Below is an example of type design specifications. Text design and text composition are two different functions by definition. Think of it in this sense: an interior designer doesn’t necessarily install flooring or paint walls, and a landscape designer doesn’t necessarily put down mulch, or plant trees. Nor does a type designer necessarily compose text or import graphic images into a page layout program.
The text designer must have an understanding of the components of a book, demonstrated below by that highlighted in yellow. The designer may need to read to analyze and dissect a book. But typically one who has already studied the text--the editor being the most qualified--will define for the designer the elements of the book, that in yellow below. The designer then creates the specifications for the composition artist, that highlighted in green. The composition artist creates the pages in a page layout program.
TypeDesignSpec.jpg