Author-artist Brian Selznick had a strong vision for the book and the designers helped realize this vision using type, layout and the stuff of bookmaking. The design began with the book’s setting (Paris in the 1930s) and was influenced by the career of silent filmmaker Georges Méliès, a main character in the book—hence the black-bordered pages and cinematic use of black-and-white illustrations to further the story.

Given the book’s 544 pages, a major hurdle was to make sure it would lie flat when opened, so that no artwork would get lost in the gutter. We solved this by choosing a loose-back Smyth-sewn binding. Otherwise, our format was based on an economical standard trim size to balance the cost of the binding and the excellent, uncoated text paper.

These stunning, strong images work beautifully in conversation with the text. Type and image complement each other nicely.