Bill Jones

Television, magazines, movies and mass-marketed advertising have always contributed to—and reflected—the style of an era. In the 1950s, children's books, for instance, often boasted whimsical line drawings designed to mimic toys of the time. This season's texts are not immune to widespread pop cultural influence. In an age when Internet use has dominated the communications scene, highly competitive, attention-getting production methods are currently shaping the book design industry. In many cases, art and literature are no longer relegated to one-dimensional surfaces, but rather, die-cuts, inserts and special folding processes create multi-dimensional books, allowing readers to interact more with the end product.

A few blocks from Philadelphia's famous Colonial-era buildings—buildings in which the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and drafted the U.S. Constitution—is an old restored brownstone. Away from the throngs of roving tourists, this quaint, historic building houses a contemporary publishing company that turns out some of the most creative and innovative book projects on the market today. Running Press, an independent trade publishing house, specializes in highly designed adult non-fiction books, children's titles and most especially book-plus projects. Bestsellers have included Sisters, a compilation of pictures and compelling stories about the special bond of female siblings, and I Feel Great, And