DESIGNER PRESENTATION

We were to give a short presentation about the work of a contemporay designer of our choosing. I had chosen Chip Kidd, a 55 year old contemporary designer who currently resides in New York City. Chip Kidd’s inspiration to become a graphic designer were comics books that included Batman and Superman. He has written and designed book covers for several DC Comics publications, including The Complete History of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days, and Jack Cole and Plastic Man. Chip Kidd is considered the closest thing there is to a rock star in the world of high-end graphic design and has lists of clients made up of some well known authors including Anne Rice, John Updike, Dean Koontz and Michael Crichton. Kidd is uninterested in the latest design trends and fashions when working, he often draws inspiration from collectibles and mementos. ‘Publishers Weekly described his book jackets as “creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature.”’ One of the most consistent characteristics of Kidd’s style is that most of his book jackets do not have a signature look. According to him, “A signature look is crippling...[because] the simplest and most effective solutions aren’t dictated by style.”

Left: The dinosaur skeleton image became the central image of the Jurassic Park movie marketing campaign.

Right: Go was written for curious children who want to learn how to make interesting and dynamic pieces of work.

Bottom: I thought this cover was really cool because of how creepy it looks and that it looks like a hand too.

Kidd is often asked about his creative process. “for the most part I’m inspired by whatever the book is, or by the manuscript itself.” His process is “driven by nothing.” He has earned the right to take some risks because of the success he has achieved, even if the results were once described as “monstrously ugly.” Kidd often downplays the importance of the covers he designs not because he is not proud of his work, but because he is against the idea that the cover will sell the book. It is about whether the context of the book connects to the public and the cover is only a small part of that. Chip Kidd has designed ~1,000 book covers. When asked how he kept them unique he stated that he really is dependent on the writers to write intriguing books rather than stale and stagnate ones. When he reads the manuscript and gets a sense that the author is passionate and interested in what they wrote, it encourages him to do the same visually. He usually tries to stay away from literal interpretations often manipulating how the audience will view the cover. Kidd was asked if the genre that is been done matters in the design, to that he said it was a challenge.

What drew me to this designer was actually his name. It was an interesting name, but what drew me into his art was how different each book cover was. I love reading so learning about how he designed covers was really interesting. This presentation was due duing the 2020 COVID-19 stay-at-home order so it all had to be done virtually. As this was a presentation, we were required to do a voice over presentation. I do not like public speaking very much at all, so I was nervous. I took many takes and retakes of my presentation that it took me a while to finally record a good one. Recording just my voice made things a bit easier cause no one could see me fidget when I got nervous. This experience was very helpful because if I even have to present over the computer, I will now know.