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 animal on the cover of Lotus Domino Administration in a Nutshell is a Dalmatian dog, a medium-sized, short-haired breed. Dalmatians are mostly white, with distinctive round black or liver (brown) spots, which develop only after birth. The dogs have an average life span of 11 to 13 years, and grow to almost two feet tall at the shoulder.

Dalmatians are active dogs, originally bred to run long distances with horse-drawn carriages ("coaching"), and famous as the traditional dogs of firemen. The breed received its official name in the mid-eighteenth century (from the Croatian province of Dalmatia), but there is evidence of similar animals as long ago as 3000 B.C.

The 1956 book The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith (popularized by Disney), greatly increased demand for these distinctive animals as pets. Nancy Kotary was the production editor and copyeditor for Lotus Domino Administration in a Nutshell. Mary Sheehan was the proofreader. Colleen Gorman and Jane Ellin provided quality control. Pamela Murray wrote the index.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original illustration created by Susan Hart. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 3.32 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Alicia Cech and David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Nancy Kotary.