Yale Sharpf in Germany at the end of 15. From 1478 to 15 17, he was a bookbinder and lumberjack in augsburg. Another German, Schon spiegel, made a small book named Health Care by augsburg in 1482, and also used a similar protective cover with woodcut decorative patterns. Besides augsburg, the places covered by books are Venice and Flara. No protective seals were found in the following years. It was not until the19th century that the use of protective seals was rediscovered.

65438-0949, an international book cover exhibition called "The Art of Book Clothes" was held at the Victoria and Abbott Museum in London, England. The exhibition was initiated by Charles Rosner in Britain, and later published a book "The Art of Book Cover", which may be the first professional book on cover. According to the records of this book, the first cover in modern times was 1833 "Memorial of the Heath Wasteland" published by Longman Publishing House in England, and the cover with red title was printed on beige paper. Its cover is a symmetrical composition composed of words in a wire frame, and advertisements of other books of this publishing house are printed on the back cover. Seven years after the publication of this protective cover, linen was first used on the cover. Only four years ago, a protective book cover was used outside the cover of a silk fabric. Obviously, the use of fabric covers promotes the creation of protective seals. & lt

Professor F. Hemcke, the predecessor of German book art, expressed his views. He said, "The paperback book of the Song Dynasty was popular in France for more than one hundred years, and it was covered with a layer of yellow paper. This is the origin of the cover." . It can be seen that the envelope is made of paperback, and something is sealed between the envelope and the book block. The outside of the book used to be the title page, then the cover, then the paperback cover, and now it is the cover with advertising tasks. This cover has become an inseparable part of this book. & lt

The promotion of protective seals is very slow. /kloc-in the second half of the 0/9th century, some publishers and booksellers' books were just wrapped in a simple transparent paper, and the seals below were still visible. Later, heavy and powerful words were printed on kraft paper or simple pictures were printed at will. It was not until the 1990s that multicolor overprint was adopted on white paper, and famous painters and designers were invited to design protective covers. Around this century, Steinlang and Lautrecht in France made many covers that drew inspiration directly from poster art. In Germany, the paintings of Schleswig-vogt and Heine, the decorative patterns of ekman and Peirens, and the fonts of Weiss and Emmerich enriched the expression of seals. In many cases, seals are designed by illustrators. The complex plastic arts schools in the 20th century were embodied in protective seals. German hatfield first applied photo editing to the protective cover. Poster design method is more and more dominant in the application of protective seal. Some kinds of books, such as classics, science and technology, and professional books, were deliberately abandoned in the past, and few people dared to put them on the book market without protection. The development of seal art has gradually produced its own design rules, and formed various style tendencies that are of great significance to design. & lt

Three components of protective seal and their special forms

The protective seal is a flat square printed matter. Its height is equivalent to a book, and its length can cover the front cover, spine and back cover of the cover, with inward folding cuffs (also called hinges) of 5 to 10 cm on both sides. Sealed paper should be of good quality and not easy to tear. If the height of the protective seal is cut off 1 to 2 mm, the risk of tearing can be reduced. & lt

The components of protective seal are divided into front seal, ridge seal, back seal, front cuff, back cuff and most unprinted back covers according to their creases. Usually designers only pay attention to the cover and spine, because the book is flat or stands in the window, and we only see these two areas. Some designers are limited by this. However, readers always pick up the book and sometimes change its direction. If we extend the design to the back cover, and this extension does not affect the independence and integrity of the cover, spine and back cover, then it is possible to produce a more gorgeous and effective cover. & lt

The words on the protective seal are more flexible. Generally, the title of the book, the name of the author and the name of the publishing house can be printed on the cover. If there are the names of the author and publisher on the spine, you can also print the title of the book only on the cover if necessary. & lt

At least the title and the author's name should be printed on the spine of the book cover, so that the books on the shelf can be easily identified. The vertical line, horizontal line or broken line of characters should be determined according to the overall design and thickness.

The front cover and back cover used to be used by publishing houses to promote other books for advertising. This part can be seen from the outside, and it is best to use it in the design of this book without destroying its integrity. If the cover design does not extend to the back page, you can also introduce or comment on the contents of this book, or print the author's resume.

