Book Design:
A Field Book of the Stars

by William Tyler Olcott

Printed in the early twentieth century, this book was a simple guide for would-be stargazers, a standard hardcover book with simple typesetting. The text had a variety of content to work with—diagrams, captions, multiple tables, a lengthy table of contents, an index, and a glossary—that made it a great exercise in typesetting and formatting. This repackaging is a modern version meant to be appreciated and perused as a beautiful, historic text that can then be taken outdoors to function as a usable field guide to explore the night sky, striking a balance between the practical and the aesthetic.

This book was designed for the online course “Contemporary Book Design” through Type Electives, taught by award-winning book designers Kevin Barrett Kane and Emma Christine Hall. See the class portfolio at https://www.bookdesign.typeelectives.com/