Do book spines read up or down?

Do book spines read up or down?

The text orientation on book spines appears to follow regional standards. In most places (like the United States, United Kingdom, Benelux countries, and Scandinavia), titles are usually written top-to-bottom. In some continental European countries (like Germany and France), titles are written bottom-to-top.

Why is the spine of the book important?

Purpose of the Book Spine This is due to lack of shelf space to display all the books face-out. For this reason, the spine is the first thing that a potential buyer notices. Therefore, the spine should also attract the attention of readers so they will take it off the shelf to view the front cover.

Which way do book spines go?

As I understand, it’s a convention in certain countries to put the title top-to-bottom (Wikipedia: “In the United States, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, titles are usually written top-to-bottom, and this practice is reflected in an industry standard;[18] when the book is placed on a table with the front cover …

Where does the author’s name go on a book?

[WD uses affiliate links.] Typically, the spine will show the book’s title, the author’s name, and possibly an extension of the front cover image, or at least the background style.

Why are some book spines upside down?

In a French bookstore the easiest way to read most book titles is upside down. The old standard in France was to print the title on the book (and DVDs, videos, etc.) in such a way that when the book is lying flat on the table right side up, the title on the spine is upside-down!

What is spine title?

Spine Title: A title that appears on the spine of a publisher’s binder.

What should a book spine include?

The spine of a book only needs the title, the author’s name, and maybe the logo of your publishing company, space-permitting. But if you have a bigger book, interesting and attractive images could make your spine look great.

Where is the book spine?

What Is A Book Spine? A book’s spine is the center of the cover, the narrow (or wide) edge where the pages are bound.

What goes on the back of a book?

What Is a Book Blurb? A book blurb (also called a “back-cover blurb” or a “book description”) is a short description of the book’s main character and conflict, usually between 100 and 200 words, that traditionally is included on the inside cover or on the back of a book.

What is a back matter?

Definition of back matter : matter following the main text of a book.

Is this book spine perfect for my book cover?

Unless you’re interior file is exactly 22 pages long. In which case, yes this book spine is perfect. But for most covers, the spine width will vary based on your page count. So you have to create a spine to size based on your book—and here lies the most challenging part of cover design.

Why can’t I see the spines of my books?

If you can’t see the spines of your books at all, perhaps you’re in a library and it’s the 17th century. Wait: how are you on the Internet? ISO 6357 defines the standard positioning of titles on the spines of printed books (it’s also codified as British Standard BS6738).

Why can’t all titles start at the top of the spine?

Nope, because bottom-to-top all titles start roughly at the same height (the bottom of the spine), while top-to-bottom they start higher on higher books. Still seems orthogonal to me though. Why couldn’t all top-to-bottom titles start at the top of the spine, and similarly be justified? Because the words wouldn’t start at the same height.

Is it possible to print a title from the bottom up?

A title printed on a book spine from top-to-bottom would be completely upside down from the perspective of the front cover, whereas a title printed from bottom to top would only be 90 degrees off from the front cover. Thus the layout and proofing of the spine would be more “natural”.