A brief introduction or short comment of a book is usually printed on the front pocket. Its design can not be ignored, because it plays an important role in readers' initial understanding of the contents of books. Unfortunately, it is rarely used here, and it often falls off easily because of its small area. The design factors of the front seal can also be extended to the mouth, such as a line, a color block, a simple small illustration or a small floral decoration, which can all play the role of dividing the area and decorating the mouth. If the advertising effect of the coat is already very strong, the cuffs next to it should be consciously designed to be simple and simple, so as to be unified in the atmosphere inside the book.

The author's resume and his portrait can be printed on the back, which is very popular with readers. Other works by the Indian author or similar books in this book are also good. In short, this is the advertising space for publishers to promote other books, especially books related to this book. The design of rear choke shall be consistent with that of front choke. There is also an advertising space for publishing houses to promote books on the cover, which happens to be rarely noticed and used. This is the back of the cover. Of course, if readers want to read it, they must take off the cover of the book. If you print an instructional line on the back of your mouth, the reader will know what kind of new books the publisher can provide him on the back. This design may seem excessive in literary books and classic works, but it is completely applicable in scientific and technical books and popular books. The design of the back cover should be simple or printed only in words.

In recent years, glazing and laminating transparent films have become very common, and their effects are almost the same. Of course, the latter will be much more airtight. This glossy cover is not suitable for any book, but also depends on the nature and content of the book. Improper use will not be true enough, and readers have different hobbies. Some readers like simplicity, or use the natural color of paper to make it more interesting and lovely. & lt

The other is that the use of transparent film as a protective seal has also increased. Some expensive books are often wrapped in a transparent film outside the protective cover, which seems a bit excessive. Transparent film is used to replace paper seal, protect cover and play the role of advertising together with visual cover. It is a good idea to print the titles of some books on the cover and the decorative pictures on the transparent film. Printing on the reverse side of the transparent film. It will not be damaged under any circumstances. & lt

A special type of protective seal is the waist seal. It was added after the book was printed, and often important events related to the book appeared after the book was published, which must be supplemented and introduced to readers, such as the author of the book winning a literary prize or being made into a movie. The waist seal is wrapped around the lower part of the protective seal, about 5 cm high, only reaching the waist of the protective seal, so it is called waist seal, also called semi-protective seal, and protective seal is also called full protective seal. The use of waist seal should not affect the effect of protective seal. If the most important part of the title and protective seal is in the lower part of a quarter, then the use of waist seal is meaningless. & lt

Related to protective covers are book covers with similar functions. The covers of most books are made of simple cardboard, closed on five sides and open on one side, just revealing the spine when loading books. Firm transportation is a kind of packaging for books. If you stick a piece of paper with advertising effect outside the book cover, it can replace the protective cover, then the book with the book cover can also give up the protective cover.

Design of four protective seals

The cover is the appearance of the book and the main part of the book design. In addition to the protection function, the protective cover is mainly used for publicity, which is the small advertisement of this book. So the protective cover should have an advertising effect. However, the effective distance of the protective cover is different from that of the poster on the advertising wall or column in the street. It's a small print in the window, and the distance here is 2-3 meters. The cover is also different from the general painting creation. It belongs to books, reflecting the content, nature and spirit of books. Without books, there is no cover design. Therefore, the design of protective sleeve should consider the culture. It is different from commercial advertising painting and independent painting creation, but an artistic work that can embody the spirit of book content and give people artistic enjoyment and reading pleasure. & lt

1. Conception is the first and most important step in the design of protective seal. The theory of traditional Chinese painting advocates "meaning first", and the so-called "meaning" means conception, which is the soul of artistic modeling, and the design of protecting seals is no exception. It is not only boring, but sometimes even distorts the content through simple illustrations and translation of the content or title. There are also seals, although they have a strong sense of form and even follow the laws of art, but they have no ideological content. They may make people like them for a while, but they will soon disappear? . However, we also saw some excellent protection seals with profound thoughts, which made people fondle them. The quality and depth of conception are the main reasons for this difference.

