A recently completed book design and typesetting project, for a paperback book published using KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing from Amazon), a highly economical way of self-publishing both print and digital books. The client for this project had written a collection of memories of The Bridge hotel in Buttermere, in the Lake District, based on his experiences of both staying there as a guest, and also working there as a student ‘handyman’ in the late 50’s and 60’s. The client provided a completed manuscript and I then designed a layout that would allow both an easy and enjoyable reading experience and show the illustrations at their optimum size and scale. The chosen format was a 9″ x 6″ ( 228.6mm x 152.4mm) book.

The book is typeset in Fedra Serif A and Fedra Serif B. With a large x-height and short stem length, Fedra Serif A works well in small sizes and in low-resolution print so was used for the body copy, captions and map labels. Fedra Serif B has an increased contrast and stem lengths, so is suited for larger sizes where its shape can be better appreciated, such as on the cover, title pages and for chapter headings .

The book is illustrated throughout with photographs from the time, and also has a central ‘Photograph Album’ with photos and sketches. The cover is printed on a soft, tactile matt stock.

Now published, the client can order from KDP as many or as few copies of the book to be printed as and when he wishes, for a reduced ‘author rate’, and is then free to use these copies for his own distribution and sales methods. When publishing with KDP, the book is also automatically immediately listed on Amazon and so available to buy through this method too.