Chip Kidd: Book Two

by Chip Kidd, Haruki Murakami (Contributor), Neil Gaiman (Contributor)

According to the Huffington Post, "Chip Kidd is the Meryl Streep of book design." At the forefront of a revolution in publishing, Kidd's iconic covers, in large part inspired by memorabilia and comics, have influenced an entire generation of designers, artists, and the book world.

CHIP KIDD: BOOK TWO: WORK 2007-2017 picks up where Book One left off showcasing his impressive body of work from the past decade as well as new works yet to be seen this year. We see not just hundreds of his recent projects, but the working processes behind them--thoughts, sketches, revisions, scrapped drafts, and triumphant final versions. The bestselling authors he has worked with include the likes of Cormac McCarthy, John Updike, David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, Mary Roach, Oliver Sacks, and Elie Wiesel. He has created movie art for entertainment powerhouses like J.J. Abrams, DC Comics, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures, and, he is known by geeks worldwide for his comic book and graphic novel work. Alongside striking images of his work are witty essays by Haruki Murakami, Neil Gaiman, and Orhan Pamuk that are sure to delight any bibliophile.

Throughout this ten-year retrospective, Kidd leads readers through each step of his design journey culminating in a section on how to write and art-direct a graphic novel, using as an example his New York Times-bestselling Batman: Death by Design.

Displaying the master's passion for unconventional and forward-thinking book covers, film work, and graphic novel projects, this volume is sure to bring fresh inspirations to design aficionados, book lovers, pop-culture fanatics, comics fans, and design students.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Books About Books

320 pages, Hardcover

Published September 26, 2017

About the author

Chip Kidd is an American author, editor and graphic designer, best known for his innovative book covers.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up in a Philadelphia suburb, strongly influenced by American popular culture. While a design student at Penn State, an art instructor once gave the assignment to design a book cover for Museums and Women by John Updike, who is also a Shillington native. The teacher panned Kidd's work in front of the class, suggesting that book design would not be a good career choice for him. However, Kidd later received professional assignments to design covers for Memories of the Ford Administration and other books by Updike.

Kidd is currently associate art director at Knopf, an imprint of Random House. He first joined the Knopf design team in 1986, when he was hired as a junior assistant by Sara Eisenman.

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." USA Today called him "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design today, while author James Ellroy has called him “the world’s greatest book-jacket designer.”

Reviews

[karen]

oh my god, it is finally heeeeeeeeeeeere!! and it looks SO GOOD!

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chip Kidd is a master designer. His book covers have wrapped legendary novels, non-fiction masterpieces and books that were...not so great. But his cover designs nearly always illuminate and elevate the material inside. Reviewing this collection of his second decade of work is like a master class in design, and his thoughtful and concept driven designs are instructive to any designer serious about the craft.

The size and heft of this book really make Chip’s work stand out in an impressive way. Also, the author’s narrative isn’t just some collection of dry case studies, but instead a series of revealing anecdotes and personal musings that let you get to know him better. I hope to someday sit down and have a cocktail and some conversation with this man who seems as interesting as his work.

Highly recommended.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the best book covers of all time. Chip Kidd is a genius. "The Meryl Streep of book designers..."

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable second volume covering Kidd’s design work (primarily book covers) over the last ten years. As a big fan, it was gratifying to get insight into his work product and process, including many draft covers and rejected versions (it was oddly encouraging to know that his work still gets rejected on occasion). With his growing fame during this decade, his work has also branched out into other areas - comics, posters, his own books, etc. What’s most impressive to me is that his work always involves an original take that makes the related source material come alive. His work is compelling and intriguing, but he seems to be able to avoid repeating himself, which can’t be easy by this point. Recommended for any fan of graphic design and physical books, in general, and Kidd’s work, in particular.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most famous book jacket designer in the world is probably Chip Kidd. He did the famous Jurassic Park cover (which turned into the movie poster) as well as lots for authors like David Sedaris, Cormac McCarthy, and Donna Tartt. I didn’t realize this book was a sequel when I bought it and, you know, I don’t like all the covers in here. But I love and respect the thoughtfulness, confidence, and sheer idea-execution that the book walks us through. He shows ideas that flopped, how things were changed, why things were changed. A feast for book nerds. To get a feel for Chip you can check out his TED Talk “Designing books is no laughing matter. OK, it is” or his interview with the always-on-point Debbie Millman.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a visual feast. And this was a challenging book to read in bed. (The fear of it falling on your face will keep you awake!)

The first volume sped through 20 years of Chip Kidd's book cover designs and some personal projects. This second volume dives into the next decade of work. It still has plenty of book design work, but the fruit of 20+ years of work shines through the breadth of projects covered in the second volume.

What's in store for us with Book Three? Everyone loves a good trilogy!

[Pippin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self-indulgent. (Ok, it is his art work, so that is going to be hard to avoid, but still, i felt it throughout.) Lot's of clever and beautiful layouts in this brick (more like cinder-block) of a book.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book that gives you some idea about how Chip Kidd works. Aside from noticing some of the book that he designed, I found myself being interested in the ones that hadn't worked or got rejected. I really enjoyed going through the concepts and the personal stories.

[Caitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, sometimes self indulgent book. I prefer Chip’s TED talks.

[A.C. Bauch]

Again, disinclined to rate a book I viewed but didn't read. This book is a hefty tome, and I particularly liked reading authors' perspectives on working with Kidd--especially since Kidd has produced numerous covers for some of the lit world's biggest, brightest stars (Neil Gaiman, Cormac McCarthy, Elmore Leonard, Haruki Murakami, FRank Miller, etc.). One of my favorite parts is an interview Kidd does with himself. I appreciate any artist who doesn't take himself/herself too seriously.