Improvement of computer-aided book layout design in book publication in Ghana
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Date
2005-11-08
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Abstract
Books are the basic sources of knowledge and a storehouse of the world’s knowledge. Owing to this, they remain a vital part in the development of any country. They act as one of the vital tools for the transfer of knowledge. A well laid-out book encourages reading while the opposite may lead to poor reading habit.
The development of book layout design has seen growth from hand- composition to computer-aided. The technological age has improved book layout design globally. However, the use of the computer as an aid in book layout design in Ghana is faced with some problems. It is for this reason that this research set out to find some of the flaws that are associated with computer-aided book layout designs produced in the country.
The researcher reviewed related literature, identified and discussed some of the flaws existing in Ghanaian Computer-aided book layout design and came out with a User-Guide that could serve as a teaching and learning material. The User-Guide is based on two layout software application packages namely Adobe PageMaker 7 and QuarkXPress 5. This guide is contains relevant basic book layout design principles and conventions and provides step-by-step information for using the software packages for book layout design.
Qualitative method was used for this research. The whole study was descriptive using observation and interviewing as instruments for eliciting data. Some of the flaws identified in the study include: rivers of white space, exaggerated tabs and indentation, and use of too many typefaces. It was also observed that many of the flaws identified have come about as a result of the fact that many book designers in Ghana are not professionally trained or lacked the basic understanding of book layout principles and conventions or an understanding of the various software applications. Out of the study, it is recommended that Book Design and Typography (the hallmark of quality book publication), be given serious attention in the various institutions where they are studied to help bring up professionalism in book layout designs in the country.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts (Art Education),