October 14, 2011 / Uncategorized

Libriomancer Bookmarks

One of my goals with swag — bookmarks, temporary tattoos, buttons, bookplates, etc. — has been to create designs that people will think is nifty, regardless of whether they know or care about the book being promoted.

My earliest bookmarks didn’t do this so well. They simply showed the cover, a (hopefully) clever quip, and purchase information for the book. I think they looked okay, but they were a little bland.

Below the cut is my first stab at a Libriomancer bookmark. The back side simply shows my backlist (and based on earlier bookmarks, those covers should show up better when printed than they do on the screen).

I’m pretty pleased with the front, though. I may change the quote a bit, but I like the layout, and I think the image works. I’ve also eliminated things like ISBN and price … I think in most cases, the author’s name and title should be more than adequate for anyone who’s interested to find the book.

What do you think?

26 Comments

Bill Pearson
October 14, 2011 @ 10:46 am

That is awesome! The quote is the real icing on the cake!
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 10:50 am

Thanks!
Anita K.
October 14, 2011 @ 11:13 am

Gorgeous! Definitely captures my eye and my curiosity.

I personally love ISBNs because they reduce confusion, but your name and title are unique enough that I don’t think there is any problem there, and certainly leaving it off is more attractive; strings of numbers are just ugly. And I detest prices on such things, so I’m glad that’s not there. 🙂
Angela Korra'ti
October 14, 2011 @ 11:53 am

NICE. 🙂 I’ve actually got some of your Princess series bookmarks since I bought your books from a vendor in the PNW who had some. I’ll look forward to getting one of these, not to mention the actual book!
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 1:21 pm

Thank you!
russ
October 14, 2011 @ 2:19 pm

I like ’em a lot! How do I get a couple for me and a stack for my bookstore owning friend (Nena at St Johns Bookstore)?
russ
October 14, 2011 @ 2:20 pm

A thought about the isbn; those QR codes are becoming pretty popular, you could use one of those so people can use their phones.
Beth
October 14, 2011 @ 2:35 pm

I find myself using bookmarks long after the launch, so I’ve taken to not including the date of release so they don’t seem dated when I’m still using them a year later 🙂 But I think the image in this is stunning, and I love the quote!

(Oh–and a friend of mine once told me that she always includes ISBNs because it’s easier on librarians when ordering, but *shrug*. I don’t know if that would really make a difference.)

Either way, I really like it!
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 2:36 pm

I’ve been toying with that possibility … don’t know if I have enough space to make it look decent or not, though.
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 2:36 pm

I’ll probably do an open call for bookmark minions early next year 🙂 Thanks!
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 2:39 pm

I get what you’re saying about the date. But I’m hoping to distribute a lot of these prior to the book’s release, both to build awareness and so people know exactly when they can get the book. I suspect if I started handing them out in January with no date, that would lead to a lot of questions and maybe some annoyed readers.

Hm … I might be able to squeeze the ISBN in at the very bottom in much smaller font without making it too obtrusive. One more thing to experiment with.
Andrew Zimmerman Jones
October 14, 2011 @ 3:54 pm

I think the quote is great! (Picture’s nice, too, of course. 🙂
Jann M.
October 14, 2011 @ 3:55 pm

Fantastic bookmarks!! My only suggestion is that the quote and the title/author info both print either horizontally or vertically. I actually missed the quote at first glance. And that cover image is so great! I feel for authors when they get stuck with a less than stellar cover but you scored with this one.
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

Thanks!

I can play with it, but given the “shape” of the texts, I’m not sure the title/author info would work vertically, and I don’t know if I could squeeze the quote in horizontally… But I’m planning to adjust the quote to make the font either larger and/or bolder, which should help it stand out a bit more, and hopefully make it a little easier to read.
David Y
October 14, 2011 @ 8:58 pm

ISBN probably a good idea. Price is changeable (and will be different in Canada). Does ISBN change with future editions? reprints?
Can you change the date to something like “Novenber 2011”? ;}
Jim C. Hines
October 14, 2011 @ 9:06 pm

ISBN will change when it comes out in paperback.

