Chip Kidd: Work: 1986-2006, Vol. 1 by Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear (Photographer), Mark Melnick (Designed by)

From the Publisher

Described as "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design today (USA Today), Chip Kidd is universally recognized as an American master of contemporary book design. At the forefront of a revolution in publishing, Kidd's iconic covers, with their inventive marriage of type and found images, have influenced an entire generation of design practitioners in many fields.Chip Kidd: Book One collects all of his book covers and designs for the first time, as well as hundreds of developmental sketches and concepts-annotated by Kidd and by many of the best-selling authors he's worked with over the years. The result is an important contribution to the design canon today as well as a visually dazzling (and often hilarious) insider's look at the design and publishing process.The book also showcases Kidd's work with comics and graphic novels, including his collaborations with leading artists and writers in the field. Featured are projects for DC Comics, including Batman and Superman, as well as Kidd's award-winning exploration of the art of Charles M. Schulz. Chip Kidd: Book One is sure to enthrall design aficionados, book lovers, pop-culture fanatics, comics fans, and design students.

Publishers Weekly

Stylishly designed and richly produced, this witty volume works both as a retrospective of Kidd's renowned book covers and as a memoir of his career in publishing. "I did not grow up yearning to become a book designer," Kidd declares in his prologue. "What I wanted to be was Chris Partridge on The Partridge Family." Thank heavens that plan didn't work out; ever since Sara Eisenman hired Kidd at Knopf, he's been churning out creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature. His accounts of the development of such famous covers as the clear acetate jacket for Donna Tartt's The Secret History and the high-gloss spot-laminate design for Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are fascinating. And his irresistible, tongue-in-cheek remarks keep the text from getting gushy or self-aggrandizing. Example: "One of the great advantages to designing book covers is that you don't ever have to have an idea, much less a thought, ever, in your head. That is the author's job." Publishing insiders will relish the behind-the-scenes stories. Kidd's descriptions of his design process and training make the book equally rewarding for graphic artists. This is a gorgeous gift for serious lovers of books and design. (Nov. 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Book lovers will experience a flash of recognition browsing this 20-year retrospective by and about the work of book jacket designer Kidd (associate art director, Knopf; The Cheese Monkeys), though retrospective is too serious a term for this delightful scrapbook. You'll recall seeing many of the covers as you browsed bookstore shelves; you probably purchased more than a few because of the compelling designs. Not a formal study-for that, consider purchasing Veronique Vienne's Chip Kidd-this is a veritable tour of Kidd's desk and bookshelves. It includes more than 800 of his designs (both preliminary and final versions, as well as rejects), together with Kidd's notes and commentaries on each project. Forty letters of appreciation addressed to the designer provide a wonderful glimpse into Kidd's working relationships and attest to the high regard so many writers have for him, among them John Updike (who wrote the introduction), Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, Don DeLillo, and Larry McMurtry. For lovers of books and/or good design and for anyone who appreciates or would like to learn more about the power of graphic communication. [Kidd is currently writing his second novel, The Learners.-Ed]-Michael Dashkin, QUALCOMM, San Diego Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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