The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances, by R.W. Bacon

Using humor and amusing examples, author R.W. Bacon provides an introduction to graphic design, page layout, and typography in The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances. He explains in his introduction "Read This Stuff First: The Cranky Typographer's Ground Rules" that the reason he's cranky is because he's upset about the decline in his craft over the years due to the ability of anyone with a computer to make an attempt at graphic design. He tells us that it's clear that the many manuals with helpful advice for the "do-it-yourselfers" out there have not been successful, so he's going to try the cranky approach.

Chapter 2 of The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances provides his short list of what he terms major annoyances and his suggestions for improvement. The annoyances include errors in typography, body text, display type, spacing, style, design, layout, and more. Subsequent chapters are devoted to each of these blunders and explore them and their remedies in much more depth. Bacon provides examples of both good and bad design, and uses two characters throughout them: "Sharp Sally" and "Sloppy Joe."

The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances contains a lot of useful information. Anyone interested in typography, style, and graphic design will find much to ponder in these pages. But if I had to use one word to describe this book, I would use "dense." The pages are stuffed full of dense prose, examples are crowded together, and every page is overly busy. It's ironic in a book about graphic design, but the book is not well-designed. The cover is extremely busy, with too many words. Perhaps that's the author's intent, to demonstrate the things that annoy him, but it doesn't serve his purpose well. The header of each page contains both the author's name and the title of the book, whereas in most book designs, the author's name is in the header of one page and the title of the book is in the header of the opposite page. There are horizontal lines framing every page, increasing the busy look. The examples are jam-packed with information, including captions at the top and the bottom of each example as well as text balloons pointing out specific things.

The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances was published by Variety Arts Press, which, according to its web site has been "since 1983 the publisher of books by the journalist/editor, historian, museum professional, and performing artist Reginald W. Bacon." This is further proof that no matter how talented a writer may be, all books benefit from the oversight of a professional editor who is not the author.

R.W. Bacon. The Cranky Typographer's Book of Major Annoyances and the Most Masterful Mitigations: Helpful Graphics Tips for Do-It-Yourself Designers. Newburyport, Massachusetts: Variety Arts Press, 2014. 240 pages. ISBN 9780981794570.