Dem Buch ein Gesicht geben : Norbert Lueg: Konzept und Gestaltung einer Reihe
Auf dem Markt der Taschenbücher und Hardcovers dominieren Konzeptionen, in denen der visuelle Auftritt des Einzeltitels nahezu völlig von der Charakteristik der Reihe beherrscht wird. Norbert Luegs Entwurf einer Buchreihe für zeitgenössische Erzähler dagegen berücksichtigt konsequent die Einzigartigkeit des Autors durch die Konzentration auf ein zeichnerisches Thema: Variationen über den Kopf.
The prevailing conceptions on the market for paperbacks and hardcovers show that the characteristics of book series almost entirely dominate the visual appearance of the individual titles. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of the pocket-sized books currently available, Norbert Lueg reaches the conclusion that the illustrations’ motifs in the design of paperback series “often have a subordinate, decorative function” and “hardly ever, any original character” and can therefore “only be considered clichés from the overabundant supply of illustrations in applied art and photography”. As a result, the books in print lack an “intereststimulating conveyance of the individual book’s contents”.</br>
His model book series for contemporary authors of short stories, under the title of NARRAT, pursues a disciplined expression, in contrast with today’s often strained interpretation of artistic freedom as license for arbitrary formal choice. “The characteristic features of short stories and tales—brevity, complexity and suggestiveness—make up the foundation of the visual conception. By applying a graphic theme, variations on the head, as the distinguishing mark of the series, Lueg especially promotes the individual and emotional aspects of the texts. The work submits itself to the discipline of conceptual guidance in outline, spirit and diction. Each individual constituent works towards the whole formally and a unified overall picture of a publishing concept ensues. Along with the book series a quarterly brochure, a poster series and book-fair objects were designed.