Editorial Design: How a Book is Made
A course by Enric Jardí, Designer
Learn to format a text with clarity, hierarchy, and beauty
"Never in history have we had so much control over the expressiveness of typography." According to graphic designer Enric Jardí, who specializes in publishing and typography, all letters have something to say, and using the right font to convey the idea of the text is a crucial part of editorial design.
As a complement to his last online course, How to Choose Fonts, he builds on these concepts and teaches you about the role of typography within a publication, as well as its relationship with the other elements on the page. Learn how to design a book from beginning to end while following the principles of hierarchy, clarity, and beauty.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 6 downloads
What's included in this course?
Begin the course by getting to know Enric, who tells you about his career as a graphic designer and his favorite projects. He also shares some of the books that have inspired his work, discussing what he likes about them and how they've been designed.
Next, see what tools you need to work on an editorial design project and the type of books you can make.
Discover the different parts that make up the book's core before learning about page layout and numbers.
Move on to shaping the page with text boxes and choose the font that best suits your project.
Then, Enric teaches you all about designing paragraphs. Learn to organize and edit them taking into account different parameters, such as size, spacing, and breaks.
Once you've finished editing the text, explore other parts of the page beyond the body and find out how to automate certain processes.
To round out the course, Enric gives you some tips on designing the book cover—the first point of contact with readers.
Finish up by learning how to prepare the final files to send off for printing or publish in digital format as an e-book.
- 98% positive reviews (689)
- 17,690 students
- 18 lessons (4h 16m)
- 6 downloads
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe InDesignWhat is this course's project?
Design the entire layout of a book, from cover to cover, and prepare it for printing or to publish as an e-book.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who loves books, whether electronic or physical, who wants to get started in editorial design. This course is also great for designers and typography enthusiasts interested in learning the fundamentals of composition and how to use fonts in a paragraph.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience in layout or editorial design is required, although a working knowledge of InDesign or QuarkXPress is recommended.
All you need for materials is a computer with both programs installed.
Reviews
Enric Jardí
A course by Enric Jardí
Enric Jardí is a graphic designer who loves letters and typography. He's worked in many fields throughout his career, but has mainly focused on editorial design, art direction, book covers, corporate identity, typography, and illustration.
He is passionate about lettering and typography. He has published several books, including Veintidós consejos sobre tipografía (que algunos diseñadores jamás revelarán) y veintidós cosas que nunca debes hacer con las letras (que algunos tipógrafos nunca te dirán) and Pensar con imágenes, which have both been translated into several other languages.
Enric combines his professional career with teaching at multiple academic centers such as the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Blanquerna foundation, the Universitat Ramon Llull in Barcelona, ELISAVA, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, the University of Lapland in Finland, and IDEP Barcelona.
He was president of the Association of Art Directors and Graphic Designers ADG-FAD for several years and has received several awards for his professional work in the field of design, including: a European Design Award, a Laus, a D&AD Award, and a Malofiej for infographics and the National Culture Award in the design category, granted by the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Textbooks that have influenced me
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U2
Shaping the book
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Book types
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Parts of the core
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U3
Shaping the page
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Sheets and number of pages
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The text box
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U4
The text
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Choice of the letter
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Work the text in paragraphs
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More paragraph parameters
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Organize paragraphs and edit I
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Organize paragraphs and edit II
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Final adjustment of texture I
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Final adjustment of texture II
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U5
The common parts
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What is not text body
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Automations
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The cover
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U6
Finishing the book
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Work and safety processes
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Electronic version
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FP
Final project
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Editorial design: how a book is made
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
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Learn from the best professionals
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Meet expert teachers
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Certificates
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Get front-row seats
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Watch professionally produced courses
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FAQs
You’ll learn how to build editorial systems from scratch, design book covers and interiors, choose typography, structure pages, prepare print-ready files, and apply editorial visual identity principles for both print and digital projects.
Yes, this course is designed for people with intermediate graphic or editorial design skills who want to deepen their knowledge in creating, laying out, and professionally preparing books and collections.
You’ll need basic graphic design knowledge, familiarity with software like Adobe InDesign, and access to a computer with the software installed. Knowing editorial terms is also helpful.
The course mainly uses Adobe InDesign for layout and editorial design, along with typography knowledge and digital resources to prepare files for print or export to electronic formats.
You’ll learn how to choose formats, visually structure the interior, select fonts, design eye-catching covers, and prepare both the cover and interior with technical and creative criteria.
You’ll learn how to adjust formats, set up bleeds, pick paper and grain direction, organize signatures, auto-number pages, and export files ready for professional printing.
Yes, the course covers how to create and maintain a consistent visual identity for book collections, including graphic unity in covers and internal visual structure.
Adobe InDesign
Un curso muy valioso para comenzar a entender los conceptos básicos de la creación de un libro.
El curso es excelente.
Personalmente al partir de de cero, hecho en falta los PDFs de los recursos adicionales con información y/o teoría.
Respecto al contenido del curso, he visto solo algunas lecciones y la materia que he podido ver hasta ahora me parece que esta muy bien estructurada, lo que facilita mucho la comprensión. Sobre el esqueleto del curso, formas de explicar y como primer contacto con el mundo editorial mas concretamente con el objeto del libro, me esta pareciendo un curso fundamental, que recomiendo.
Muito bom curso. Conteúdo muito claro e bem estruturado.
Es un curso que todo interesado en el diseño de libros debe tomar, está muy bien explicado y las prácticas son muy claras. Recomendable 100%.