I could change the date … but that would probably tick a lot of people off when the book doesn’t actually come out in November 🙂
liz
October 14, 2011 @ 10:18 pm

honestly the sideways quote is a little twitchy, but I love love love the picture. almost drool-worthy with awesomeness.
Maxine MagicFox
October 15, 2011 @ 12:58 am

Aww it looks great. Though, the graphics designer in me is going nuts, haha.

Here’s a few friendly suggestions:

I think the font for the quote needs work. Either bigger or bolder or just something slightly different but along the same lines. Also, I would probably knock the “and” down the second line with armory. And when you do this, don’t just center it. Knock it to the right a handful of pixels. Don’t make it level with the top line, but just off center it. I always like to say that centering is a n00b technique, haha.

Next, the title of your book really annoys me. It’s the most important thing but it’s more bland. It needs more pop. However, I also dunno if you are keeping the font that the title is written in on the book. If so, if you really have to keep it as is, decrease the size of “by Jim Hines” by a few points. Put the release date on its own line and keep it as is though I’d like to see some color in it if possible but purely subjective.

Ummm… wah! I’m sorry. I went on about that a little too much. *blushes* Sorry. I can’t help it. It’s part of my field (my second field since writing will always be my first). I hope you don’t take offense as I don’t mean them. But I LOVE graphics designing as much as I love writing. So, I’m sorry. I tend to get a little carried away. I think the bookmark is beautiful as is, though. I would definitely pick it up in store if I saw it.
Jim C. Hines
October 15, 2011 @ 8:35 am

Maxine – it’s okay 🙂 I agree with you about the quote, and spent some time last night trying different fonts to make that stand out a bit more, and to get more than that single lonely word on the second line.

Trying to figure out what I could do with the title. Given the length of the word, I’ve been a little stuck as to what else to do to make it stand out more.

Thanks!
Maxine MagicFox
October 15, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

For the title, I would probably use the free transformation tool to make it squished and elongate it a little. I don’t think that there’s anything you can do with it with only changing texts.

Don’t forget, you are also killing precious space with those blue lines. Move them back a bit. I think the left and right ones are about 3 pixels in too far.

Or you could put the title where the quote is and for the quote use smaller lettering. This could give you freedom to play with the quote too such as make some words bigger than others and put them at odd angels even, haha.

And of course, there’s always my profound statement when designing something – sometimes, just let the picture do the talking. It’s a gorgeous picture. Are you absolutely certain the quote is necessary?

Hahaha, ignore me. I have too much fun with this sort of thing. I could sit here and do this all day. Have fun designing it and I look forward to seeing the final design no matter what you end up doing!
Jim C. Hines
October 15, 2011 @ 1:05 pm

Oh – the blue lines are from the printer’s template, and mark where the bookmark will actually be cut. The design bleeds beyond that a little more (.125″), just to be safe. Those lines won’t appear in the final design.
Maxine MagicFox
October 15, 2011 @ 2:02 pm

Aww, I had wondered if they were splice lines at first but they had looked so nice that I rejected the thought. Shoulda went with my intuition. If they didn’t take away from precious space I would tell you to add them in, haha. Well, such is life~
John Ottinger
October 15, 2011 @ 2:08 pm

Me likey!
Angie
October 15, 2011 @ 2:19 pm

Great quote — definitely leave that one on. 🙂 I’d find that intriguing even if I didn’t already know I liked your work.

Angie
Leslie
November 1, 2011 @ 1:42 pm

Love it! The art is absolutely gorgeous and I love the quote (I’ve had a life-long love of libraries and now work in one – lucky me!). The sideways printing of the quote doesn’t bother me at all – I think the way the text is now is good use of real estate with neither text string obscuring the artwork. I do think the QR code would be good, if it will fit nicely. Can’t wait for the book!
Jim C. Hines
November 1, 2011 @ 2:06 pm

Thanks, Leslie!