On Color in Modern Book Binding Design —— Abstract of Book Binding Design Papers

With the gradual opening of the publishing market in China and the increasingly fierce competition of books, book binding design has developed rapidly, which is of positive significance to the publishing industry. As a plastic art, book binding design requires that the design should not only highlight the content of the book itself, but also skillfully use the unique artistic language of binding to create a rich aesthetic space for readers, convey the spirit and emotion of the book, and make readers enjoy beauty both visually and psychologically. Color is one of the elements of book binding, and it plays an important role in book binding design because of its powerful visual perception function and emotional expression advantages. Studying color and mastering the method of rational use of color are effective ways to understand book binding and complete the overall design of books.

1. The role of color in book binding design

Lv Jingren, a famous designer, said, "What is a beautiful book? In short, they are books that are interesting to read, beneficial to the public, unified in content and form, and have aesthetic and functional values. " The purpose of book binding design is to explore and create the beauty of books, and fully express the beauty of books by artistic means through visual presentation and combining the connotation of books.

From the perspective of visual art, color can be called the first element of book binding design, which is extremely important for book binding. The emotion conveyed by color is rich and delicate, because it can affect psychology through the physiological function and impact of human eyes, produce emotional fluctuation, make readers fondle books and produce buying behavior-this is the charm of color, and it is also the focus of binding design.

2. The application of color in book binding design

Cover, illustration and title page occupy a prominent position in book binding design, and their color application is an important factor affecting books.

(1) cover color

Cover can be said to be the "facade" in book binding, and its design is to reveal the content or essence of books by using visual language on the plane. With the development of art design in China, the requirements for cover design are not limited to the stacking of characters and graphics and the gradual progress of information; It is more necessary to combine the rich connotation of books to convey the artistic conception and the beauty of visual art, so that the form is clear, clear and concise. Among them, the treatment of color is an important factor that directly affects the design of book cover.

Color is the main artistic language of book cover design. Proper visual expression and artistic treatment can attract readers' vision and create a good first impression for the whole book. When designing the cover color, we should pay attention to the functionality of the cover and deal with the juxtaposition of color blocks reasonably; Through the contrast effect of hue, purity and lightness, different connotations and ideas can be expressed; At the same time, we should also pay attention to the contrast relationship of colors, seek unity and coordination in comparison, and achieve a balanced artistic aesthetic feeling.

(2) the color of the spine

The spine of a book is an important factor in the overall shape. Although the area is small, it is the connection point between the front cover and the back cover. When the book stands on the bookshelf, this limited area of a few centimeters becomes the "pioneer" of book sales: in terms of content, first introduce the name, author and publishing house; In terms of artistic treatment, it is the link of the whole book design. As the representative of the overall image of the book, it is first presented to readers. The color application of spine often attracts readers' vision through simple and contrasting color blocks; On the same plane as the front cover and back cover, it produces a subtle sound between readers and authors, giving readers a deep first impression. Therefore, its attraction cannot be ignored.

(3) the color of the title page

The title page is like a "screen" in a book. Generally, it is the title of the book, the name of the author, the publishing unit, etc. Are printed on the first or second page after the cover, which is the transition between the cover and the text. The color of the title page is different from that of the cover. There may not be much visual impact, and the contrast of colors will not be too strong. It exists more quietly, combined with graphics, as an auxiliary embodiment of the style and connotation of the book.

(4) Color of book illustrations

Illustration design is an important factor to enliven the content of books, which is often used to interpret the text content, assist the layout design and enrich the visual expression of books. At present, the illustration design in books mainly includes sketches, photographic works and computer-designed graphics, all of which express the artistry of works through pattern elements and colors. For example, photographic works objectively express things, emphasizing the harmony and collocation of inherent color, light source color and environmental color; Illustrations in painting creation are free in form, subjective and concise in color, and attach importance to emotional expression; Computer-designed illustrations are mostly used in science fiction, which is unrealistic and pursues exaggerated and strong decorative colors. -Usually, each illustration itself is a complete graphic work with independent color expression. Whether creating or choosing illustrations, we should consider whether their colors can express the connotation corresponding to the text, whether they echo the colors of the whole page, and whether they can be unified with the colors of the whole book binding.

(5) the color of the words in the book.

The text is the core of the book, and it is also the part that readers have the closest contact with. With the readers' higher requirements for books, the layout design, including the use of colors, has also become an indispensable part of the whole binding design.

The color application of characters is based on the integration with various design elements, which conforms to the essence of books and serves readers. Flexibly adjusting the proportion of color in the layout, the shape and position of color blocks, and actively relying on advanced materials and technology to serve the functionality of color are the ways in which color is used in the text: in the text part, different colors are used to distinguish the title, text and page number according to the style of the book, which can make the book not only conducive to reading, but also stimulate the mood; Many books use harmonious colors as background colors on text pages, and some directly use yellow-green printing paper to protect eyesight and reduce visual fatigue, which has been scientifically used in children's books and textbooks. Such as ceramics, paper-cutting, opera masks and other books with strong artistic flavor, it is even more necessary to rationally use the unity of color and theme to enhance their personality and sense of rhythm. ...

