Attend online

Use this link to attend this meeting online. You will be sent a passcode when you register. We will do our best to broadcast from a new venue but cannot guarantee broadcasting will work so you may wish to attend in person if possible.

About the presentation

During this talk, you’ll learn about engaging a graphic designer for a publication and the detailed briefing they’ll need to design the type specification. We’ll also look at case studies that demonstrate type selection and the consideration given to options.

Type selection and layout are changing due to the influence of how we read on screen. So many traditional standards and techniques of writing and communication are evolving. What does this mean for us as editors and designers? How can we be future-facing? What should we embrace and what should we challenge?

We will analyse some text and decide what possibilities it has for illustration and text variation to keep readers engaged. Or to re-engage them on their way through a publication.

Then we will look at production and scheduling. Where we can collapse processes. Where we can work concurrently. We will establish the critical points in a production process. And then we will consider reverse-engineering to meet a tight deadline.

About David Whitbread

David Whitbread is the author of The design manual (third encyclopaedic edition self-published in 2023) and co-author and art director of the Commonwealth Style manual for authors, editors and printers (6th edition, 2002) and expert adviser for the online 7th edition in 2020. In the last 2 years he has published 9 books, all with a combination of writing, editing and designing, illustrating and seeking copyright clearances, arranging printing – and even indexing in one case! He has taught graphic design and publishing for more than 35 years. He has spoken on design for CSE and IPEd and its predecessors for more than 25 years.