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Judging a book by its cover

Toronto typographer Nick Shinn, renowned around the world for his typeface designs, has spurred much debate on the Typophile.com forums with his recent post about “the dire state of book typography.” Using the terribly dull-looking U.S. edition of last year’s bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music, by McGill professor Daniel Levitin, as an example, Shinn tears into what he sees as fundamental problems with the book’s overall design, noting, “It severely pains me to read the damn godless thing, which is frustrating, as it’s quite interesting, and I would like to finish it.”

Shinn’s post, which breaks down everything from the book’s dreary cover to the margins of the inside text, has sparked a lengthy discussion on the Typophile message board by both industry professionals and everyday book readers about contemporary book design.

Many of the respondents point out the vast differences in book design in North America versus other territories, noting that a good case in point is Shinn’s own example: the UK edition of This is Your Brain on Music boasts a far more eye-catching cover, for instance, than the American one.