Publishing

Before the advent of computer technology, it was difficult to find a book in Turkey that was ‘designed’ in the true sense of the word. Designers used to just design the book covers, and typesetters arranged the text inside. Designing the cover of a book was usually done without reading the book itself, as the single copy of the text would be kept at the printers and not given to the designer to read. This changed with the coming of the computer technology, which allowed for multiple copies of the texts to be easily made using digital printers, which provided the designers with the opportunity to read the texts before starting on the designs.

            Digital technology accelerated the development of publishing. Printing costs were reduced and production became a speedier process. It became easier to publish books and journals, the profession of editorship became institutionalized, and large scale publishers began to employ permanent teams of designers and practitioners.

            In the meanwhile the private sector discovered book publishing as an effective promotional tool. A new sector was born: “Coffee table book” or “prestigious book”- publishing. The companies distributed these books – most of which were useless but some had a degree of sophistication – free of charge as a means of public relations. This frumpish and tasteless practice still continues at full speed today and very few of these books – some of which are quite good – can meet true readers. Naturally, we can say that prestigious book publishing has opened a new creative platform for designers.