Buchgestaltung in Deutschland
By Silvia Werfel
The publication Buchgestaltung in Deutschland by Silvia Werfel offers a new overview into the scene of book designers in Germany.
Proper book design has been argued and debated ever since William Morris and Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson launched a movement in Germany which set itself the goal of a beautifully designed and exquisitely decorated books. Much time has passed since then, and discussions are still going on. Most recently, Hans Peter Willberg provided an overview of the current situation with his book 40 Jahre Buchkunst (40 Years of Book Art) within the competition Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher (The Most Beautiful German books). Exactly 30 years later, Silvia Werfel now offers a new (small) overview of the scene of book designers in Germany.
15 book designers are introduced, with short biographies and book examples. In her introductory essay, the editor outlines developments of the past fifty years, taking into account influential protagonists such as Albert Kapr, Jürgen Seuss, and Hans Peter Willberg.
She also takes a look at the educational institutions, related to the future of book design. Featured are: Günter Karl Bose, Klaus Detjen, Markus Dreßen, Iris Farnschläder, Friedrich Forssman, Rudolf Paulus Gorbach, Rainer Groothuis, Matthias Gubig, Gaston Isoz, Ralf de Jong, Bernd Kuchenbeiser, Rainer Leippold, Lisa Neuhalfen, Judith Schalansky, and Hagen Verleger.
Buchgestaltung in Deutschland
Editing: Silvia Werfel
Series: Ästhetik des Buches (ed. by Klaus Detjen); vol. 14
Publisher: Wallstein Verlag GmbH
Format: 13 × 20.5 cm
Language: German
Volume: 88 pages
Workmanship: English Paperback
Publishing Date: July 2021
ISBN: 978-3-8353-3928-6
Price: € 14.90
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About the author:
Silvia Werfel, born in Leipzig in 1958, is a freelance journalist and specialist author who lives in Wiesbaden. After graduating from high school and completing an apprenticeship as a typesetter, she studied book design, German language and literature, and history at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. She writes articles on typography, printing history, book design, and production for trade journals and reference books, and is an active member, for example, of the International Working Group Typografie in der Wissensvermittlung (Typography in the Transmission of Knowledge) and the International Working Group on Print and Media History as well as a board member of Gesellschaft der Bibliophien (Society of Bibliophiles).
