Design Insights from Real User Behavior

The publishing world is a small one, and when someone is doing great work, you tend to hear about it. Frances Baca is one of those people! She’s spent more than 25 years designing books and thinking deeply about what makes them work, from covers that capture an author’s voice to the intricate design systems that make cookbooks functional, beautiful, and alive. Frances has worked across the industry as a designer, creative leader, consultant, and most recently as President of Sasquatch Books during a period of major transition. I wanted to talk with her about the craft of book design, the quiet power designers have in shaping how readers experience a book, and where the business of publishing might be headed next. Read the interview here: https://lnkd.in/gzghi_h3

“𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟬𝟬+ 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀.” Having completed over 100 book cover projects, one thing I have learned: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬; 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳. Why? Here are five lessons I learned the hard way so you don't have to. . . . . . 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟭. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲. We're often too close to our own work that we love. What feels "safe" to us often seems "boring" to an outsider. The reader requires a hook, but the author seeks reassurance. We should pay attention to the reader. 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘀. Two years ago, everyone wanted neon gradients, but now those covers seem outdated. Time-honoured design underpins the story, not the season. 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟯. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. Beautiful detail isn't visible at a glance. Test your cover at 50x50 pixels; if it appears blurry, it's broken. 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟰. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲. Ask an author to describe their book in a single sentence. The visual should support that sentence, not compete with it. Clarity in words first, then clarity in design. 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟱. 𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Trying to satisfy everyone ends up satisfying no one. Choose your audience. Tailor your design for them and disregard the others. . . . . . These lessons weren't learnt from a textbook. They came from real projects, real feedback, and real mistakes. 👇 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀? Share below. I'd love to hear it. ----- 🔁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿.  ➕ 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 [Ferdousi Akter] 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.  🎁 𝗣.𝗦. 𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟭, 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁s. #bookcoverdesign #designlessons #visualstrategy #creativeprocess #authortips #designwisdom

Imagine you're building a go-to knowledge base on current design practice. Which actively working designers would you add? What makes them worth adding? What would be your preferred sources? Their published books, essays, email newsletters, or maybe a Telegram channel? Genuinely curious what knowledge sources you'd actually trust and keep coming back to.

We always talk about how important book covers are, but in the world of self-publishing, authors are faced with a big decision: DIY or go with a professional? However, before you make that decision, there are an array of factors you should understand before designing a cover. In our latest article, we discuss what elements feed into cover design, helping authors establish if they have the capacity to create an eye-catching and striking cover, or whether opting for a professional is the best way to go. From audience to software to formats, this article gives a sneak peek into the world of cover design: https://lnkd.in/e9vGFvKU

📚 A question worth thinking about — are we creating books just for content… or for experience? Authors focus on writing. Publishers focus on production and cost. Teachers focus on delivery. Students focus on understanding. But there’s one thing that connects all of them — 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. If the layout feels cluttered, the fonts aren’t readable or the flow is weak, even great content can lose its impact. 💡 Simple observations: • Proper spacing reduces reading fatigue • Clear visual hierarchy improves understanding • Age-appropriate design keeps students engaged In today’s time, especially for school and children’s books, design is no longer optional — it’s part of the learning process. At Mod Print Design, we’ve been exploring this space closely — making sure content doesn’t just exist on pages, but is actually easy to absorb and engaging to read. Would love to hear your perspective 👇 What matters more in a great book — content, design or the balance of both? #BookDesign #Education #Publishing #LearningExperience #ContentCreation #SchoolBooks #DesignMatters

I was lucky to get an early copy of this book and I loved it. Buy “Accessible UX Research” if you want to learn how to make UX research more accessible and create better products for everyone!

The physical copies of "Accessible UX Research" are now shipping -- including in the U.S.! 🎉 After some tariff-related delays, the team at Smashing Magazine found a solution and books are officially landing in mailboxes. Grateful for Smashing's persistence and for everyone who’s already shared photos of their copy. To give you a feel for what you’ll find inside, here’s a short excerpt 📚 : "If disability is considered in research, it is primarily to ask participants about accessibility, not usability. The purpose of UX Research, regardless of the inclusion of disability, is usually viewed as testing designs rather than learning about people. In reality, UX Research has so much more to offer than even UX professionals realize, so it’s time to do a better job of showing it off." If you’re a UX researcher, designer, or product leader who wants to stop unintentionally excluding disabled people from research, design, and product decisions, the physical & e-book copies of "Accessible UX Research" are now available worldwide. Get your copy today: https://lnkd.in/guhwr5Vz #Accessibility #UX #UXResearch #DisabilityInclusion #InclusionMatters

AISL Magazine Volume 3, Issue 2 - now live. Six issues in, and the challenge remains the same: how do you build a flexible visual system that accommodates shifting content without losing its spine? This issue called for tighter information hierarchies and more dynamic pacing - balancing long-form features with shorter editorial moments, while maintaining cohesion across 48 pages. The solution was a refined grid that expands and contracts, creating rhythm without rigidity. What continues to fascinate me is the overlap between publication design and form. Both disciplines require you to solve for spatial relationships, user journey, and the tension between structure and expression. The materials change. The thinking doesn’t. 📖 Volume 3, Issue 2: https://lnkd.in/guwZiNP7 My thanks to the AISL editorial team, collaborative partners who understand that good design is invisible, until it isn’t.

Most authors spend months perfecting their manuscript but only hours designing their cover. Then they wonder why their brilliant book isn't selling. After helping publish over 10,000 books, I've watched this pattern play out countless times. Authors treat cover design as an afterthought—something to quickly throw together once the "real work" of writing is done. But here's what the data tells us: readers make their buying decision within 2.6 seconds of seeing your cover. Your manuscript never gets a chance if your cover fails first. The biggest mistake I see? Authors designing covers that look beautiful in isolation but completely fail in their actual selling environment. They create stunning artwork that becomes invisible when shrunk to thumbnail size on Amazon. They choose fonts that disappear against busy backgrounds. They ignore genre conventions, thinking they're being creative when they're actually confusing their target readers. When we work with authors on cover design, we always start with the thumbnail test—how does this look at 200x300 pixels? That's where most buying decisions happen, not on the full-size version. The covers that sell combine visual impact with crystal-clear messaging, even at postage stamp size. This is exactly why professional cover design has become non-negotiable in today's market. We broke down the complete process in our latest guide, including the tools and frameworks that actually work. 📖 Full guide: https://lnkd.in/e4Bs3WXu #BookCoverDesign #SelfPublishing #BookMarketing #AuthorTips #PublishingIndustry

Been wanting to talk about this. The relationship between: ✅ line length ✅ text size ✅ and leading— the distance between lines.. Is what makes a book easy to read, or hard to read. ANY basic study of typesetting will reveal a simple fact: AS LINE LENGTH GROWS, SO MUST POINT SIZE AND LEADING KEEP PACE. If designers refuse to study this relationship.. If authors refuse to hire designers who understand this relationship… Books will continue to contain dense walls of text that are difficult to read. If your book is important to you, put it in the hands of a designer who knows how to set type.