Publications

Publications: for our purposes here, refers primarily to books and other non-periodical publications such as booklets, workbooks, manuals.

Whether in-house or as a freelancer, typesetting for a long document such as a book generally requires professional level tools. Adobe FrameMaker, Corel Ventura, and QuarkXPress are considered the leaders in this field. Because freelance desktop publishers sometimes wear many hats (including self-publishers), technical writing and indexing are sometimes included in this category although normally these are jobs for professional writers and indexers.

While major publishers may handle all book design and layout including indexing in-house, freelancers may be able to make a niche providing these services to self-publishers or small independent book publishers.

Designing Books: Most books will have at least a front and back cover, title page, and body text but usually there will be many more parts of a book design. Explore the physical components of hardcover and softcover books as well as the design elements that make of the text portion of most books: Parts of a Book

16 Categories for Design Specialization:

Annual Reports, Proposals

Business Forms

Catalogs, Menus, Product Lists

Collaterals

Crafts, Creative Printing

Identity Systems

Marketing Materials

Packaging

Periodicals

Presentation Graphics

Publication Art