When the designer has read the manuscript or understood the contents of the book, the conception activity begins. So we say that conception is the beginning of design. Because the envelope can reflect the contents of the book, but only a point, a side or an angle, it can't and doesn't need to reflect all the contents, so we should grasp the essence and typical contents, refer to the living materials and materials, summarize and refine them, and then spread the wings of imagination. At this time, many ideas filled my mind. Some flashed by, some were looming, and various schemes gradually appeared. Some of them were obtained by accident, which is called inspiration. On this basis, more drafts will be drawn, and the most ideal scheme will be selected after some screening, comparison, supplement and improvement among more conceptual drafts. This scheme may be successful, or it may be partially or completely dismantled to further produce a better scheme. Obviously, the conception activity is a process of understanding things and constantly improving them. The success or failure of conception is based on the designer's accumulated ideological sentiment, cultural accomplishment and artistic accomplishment. & lt

Different kinds of books have different characteristics. Literary books depict images with words, political books are logical thinking, and scientific and technological books have images or no images. If only existing images are used, it is not enough to reflect the essence of the content. Therefore, designers should be good at transforming readers' incomprehensible logical thinking into concise and vivid image expression. & lt

In the process of conception, using the methods of association, metaphor, symbol, personification, empathy, abstraction and exaggeration to create artistic conception and atmosphere can make the conception ingenious and profound, trigger the emotional exchange between designers and readers, and jointly complete the aesthetic process. Smart designers pursue the realm of "incoherent and endless meaning", so that readers' aesthetics will not stay in the limited image of seals, but continue to extend to depth and breadth, thus making designers' creation the end and readers' re-creation the starting point. & lt

However, seal is an art of visual communication, and a good idea must be expressed through appropriate forms and techniques.

2. Expression techniques. There are three ways to express a seal:

1) Realistic technique. Using specific plots and images in the book to directly express the contents of the book is also called direct expression. For example, a painting and calligraphy about war is about fierce war scenes, and a painting and calligraphy about agricultural production is about tractors or farmland. This expression is intuitive and easy to understand, and is widely used in literature books, children's books and intelligence books. & lt

2) symbolism. The method of association, metaphor, symbol and abstraction indirectly reflects the spirit of the book, so it is also called indirect expression. For example: pen or manuscript paper for literary theory books, surface or screen for drama books, musical instruments or notes for music books, etc. If this kind of expression is used well, it is more subtle, memorable and artistic than the realistic method. & lt

3) decorative techniques. Use lines, color blocks and decorative patterns that are in harmony with the spirit of the book. This kind of expression is suitable for the cover of books that are not suitable for expressing the contents with specific images, and is widely used in theoretical books and academic works. & lt

; These three expressions have their own characteristics, so we should choose the appropriate expression according to the content and nature of the book. But it doesn't mean that the cover of a certain book is only suitable for a certain expression. Sometimes these methods will be used repeatedly. & lt

3. Design factors. Character, image, color and composition are the four elements of seal design. & lt

Writing is an indispensable part of a seal. A book always has a title, an author's name and a publisher's name, in which the title is the main item of the text. The title of a book can be printed in a suitable font or written according to the design requirements. The title of this kind of writing is generally called the inscription. The title of the book not only helps readers to understand the contents of the book literally, but also strengthens the embodiment and expression of the contents of the book through the characteristics of its font itself. Some common seals are well designed, but the improper handling of words causes a fly in the ointment and even destroys the whole work. Therefore, the selection of fonts, the size, position, arrangement and color of fonts should be closely coordinated with the whole composition, so that words can become a perfect part of seal design. & lt

Some seals have no specific images, only the words themselves. Many people tend to ignore this seal only by words. Many examples prove that only words can produce impressive and decorative seals. If you only use words, you can highlight the title of a book or a group of words on the screen, and retreat other words to the back, which may get a magnificent effect. Because this kind of seal has an advantage, words can express themselves without restriction, and an image seal can't express itself without words. Another advantage is that characters are easier to coordinate with fonts on the cover and body than images. In addition to the large font size of the text, you can also use other printed fonts, calligraphy or fonts designed by yourself, just like the title page. This method of using other fonts is more flexible than cover or title page, because the relationship between cover and book is loose. The main purpose of using other fonts is to improve the expressive power of the title. Printing a small font next to the title with other fonts is the most convenient way to get in touch with the book. This letter-only cover is very suitable for political books, classic works and science and technology books, and other kinds of books are completely acceptable.

