Issue 69: One Lovely Thing |
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Hello First name / I've been writing Gorgeous for a while now. If you've been with me for any of it, then thank you. Knowing that these land in your inbox and that you read them means a lot. I've also been doing a bit of honest reflection, as we designers tend to do. I love writing this newsletter, but it hasn't always had a clear sense of direction. Some issues were about fonts, some about my week, and some about courses.I'm not sure it was always obvious what Gorgeous was actually for. So I've given it a bit of a rework! From the next issue, here's what to expect: Gorgeous will rotate through the three areas I spend most of my working life in and the areas in which you may know me best: - Branding: for coaches, solopreneurs and small businesses who want to look as good, just like your work
- Books and Editorial: for authors, people who want to publish guides, experts, self-publishers and charities bringing words into the world
- Websites: practical website advice and digital design thinking for anyone who wants to know more about being online
Each issue will also include a Font (I know some of you are here just for those!), a short note from the studio, and a clear signpost to working with me on one, two or all of these services (best bit, you only brief once!). That could be a bespoke project, a one-hour consultation, or one of the Hello Lovely Learning courses. It'll still be me. It'll still be quirky and a bit Cambridge and occasionally mention something I spotted on a walk. But it'll have a shape now, and I think you'll find it more useful for that. I'm aiming for each fortnight! If you're writing, watch out for the Books and Editorial issue as they're written with you in mind and will cover any multiple-page editorial document from pamphlets, guides or books. If you're a coach or a solopreneur trying to get your visual identity sorted, the Branding issues are yours. And if you've been quietly wondering whether your site is doing what it should, the Website issues will give you helpful advice. All will be close to my values of helpful design that's accessible. I'm looking forward to this new chapter. I hope you are too. In the meantime, I would like to hear what you're up to. Let me know on social media, it's good to keep in touch. I am taking bookings for new projects. Drop me a line to reserve your space or book a free 15-minute chat. Best wishes Berenice |
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Does That Book Cover Look Like It Belongs? |
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I've been working on a book interior this week. It's one of those manuscripts that arrives already full of love and effort, written well and edited with care, and it reminded me to tell you that the whole of a book matters, every single element. But before a reader ever opens the pages, there's the cover to contend with. And the cover, more than almost any other design piece I work with, has to do an enormous amount of work in a very short time. There's a question I ask every author I work with early in the process: which shelf does your book sit on? I mean literally - where do you see it? You know how you walk into a bookshop, and there are the tables - like the one in Bookish in Crickhowell, one of my favourite bookshops above - maybe it's that table? I suggest to any would-be author take time to look at the book covers of works that your readers already love. What do they have in common? The weight of the typography? The use of white space? Is the author's name bigger than the title? These conventions exist for a good reason. They're a visual shorthand that tells a reader in a few short seconds that this book is for you. When a cover breaks those conventions without a very good reason, readers don't consciously notice but they don't pick it up. Here are my three things that make a cover feel trustworthy: - Typography that knows its genre. A memoir needs something different from a business book. A self-help title has different typographic energy to a serious charity report or a poetry collection. If your font feels slightly off, a bit too casual, too corporate, too decorative, then readers will feel it even if they can't explain it.
- A hierarchy that guides the eye. Title. Subtitle (if any). Author name. In that order, usually, unless you're already well-known enough that your name is the draw. A cover that treats all three elements as equally important ends up feeling cluttered and unresolved.
- A cover that works at thumbnail size. Most books are discovered online first. If your cover loses its impact when it's the size of a postage stamp, it's working too hard. Test it. Shrink it right down and squint.
If you're at the stage of thinking about your cover or wondering why your current one isn't getting the traction you hoped for, this is exactly the kind of conversation I love to have. A one-hour consultation might be all you need to get clear on what's working and what isn't. |
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If you're self-publishing and choosing a body font for your book interior, Freight Text is one I keep coming back to. It's a serif designed specifically for reading at smaller sizes without being fussy. It has beautiful italics (essential for a book with any quoted material or emphasis), and it feels at home in everything from memoirs to serious business books to poetry collections. It's available through Adobe Fonts and as a licensed desktop font so you can use it in Word or any application. Pair it with: Freight Sans for chapter headings, or a clean geometric like Futura for a contemporary contrast. |
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This fortnight I've been hosting Co-Working for The Freelancer Magazine and using those two hours to get my diary organised. I've completed a boot camp on AI as I'm looking to deepen my understanding of AI, so I can use it mindfully to support my systems. I met up with two new clients to map out their work. One is website design, and the other is a book cover series design and I sent out a new proposal - fingers crossed!. I am lending my words to a research project at the University of Lancaster called Beyond The Book. I updated my case studies with a new project, and you can read an extract from Patricia's testimonial below. I hope you enjoy looking at a selection of work. And yes, Design Foundations for Non Designers is on the way, I'm having fun writing the course on type pairings. |
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Bespoke book design including cover design, interior layout, print-ready and ebook formats, with full guidance on KDP and IngramSpark. See book design services → Self-Publishing Foundations is the Hello Lovely course for authors who want clarity on the whole process, from editing to printing to marketing. Lifetime access, practical tools, and no jargon. Explore the course → Newsletter subscribers save 15% with code: GORGEOUSSPF Design Foundations — for anyone who has to make design decisions and wants to do it with more confidence. Ideal for coaches, charity comms teams and solopreneurs. Join the waitlist → |
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Hello Lovely Design and Co, Future Business, The Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge
Cambridge, CB2 3QJ, United Kingdom |
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