Moby Dick or the Whale, by Herman Melville. Berkeley: University of California Press. 576 pp. $19.95.

The design of this new edition of the Melville classic is rare and appropriate. The woodcuts, typefaces, and layout, and the thought behind them reaffirm that good printing is high art.

The book is photographed from a folio of ''Moby Dick'' handset by Andrew Hoymen. Barry Moser supplied striking woodcuts of whales, tools, and whaling maneuvers; Hoymen believed illustrations of events from the great tale would dampen the the reader's imagination.

The design quality matches the writing quality here to produce an edition of enduring value.