Chip Kidd

In his TED talk, Kidd talks about his 25 years as a book designer. He says that book covers give the viewer a first impression.

-a book designer gives form to content

-his teacher taught him not to treat the audience as if they're stupid

-kidd talks about his process when designing the iconic cover form Jurassic Park; he didnt have an end goal in mind but rather was just experimenting by tracing an image he found during his research.



-the viewer should look at the book and think 'wow! I NEED to read that!'

-Kidd used 'the opposite of what is expected' in his design for the augusten burroughs memoir 'dry' by throwing water onto the printed typography to create a dripping effect.



-'a book cover is a distillation' - it's the most quintessential representation of maybe 500 pages on only 1 page, it is refined.

- ideas come from the text of the book, but the designer must then become an interpreter and a translator

-book cover design can invite exploration and interaction from the viewer

people say don't judge a book by it's cover but that is impossible, it is human nature to make assumptions based on visual information presented to us. These initial impressions happen in seconds.

Kidd is very literal in his approach. His covers are very minimalistic and to the point.