Last April or May or so I saw Chip Kidd speak at USC. It was the first time that I had ever been up close and personal to a well known artist that I admired (and still do). His work to me is amazing because of all of the elements it has to incorporate in order for the book cover to be successful. His range of abilities cover almost every style, and each cover has a uniqueness that most covers don't have.
Most of his work is humorous and tongue in cheek- take a look at his own book- he photographed his hands holding a miniature portfolio of his work. His website has the layout that graphic designers (especially book designers) are all too familiar with (to ad nauseum).
He works freelance, doing about 75 covers per year and is in high demand. He went to Penn state and according to him he just 'fell' into the world of book design. He got a low level job and found that he had a knack for it and it became his career.
2 comments:
oh my god chip kidd wrote my favorite book of all time...the cheese monkeys. if you haven't read it yet, it's a must.
I loved reading your post about Chip Kidd. After I was introduced to him in your blog I went on to research him more. I thought it was funny that Kidd is often referred to as the “rock star” of the graphic design world. His style is great and his influence from pop art and kitsch are readily apparent in a lot of his work. It is interesting that he also helps with the covers of many famous graphic novels. His book covers are always fun and light-hearted with either comic type drawings or photo collages. While his work is very reminiscent of pop art and pop art humor he add a more contemporary twist to his books. Kidd is a great example of an artist who represents the new avenues of creativity that are opening up to contemporary artists. His work is incredibly inspiring, I am just beginning to start my digital design classes and I know that I will be referring back to Chip Kidd in the future. I really want to read his book, "The Cheese Monkeys." This book is a narrative about his time at Penn State in the art deptartment dealing with "sadistic" professors and various other obstacles, it sounds great and I'm sure it hilarious. I really love the variation in his style from comic book illustration to collage he is obviously not only a talented artist but he has a knack for creating humor.
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