S&S W8 Don't judge a book by its cover

In Rotterdam we have a printroom for artist were they do workshops and sell artists books.

A view from above, where more books are displayed)

The first thing that strikes me is that the formats are very diverse. I indulgent happely.

After I have seen the recordings of the inspiring story of Lucas Birk I try to search for special, handmade books. I don't see that much. The personal touch he talked about passionately, the use of special materials for the touch and feel are largely absent.

Most books are very standard with soft or hard cover. Clearly attention has been paid to the content. The prices are also very low.

Fortunately, there are also a few books of which I like the presentation form, such as this book with all the foldouts that are sewn together and that produce surprising images when browsing. A very thick, sewn book.

This is not a book but a group of images on loose paper that are held together by a cardboard cover. At the front a hole through which you see an image. At the back a half round notch so that you can grab the contents more easily and the cover is sewn together with an eye for detail.

I also learned that the outside, the packaging and its appearance are important when Annie Atkins presented at the BUMP festival in June. She makes the graphics for films by Wes Anderson. Design "everything nobody sees" is how she described her job herself. After I got back home, I saw the film "the Grand Budapest Hotel" about which she had told a lot and then I see details that I would otherwise have overlooked. the packaging counts. This is the same for books I learned.

I searched for other folding techniques and I came across a harmonica booklet. A group of leaflets of various materials held together by an ingeniously folded cover and a few booklets of 8 pages that were made from 1 sheet of paper but became a book thanks to the folding technique. This one gave a "aha moment" because years ago I saw a tutorial by Julieanne Kost in which she showed how to make this in Lightroom. It took some searching but I found the 2015 tutorial. https://youtu.be/xkilSoJ9XDs Cool once again in practice not to execute.

I was searching for books with transparent printed pages and I could only find one. The lady in the shop couldn't help me either. Another book that I came across had very thick pages like those children's reading books. Nice but only the rounded corners of the pages appeal to me less. I have difficulty with books in which a standing photo is placed over 2 pages, so that you can rotate the pages. Only with children's books did I ever come across as working, but there it was functional.

Conclusion; very many books are standard and therefore resemble each other. You can call this a pity and it is, but on the other hand it gives many opportunities to make a book that stands out.

Do not judge a book on its cover is the expression but I notice that the cover is indeed important and that I am very sensitive to its appearance. I just look at the book much less quickly if the cover doesn't appeal to me.