Seal design generally pays attention to the arrangement of two factors: text and image. In addition to the necessary text, the material range of the image part is very wide.

Lines, wide edges, geometric shapes, especially the patterns in printed fonts, all have good decorative effects and endless combinations. We can not only combine them into two-way continuity, four-way continuity, frames and small floral ornaments, but also freely combine them with lines, wide edges and geometric shapes to seek very beautiful color changes. However, its use should also be related to the content and nature of books. The seals designed by this method have made great achievements in Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. & lt

Another method is to use decorative patterns that are related to the content of the book or have symbolic significance. In recent decades, the popular publishing house logo is a symbolic decorative pattern, which symbolizes a certain book of a publishing house and is worth popularizing. Decorative patterns have a wide range of applications, from ancient or ethnic decoration as a symbol of the style of classical books or ethnic books, to some books using modern abstract and fun things, all of which have inexhaustible sources. However, the application of pattern decoration must also be related to the content and spirit of books, and cannot be mechanically copied. & lt

The covers of most literary books are composed of illustrations and words. Many readers, especially teenagers, children and people with low education level, understand illustrations more easily than words. Therefore, it is very appropriate for a book facing the public to have an illustration on the cover that can introduce the basic spirit of the book content. Sometimes the illustrations in a book can be used on the cover, but not often, because the illustrations in the book often describe a specific plot, and the cover mainly expresses the content and spirit of the whole book. & lt

Is the illustration on the cover more important or the text more important? It depends on the content and design requirements. In any case, there can only be one text or illustration, which plays a major role and should not be equivalent. Illustrations and words are very rare for a person, so it is necessary to unify the two styles of illustrations and words as if they were written by the same person. & lt

Professional books, scientific books, popular science books and plastic arts books are often covered with photographic pictures, technical illustrations or paintings with scenes. For example, most professional books use a photographic picture that truly reflects an operation process; This picture should have advertising effect, clear outline, clear black and white, and no attachments irrelevant to the content. In order to enhance the effect of monochrome pictures, you can add strong background colors around the pictures. On the contrary, color pictures need intermediate tones "such as black, white or gray background." A copy of a painting on the cover of a plastic arts book; "It must be large, attractive and have good printing quality; Because readers often regard the quality of seals as internal quality. Sometimes, in order to hint readers, this book contains all kinds of contents and plots, and it can also combine many reduced pictures with the background color of the middle tone between pictures like a mosaic. & lt

Color plays an important role in the design of protecting seals; Readers often see colors first, then words and images. Therefore, our color is the first impression of plastic arts. & lt

White seals are easy to get dirty and must be protected by glazing or pasting transparent films. Most designers like to draw a background color related to the book content to create an atmosphere and attract readers' attention. The color treatment of the cover depends on the color of the cover and the book, but it can be more intense and adopt more contrast methods to enhance the advertising effect. Bright and warm colors can give the book a bigger illusion. Large blocks of interrelated colors can enhance the color effect. But the disorganized color blocks without tissue paper will produce an unstable feeling. & lt

; The color of the cover can also be free from the constraints of natural colors. According to the needs of the book content, appropriate exaggeration and changes can be made to enhance the decorative effect of the work.

Because the color of the seal is finally finished by printing. The performance of ink is different from gouache, and the same hue is not exactly the same visually, especially when two or more colors overlap. Therefore, designers should understand the basic knowledge of printing ink in order to achieve the ideal effect in color processing. & lt

; The success of seal design depends largely on a good color treatment and a good composition. Conception is mainly to solve the problem of what to express and what to express. Composition is to organize the images conceived on the screen. & ltBR & gt There are various forms of composition, such as vertical, horizontal, oblique, curved, crossed, centripetal, radial, triangular, superimposed, edged, scattered, textured and so on. These forms provide a general skeleton for the whole composition pattern, and we should also pay attention to the specific arrangement of words and images on the skeleton. The form of composition should be used flexibly, not blindly copied. What is more important is the accumulation of practical experience and the spirit of daring to explore and innovate. Although the composition forms are ever-changing, there are only two kinds: symmetry and balance. Symmetrical composition gives people a sense of stability and solemnity. Equalization is an equal and unequal shape, which is another method of configuration independent of the central axis. The impression is vivid, compact and novel. In addition, the balance in approximate symmetry or symmetry is stronger and more intriguing than the design of complete symmetry. Conversely, approximate equilibrium or symmetry contained in equilibrium is also true. & lt

