Print Isn’t Dead

Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 is the last book that Chip Kidd has written. I got it for Christmas last year and it is a wonderful coffee table book. Although it does have a pretty good amount of biographical information, the bulk of the book is visual representations of his book cover designs. Most people don’t have a book about books on their coffee table, but few people who come over to my apartment can resist opening it up. It is always interesting when they find a book that they love, and suddenly realize that someone had to take the time to make the cover for it. Not only that, but they suddenly realize who made the cover. I think that is just fascinating. Most people respond to Kidd’s most famous book cover, the one for Jurassic Park. This book does not have as much personal information about Kidd’s life as The Cheese Monkeys, but it has a great deal of history about his working life. Before reading this book, I really hadn’t spent much time thinking about the people who make the covers for the books I love, but now I never see a book without at least considering it.

I have already told you about Chip Kidd, the book cover designer. I told you that he also writes books. Now I will tell about my favorite of his books, The Cheese Monkeys. This book is about a boy who goes off to college for the first time. He experiences that feeling anyone can relate to of being a new person at a new place who doesn’t know anyone. He has a roommate that he doesn’t particularly like, an experience almost everyone who has lived in a dorm room can relate to. During his first semester he discovers his life’s calling: graphic design. He stumbles upon the major almost on accident and it turns out that he is good at it. The main focus of the novel is his relationship with his graphic art teacher, and the new friends he meets. It is a fantastic book with a story that has real, raw emotion that is touching and really accessible. I fell in love with this book my freshman year when a friend got it for me, and it was really poignant at the time. Even though the main character of the book is completely different than I am, I could still feel for a lot of the situations he ran into in the book. It is a fantastic novel and I highly recommend it.

Very few people have heard of Chip Kidd and that is a complete travesty. Many people have seen his work and would never know it. He is a book cover designer as well as an author. He has designed so many book covers I’m certain that anyone who has been in a bookstore has seen his work at one time or another. His most famous cover is probably the cover for Jurassic Park. The way I came in contact with his work is by picking up Naked one day. After that book caught my eye the day I saw Naked I just got very interested in the rest of his work. I searched his name on Amazon.com and found The Cheese Monkeys. First of all, the cover and style of the book itself is extremely unique and very attention-getting. After being impressed by the cover itself, I found that the actual book is fantastic too. After making everyone else’s books catch the eyes of consumers, I am very glad that he decided to write a book himself. This is one man who definitely has heard “So, do you judge a book by its cover?” many MANY times!