Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The insects featured on the cover of Oracle Design are a dragonfly and a damselfly. These two insects comprise the order Odonata. Dragonflies and damselflies are quite similar--both are predatory insects, aquatic when young, and excellent flyers as adults. They are able to fly as fast as 35 miles per hour, and to perform impressive mid-air acrobatics. A primary difference between them is the way they hold their wings while at rest. Dragonflies spread their wings out when resting, while damselflies fold their wings together over their backs.

Young dragonflies are equipped with a unique "jet propulsion" ability. By drawing water in through their gills, which are located in the posterior of their abdomens, and quickly forcing it out again they are able to powerfully propel themselves across the water surface. This technique is used in emergencies when a quick getaway is called for.

Adult dragonflies and damselflies catch and eat their prey while flying. They fly with their long, bristle-covered legs bent in front of them, forming something like a basket, which they use to scoop up other insects. Dragonflies are quite popular with humans both because of their beauty and grace and because their diet is largely made up of mosquitoes and flies. Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover layout was produced with Quark XPress 3.3 using the ITC Garamond font.

The inside layout was designed by Nancy Priest and implemented in FrameMaker by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were created in Macromedia Freehand by Chris Reilley. This colophon was written by Clairemarie Fisher O'Leary.