; In nature, all vivid phenomena are related to contrast. To protect the seal, we should have a touching effect, and also use comparative methods: size, height, thickness, density, black and white, complexity, truth and so on. The application of contrast can make the picture change with a sense of rhythm and make it clear. But we should pay attention to the organic connection between them, so that they have a sense of integrity.

; The most important thing in composition is to highlight the theme. The main image should be properly handled in proportion and arrangement to make it stand out, and the secondary and foil images should not be surpassed or interfered, resulting in the phenomenon of usurping the role of the host. Which is more important, the title or the image in the picture? It depends on the content and design requirements of the book. & lt

Words, images, colors and composition are four design elements, just like the four violins in the violin quartet, which play a beautiful melody together. If all four violins want to play their voices the loudest and most beautiful, then the audience will inevitably only hear harsh noise. Therefore, there must be a brilliant band conductor who can skillfully choose one violin as the first violinist, and the other three violins play the role of matching and setting off the first violinist in order to play harmonious and beautiful music. As for who the first violinist is, it is not fixed, and it should be chosen according to the content and requirements of the work. It can be text, image, color and composition. They are all indispensable and equally important, but only one of them is the most eye-catching in the picture, and it can never be treated equally. & lt

; In order to protect and beautify books, designers have been looking for new expressions. The constant emergence of new materials and technologies, especially the programming with corresponding computers according to the aesthetic point of view, provides the necessary conditions for the innovation of book juice design. Effective methods are more likely to lose value than simple and implicit methods if they are used too much or copied from each other. If loud and steady, rough and exquisite styles coexist at the same time, they can better set off their own characteristics. Compared with other parts of the book, the cover is even more artistic than the illustrations, because in the design of the cover, the flavor of the times and the designer's personal style and artistic point of view can be more clearly displayed. & lt

; Five protective seals and publishing house styles

; Every kind of book needs a protective cover suitable for them. It must always be consistent with the selection of format and font, the layout design of text, illustrations and colors, title page and cover. Even if there are different designers working together, we should maintain the overall consistency.

A simple dialectical relationship is that protecting the seal can react on the cover. It has advertising function and simple cover design. Book design is from the inside out, because the design of each part should start with the content. The opposite method, that is, from appearance to content design, is also possible, but there is a danger that cover design aimed at advertising effect may be applied to cover and internal layout design. Nevertheless, when the reader is looking at the cover, then the cover, the title page and finally the text, the overall harmony must also be clear. & lt

; Not only the success of book sales depends largely on the design of book covers, but also the face of publishing houses. Of course, the content of a certain book determines the nature and style of a publishing house. But this style is visually expressed through the design of the book, first of all the cover. As it turns out, all famous publishing houses require their books to have an obvious feature. Conversely, only a publishing house with style can become a famous publishing house. However, it should not be concluded that the covers of this publishing house are all of the same style, because different book contents have formed different cover designs. On the contrary, it should be concluded that all books and covers of a publishing house must be designed according to an unchangeable aesthetic principle. When publishing, publishers should also choose to adapt to this aesthetic principle. Designer of BR> instrument. & lt

; Usually, each publishing house only publishes a certain kind of books. The characteristics of this kind of books can be emphasized through the special form of protective seals. For example, some literary publishing houses are famous for using elegant, solemn and profound designs on their covers; Other literary publishing houses highlight the cover with illustrations; Most art publishing houses use copied plastic art works on the cover, but there are differences in layout design forms; Children's Publishing House emphasizes lively and interesting covers; Political books pay more attention to the quality of words and layout; Scientific books pay attention to scientific, steady and realistic design: professional books are mostly covered with professional, contemporary and applied photographic pictures. In addition, while emphasizing the characteristics of books, each cover is publicized in its own language.