To sum up, all parts involved in book binding and design need to use colors reasonably, so that colors can be coordinated with the internal and external design of books, which is not only convenient for reading, but also can give readers visual and sensory aesthetic enjoyment.

3. The rational use of color in modern book binding design.

(1) overall color design

"Book binding is both three-dimensional and flat. This three-dimensional is composed of many planes. Not only can you see the front cover, back cover and spine from the outside, but also from the outside to the inside. With the visual flow, every page is flat. All these planes should be bound and designed to give people a good feeling. " In other words, the color design of book binding is not only to design the color of a single cover or illustration, but to integrate all parts of the book into a whole to grasp the color.

First of all, look at the overall impression of the color of the designed book. Generally speaking, the color design of children's publications can weaken the contrast and emphasize the light and bright colors according to the naive and simple characteristics of children; Female books and periodicals can choose soft, charming and quiet colors; The colors of art publications should be deep and rich, but they should not be frivolous and kitsch; Professional academic journals require serious and elegant colors, which are not suitable for high-purity hue contrast and so on.

Then, just like painting, "describe the details" on the big tone. Emphasize the color relationship through every detail of cover, ring lining, title page, inner page text and illustration, and pay attention to the color feeling created by hue, purity and lightness; At the same time, we should also grasp the color relationship between cover and inner page, cover and ring lining, title page, title page and inner page, and pay attention to the color harmony between them so as not to be abrupt and blunt. In this way, from the whole to the details, from disorder to order, from perceptual reverie to logical thinking, the whole book has a sense of rhythm and flow.

Finally, we need to make overall adjustments. In order to avoid paying attention to the colors of all parts of the book, as designers, we have to look at the macro effect of the whole book, incorporate local colors, study the rationality of color layout in the whole binding design, and the combination of the relationship between cold and warm colors and the connotation of the book itself.

(2) Pay attention to the combination with printing technology.

The application of color in book binding should also take into account the printing method, ink performance, paper material and the effect of printing technology, etc ... including the treatment of post-press processing technology, the coordination of color and technology will directly affect the binding effect: if the book cover after four-color printing is bronze and silver, we must consider whether the color of bronzing substrate is in harmony with the original printing color, and it is icing on the cake to make rational use of technology to match color, otherwise it will be icing on the cake.

(3) Humanized colors

People-oriented design, book binding design is aimed at readers, and appropriate colors become the medium for readers to communicate with books. To make color design and even the binding of the whole book have vitality, we must study many aspects of readers:

Each set of books has a corresponding readership, and because of their age, gender, customs, cultural attainments, occupations and other differences, they will have different psychological reactions to colors. Then understanding these differences and finding out the readers' positioning groups is the basis of rational use of color and good binding design. Then, when designing book binding, we should try our best to understand each tone and color collocation in combination with their own aesthetic habits and color psychology.

In modern binding design, we should pay attention to readers' desire for books, not only the content, but also the emotion. Color has unique advantages in shaping the personality of books and creating emotions, and different colors convey different emotions. As a reader, in the process of reading, he not only understood the content of the book, but also brought personal feelings when he understood the connotation of the book, so he accepted the expression of these colors intentionally or unintentionally and produced emotional songs about colors and the whole book. Therefore, in the design process, designers have to put themselves in the reader's shoes, consider the emotions brought by these colors, and harmonize the tone, brightness and contrast according to the connotation of the book. For example, books with strong emotional expression can enhance the contrast of colors and the purity of colors can be higher; Books with low-key and implicit expression of emotions can reduce the color contrast of the whole book binding, including materials with low brightness of background color when choosing paper. In the design of book binding, using colors to express the feelings of books is an effective design method for readers to better understand the connotation of books and make reading a beautiful life experience.

4. Conclusion

The application of color in a book does not depend on the number of colors piled up, but on the ability to inject rhythm and rhythm into the book through visual expression in combination with the connotation of the book. As a designer, we should study color characteristics, be familiar with readers' color habits and hobbies, master book binding design knowledge systematically, and create "good-looking books" with visual art from the overall situation and the whole, so as to adapt to the ever-changing book market.

References:

1. Ma Ye, Qiu Yongbo, Color Basis, 3rd Edition [M], Liaoning Fine Arts Publishing House, 2007.

2. Wang On the Overall Design of Book Binding, Henan Literature and Art Publishing House, 2007.

3. Li Yang's On Book Binding Design, 2005.

Yan Huang: School of Design and Art, Hunan University of Commerce

Editor in Charge: Fu Lin