Dear Students,
As I have said in class, I would like you to write down your brief impressions about the article on book covers and the Chip Kidd video.
Here is the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC0KxNeLp1E
And her is the link to the article:
https://www.cnbc.com/id/45541606
I personally am a paper book person so to me cover design is an important element for me to decide whether or not I'm buying this particular book. I agree with the Ted talk presenter that the design of the cover has to come from the content which means covers don't always have to be fancy or colorful. Instead they need to be appropriate to the books themselves. To me, I think book cover design is just like translation. It is a process of translating context into graphic rather than into different languages.
ReplyDeleteI was really Impressed with Kidd's work. It's always important to create a balance between form and content in bookmaking. I'm a little biased as I have some bookmaking experience and am very much a hard-copy person, but I believe in physical copies. I also tend to smell books, old or new, when I pick them up, and nice paper can really make a difference in the reading experience as well. I understand the environmental consequences of commercial bookmaking, but that is the only disadvantage I see to e-readers. I like that Kidd talked about being faithful to the author's work, which is not all that different from the task of a translator. When I was a little kid I was often drawn to books that had interesting covers, but those books didn't always turn out that great. Being honest, I don't think there's any significant correlation between book cover and book enjoyment, but it is still important to know how much to divulge on a cover and to do so in a graphic, compelling way. A good cover might not be what takes you all the way through a book, but it can certainly help get you into a book.
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