Interviewer: “I can’t help but notice that this book contains a lot of selfies with some of the better-known authors and clients you have worked with.”
Chip Kidd: “Correct. And that is not a question.”
Interviewer: “Ok. Why not?”
Chip Kidd: “Oh, it’s totally self-indulgent, of course.”
This excerpt from a Summer 2016 interview and dialogue is how I began delving into the insight and humor of American award-winning graphic designer and writer Chip Kidd and one of his books detailing his work, mainly book designs, titled, “Chip Kidd: Book Two, Work 2007-2017” written by Chip Kidd and Haruki Murakami and published September 26, 2017.
Chip was born on September 12, 1964 and raised in Pennsylvania where he attended Pennsylvania State University and graduated with a graphic design degree. His love of Superman and Batman comic books and their designs along with his degree and persistence led him to land an entry level job as assistant to the art director in 1986 with publisher Random House (now Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group). That was almost thirty years ago. Chip has been busy designing book jackets for a multitude of writers including Katherine Hepburn, David Sedaris and perhaps most notably Michael Crichton and Jurassic Park. In addition to Chip Kidd: Book Two, he has published several other books including The Cheese Monkeys, Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design and Chip Kidd: Book One.
Creativity and inspiration come in many forms when Chip is designing book covers. Before cell phones, he would carry a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot camera and take photographs of places and things that interested him. Additionally, he collects items such as vintage Japanese paper which gave him the design idea for The Strange Library written by author Haruki Murakami. Conversely, some creative moments may be well-loved by everyone except the author no matter how many design reworks. An example is author Augusten Burroughs’ book You Better Not Cry which ultimately was designed by someone else. And as Chip’s book alludes, you will want to google the final surprising book cover which added, “insult to injury”.
Yet, even with the frustration of what he feels is the right work that may be reworked or rejected, Chip prefers that challenge. Working with Haruki Murakami on another book titled 1Q84, there had been an issue printing a vellum overlay with a cutout of the title to show through to a face, and specifically eyes, on the book cover. Because the jacket cover was printed at a separate company than sent to a book binder, there was no guarantee that the vellum overlay and binding face image would match up perfectly. The resolution was to allow a quarter inch slippage either right or left which happened to work really well to Chip’s surprise and relief.
Although his book contains numerous anecdotal stories and images on book cover designs, I especially enjoyed a relatable story reprinted in his Book Two about transportation tickets and how confusing the printouts can be. Originally appearing in January 2010 as a story for McSweeney’s Publishing, an American non-profit publishing house, Chip details in his usual straightforward and daft way how tickets, in this case Amtrak, could be printed to show information such as cities, dates and times in a much more clear and concise way. He includes a picture of his original ticket and his new and improved make-over ticket. As a post-script to this story, Amtrak redesigned their way of issuing tickets as well as the look of the tickets.
My biggest take-aways from reading Book Two is how much I really enjoyed simply slowing down and perusing all of the book cover designs but also how much the
personal stories added to the excitement of the author, his or her book and the book cover design, all the while learning more deeply about what makes Chip Kidd tick. And as a sort-of unexpected side benefit, I’ve discovered so many more books to add to my reading list. Where to find the time! For instance, I had read author and holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s book titled Night many years ago, but I didn’t know that he had wrote a novel titled Hostage about an innocent man who is taken hostage by two captors and who tells stories to himself and his captors as time passes.
Some of the stories in his book are gut-wrenching like Martin Amis’ book titled The Second Plane about 9/11 and others are hilarious such as Paul Rudnick’s book titled I Shudder where Paul’s son took a bite of one of the marshmallow peeps that was meant for his cover shoot (a happy accident as Chip calls it because that bitten peep was included for the cover) or educational like David France’s book How to Survive a Plague about Aids where Chip details his participation in a 1992 “die-in” laying still in the street for five minutes to bring Aids awareness.
One thing I realize is that design doesn’t simply happen, but when it does, there is the potential for rewards and recognition. Because you cannot apply for the National Design Awards, Chip was nominated and became a finalist in 2006 without winning and was nominated again in 2007 and won this time in the Communications category. As Chip writes, this award is “the pinnacle of achievement for the profession, especially in graphic design.” This award included an invitation to the White House where Mrs. Bush said to Chip’s mother, “I’ll bet you took him to the library and grew his love of books that way” in which Chip agrees whole-heartedly.
From books to magazines to comics and much more in between, Chip’s designs are though-provoking, heart-warming, silly and fun and so much more. I was driven to buy this book because of one of his TED videos titled, “Designing books is no laughing matter. Ok it is.” which touches on a handful of book designs and his opinion on pre- computer age book cover designs as well as the onset of audio books. Oddly, I wondered why his glasses in the video were supported only on the left side of his face. I thought to myself, “sharp dresser but how quirky with the eye glasses.” Only in reading this book did I find out that his husband had rolled over in bed and broke off the right part of the glasses. Ah, it all makes sense now!
Another standout moment for Chip was designing the 2012 book for the Type Director’s Club. This book exemplifies typography through a collection of winners from their annual international competition ranging from books, magazines, logos and such and specific only to type design. Still receiving two newspapers at his doorstep, the New York Times and New York Post, Chip has spent years clipping headlines that he claims are for no apparent reason other than interest at that time. When this book design presented itself, Chip took those headlines and highlighted the letters T, D and C from Type Director’s Club in red, blue and yellow to see what might work best for the book cover. Although the final chosen cover was a clipping stating, “Chickens Threaten To Divide Community” about residents raising chickens on their rooftops in Brooklyn, Chip had originally submitted, “Getting Ahead Can Be A Bitch” about when Martha Stewart was sent to jail which was quickly rejected. Again, not one to turn down a challenge, I really admire how Chip can keep moving forward in the face of rejection and still design an amazing book cover.
Several of Chip’s quotes make an impression with me. One is to never fall in love with an idea. From someone who has had to rework designs, this statement could not be more true. Graphic design is evolving, and we should all let go of one design in order to always find another design within us. Also, with audio books, Chip states, “Much is to be gained by eBooks: ease, convenience, portability. But something is definitely lost: tradition, a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness — a little bit of humanity.” I have to agree. As much as I download and enjoy audio books, I still love the look and feel of a hard cover book. Something that can sit on my shelf, and even if it collects dust, I can still appreciate it in more ways than a digital download will ever do on my cell phone.
In closing, with Chip’s love for comics, travel, and memorabilia to feed his graphic design inspirations, we are treated to his incredible designs for books, magazines and the like that have spanned decades. This book ties work-related stories and images with each design discussed interwoven with personal stories about his own life whether articles he’s written, recognitions he’s received and even a story on his marriage to husband Sandy or J.D. McClatchy which has a lovely humanitarian touch to it thanks to an eight-year-old girl named Edith (you’ll have to buy the book to read the rest of that story). Although technology and the media continue to grow and to evolve, Chip believes that people will always want to read fiction or non-fiction. According to Chip, “that simple fact gives me hope, and I am eager to help give a face and a voice to those tales yet to come.”
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