References

References

Bear, J. (2014). Form Follows Function in Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing. [online] About.com Desktop Publishing. Available at: http://desktoppub.about.com/od/graphicdesign/a/formfunction.htm [Accessed 12 May. 2014].

Kidd, C. (2012). Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is.. [online] Ted.com. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/chip_kidd_designing_books_is_no_laughing_matter_ok_it_is [Accessed 05 May. 2014].

Kidd, C. (2013). Go. 1st ed. pp.29, 35, 41.

Laughlin, J. (1956). The Book Jackets of Alvin Lustig. 10th ed. p.5.

Mediabistro.com, (2011). Quote of Note | Chip Kidd - UnBeige. [online] Available at: http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/quote-of-note-chip-kidd_b16869 [Accessed 4 May. 2014].

Pabook.libraries.psu.edu, (2010). Chip Kidd. [online] Available at: http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Kidd__Chip.html [Accessed 10 May. 2014].

Sf-encyclopedia.com, (2014). Authors : Kidd, Chip : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/kidd_chip [Accessed 10 May. 2014].

Vienne, V. and Kidd, C. (2003). Chip Kidd. 1st ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, pp.10, 13, 14, 16.

Presentation

Chip Kidd

His Influence

Time Out New York said of him "The history of book design can be split into two eras: before graphic designer Chip Kidd and after." (http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Kidd__Chip.html)

This is a powerful statement which almost definitely means he has inspired book designers of the new generation. He has energized designers to think in a different way. Not to make it easy for the reader to know what to the book is about, but to engage them and make them take interest, to read the book.

"Chip Kidd has a reputation for designing covers that engage the readers' intelligence and imagination." (Veronique Vienne, Chip Kidd p.10)

He has a way of using mixed media, found objects to put life, character and personality into his designs.

Some book designs I have found that have used the concepts of Chip Kidd...

 Anna Dorfman (imagery)

Rodrigo Corral (inversion)

Christopher Brand (illusion)

Christopher Lin

Jim Tierney (jusxtaposition)

Keith Heyes (illusion)

He has had some influence on some of my ideas.

After doing this research, it has encouraged me to follow Chip Kidd's concepts when designing. He is inspiring.

Design Concepts 2

Big and SMALL.
Making a point of interest of a design. An image that its interesting when small, but when enalarged also is interesting.

While designing a book cover for a biography on Samuel Beckett (playwrite), Kidd found that "One of them featured just a disembodied head, brightly lit, while the rest of the stage was stark and black." (Go: A Kidds's Guide to Graphic Design, Chip Kidd. 2013 p29).

This is the design he came up with...

 He used the big and small concept right down to the typography whilst mirroring the play he had read.

Inversion.
Basically turning an image design upside down to make "the viewer not only look at it differently, but pay more attention to it." Go: A Kidds's Guide to Graphic Design, Chip Kidd. 2013 p35).

As in the previous post, I looked at his way of using illusion or trompe l'oeil ("trick of the eye). I looked at Augusten Burrough's Possible Side Effects. Using an image of a six fingered hand. makes the reader look again and stirs interest in the book. He used this concept in another book The Shock of the New, Robert Hughes. Although the design is done on a two dimensional plane he made it look as the @the new' is actually stuck on top of the book.

Juxtaposition - "This is a visual comparison of one thing to another, often two very different things that make a new idea when combined." Go: A Kidds's Guide to Graphic Design, Chip Kidd. 2013 p41). Usedhere in Geoff  Ryman's Was. A story of the real Wizard of Oz characters.

"For the cover of the American edition of Geoff Ryman's Was (1992), Kidd effectively juxtaposed a placid blue sky with diverse representations of characters from Frank L Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)." (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/kidd_chip)

He follows the simple rule that "form follows function", a phrase coined by an American Architect called Louis Sullivan "For designers, form is the elements that make up our designs, our pages. Function is the objective of the design whether it is a sign giving directions or a book that entertains with a story." (http://desktoppub.about.com/od/graphicdesign/a/formfunction.htm).

Book Cover Designs and Concepts

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami. In the book, the narrator can hear a wind-up bird in the trees but cannot see it.

For his design of the cover Chip Kidd focuses on a cropped image which you are uncertain what it could be until you open the jacket completely, then you can see it is a mechanical wind up bird. This mirror the narrative of the book in the sense that the narrator cannot see straight away what he can hear. Very clever and very eye-catching.

The focus of the image is around the bird's eye. It draws you in to read the intricate text that encircles it.

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Dry. A memoir, Augusten Burroughs. Memoirs of the author - a high flying executive who was an alcoholic and the intervention that took place.

As described in his TED talk, Chip Kidd calls this "typography in denial" and I couldn't think of a better way of putting that. Just like an alcoholic who says his not, this is what the design does. Again another simple and effective way of creating visual representation. He "took the typography and made it look as though it was lying." (Both quotes from TED Talk, 2012)

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The Little Friend, Donna Tartt. Story of a young girl trying to find her brother's murderer. What starts as child play turns into a dark, menacing journey into Mississippi's underworld.

The image of the doll is very menacing, coupled with the the black background it emits a sense of the unknown and also the naivety of the main character.

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Intensity, Dean Koontz. A murderous sociopath intent on satisfying his intense needs.

The cover is designed in an abstract pattern of colours to represent the state of mind of the character. Rather than show the reader exactly what is going to happen or what the book is about. Even the type has an angry feel to it. almost unhinged.

****

Possible Side Effects, Augusten Burroughs. A set of funny essays from nicotine gum addiction to incontinent dogs.

In this design, Chip Kidd used illusion. To reflect the title of the book he introduced the image of a six fingered hand. He used to a yellow background as a light-hearted colour to suggest the humour in the book.

I could go on forever with his book cover designs...

Jurassic Park

The Jurassic Park book by Michael Crichton cover design is probably one of Chip Kidd's most recognised works. His inspiration for the cover started by reading the book. A book about re-inventing dinosaurs and putting them in a theme park. His second port of call was visiting the Natural History Museum and looking at the 'bones'. He bought a book from the gift shop and found a sketch of a t-rex skeleton which he found interesting. He simply photocopied the image and traced it reworking slightly.

This was received by Michael Crichton with great excitement!!

And then Universal Studios bought the rights to the image and it became....

One of the most recognised images of popular culture in the 1990's.

The image is iconic, simple and appeals to all ages. Its clean and clear cut. A direct graphic representation of the story. 

He went on to use the image in another instalment of Michael Crichton's books...

Quotes and links

"Books are very… Each book is in its own way unique. It has its own set of problems, own set of circumstances, and that doesn’t seem to change. So, there will always be an idiosyncratic nature to the work." Chip Kidd, 2012 

"All of these solutions derive their origins from the text of the book, but once the book designer has read the text then he has to be an interpretor and translator." (Chip Kidd, TED talk April 2012)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/02/20/beautiful-covers-interview-chip-kidd/

"When you design book covers, you often have to learn a lot about the subject of the book. If it's a work of fiction, you need to read the book to figure out what themes you could use to best illustrate the story. When it's a work of non-fiction, you have to become familiar with the writer's work." (p. 29 Go. A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design, Chip Kidd, 2013)

Kidd's own design process is more art than science. First, he reads the book. Then he employs what he calls "the magpie method," which is: "picking, choosing, borrowing things that have been done before." The process, Kidd claims, is "driven by nothing." [http://www.austinchronicle.com/books/2000-09-08/78515/ accessed 17/05/14]

"Chip Kidd has a reputation for designing covers that engage the readers' intelligence and imagination." (Veronique Vienne, Chip Kidd p.10)

http://bookcoverarchive.com/