We’re proud to announce another wonderful Book Review for Chip Kidd & Dave Taylor’s New BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN Graphic Novel. We just noticed it this morning and we were pretty excited about it! You can read it at the COMICS ALLIANCE website. It was written by J. Caleb Mozzocco and he did a very excellent job. You can tell he put a lot of effort into it & we always appreciate that. Also, one cool thing is, they also decided to share some really great graphics from the book showcasing Dave Taylor’s artwork! We want to thank them for giving the book some attention. Hey, what are you doing still here? Go Read It!!

Right now, as we speak, TYPO International Design Talks is getting geared-up for their grand event in London on October 19th & 20th, 2012. As sort of a “teaser of what you might expect to see” at the show they showcase, at their website, an older video of a lecture done by Chip Kidd. It’s a speech he did at TYPO Berlin in 2005 ( They hold 3 major Design Conferences in London, Germany, & San Francisco ) and it was titled “You Can Win a Rabbit”. Yeah, weird title but he explains it in the lecture and it’s pretty funny! Anyway, the Video, unfortunately, can’t be shared right here so you will have to watch it at their site. In other words, I’d like to ask you to please check it out because I think you’ll find it very interesting to see. In the video Kidd shares the design concepts for a lot of Book Jackets & also what it’s like to design things outside of his normal area of expertise, like Posters.

To view the Video: CLICK HERE!

For More Information about TYPO 2012: CLICK HERE!

First off, we would like to thank the HUFFINGTON POST for their recent article about this new book titled, WONDER, written by R. J. Palacio and published by Random House KNOPF. She has created a very inspiring book and it really deserves some attention & we appreciate it.

In the video above , Author R. J. Palacio and Chip Kidd discuss Palacio’s debut novel, WONDER. They also discuss the anti-bullying campaign, CHOOSE KIND, that was inspired by the book and more. The basic premise of the book is that it is about a little boy named Auggie. He is ten and he was born with a facial deformity that is really quite severe. One of the really interesting things R. J. has done is she writes from his point of view and she writes from other characters points' of view, and little by little, she describes what he looks like. You start to build it in your head, but it starts with people's reactions to it. The entire story is very inspirational and will change your point of view about both life, and people, in many good ways.

Please check out the Official Book Trailer for WONDER up above and then, for more information, please check out this extra “Introduction” Video with the Author R. J. Palacio down below:

We’re really happy to share some good news about a recent Book Review for, “The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy”. This book was designed by Chip Kidd and covers the entire film history of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. You can find the review over at the BATMAN-NEWS.COM website and it was written by Andrew Asberry. It’s very well thought-out & covers the entire book ( Thanks Andrew ).

His website’s main focus is to cover the world of Batman-related Cinema. Their coverage of the recent events revolving around “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” Movie has been excellent! Seriously, it’s a great news source. So, please be sure to read their New Book Review by clicking HERE!

Yesterday ( July 23rd, 2012 ), Designer and Author Chip Kidd wrote an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times Opinion Pages titled, “MetroCards for Sale”. The Article’s main focus is the fact that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York recently announced that it would be selling advertising space on the front of its fare cards to raise revenue. So, Chip offered a few ideas for clever ads that would have real meaning for Subway Passengers everywhere. The graphic shown here is just one example. Please be sure to click this LINK to see the rest that he designed. Plus, while you’re there, we hope you enjoy reading the Article!

Just to clarify, Chip Kidd is known for creating the famous JURASSIC PARK Logo when he designed Michael Crichton’s Classic Book back in 1990. Since then it has shown up in popular culture in many different ways. Plus, it’s always interesting to see where it pops-up next!

Here is a wonderful heartwarming story. A Father, making a Sand Box for his Children, decided to give them something to find while digging. He knew he needed to place a small layer of cement in the bottom of the Sand Box he was building so that the tree’s roots near by would not grow up inside it. So, instead of just a flat surface he decided to get really creative. He thought he would give them something to discover! Check out the photos down below… it’s very cool! Plus, what a great Dad!

Before we begin this post we would like to state that our heart goes out to everyone affected by the recent tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. This senseless form of violence is beyond tragic and we hope/pray that everyone, especially the ones who lost Friends & Family Members, find some form of Peace in their lives in the coming days. We are thinking about you and care deeply about what you are going through.

Right after the tragedy that unfolded at “The Dark Knight Rises” Movie Premier in Aurora, Colorado, Chip Kidd was contacted by ABC News as a “Batman Expert” and asked if he would do a short TV interview. Of course he was honored to do so and also hoped for an opportunity to extent his deepest sympathies to the families who were touched by this event. Like all of us, Chip was shocked beyond belief about everything that happened that day. It all seemed so completely surreal.

Up above is a photo of Chip Kidd as he appeared on “World News with Diane Sawyer” on July 20th, 2012. This is the episode where he was being interviewed by ABC TV News Reporter, Dan Harris. Please keep in mind that this is in no way an attempt at any form of publicity on Chip’s part. He did the interview, which was edited down quite a bit for the segment, and he wanted to issue a statement clarifying what he originally said in the full-complete interview because his remark that aired on TV might be taken out of context. To hear the edited version please be sure to click this LINK for the comment that aired on Television ( Dan Harris’ segment starts at about the 15:46 mark and Chip Kidd appears around 16:05 ).

Then, please be sure to read Chip Kidd’s personal statement down below:

“Just a little clarification about the ABC News appearance last night (Friday, July 20). I was contacted by the network earlier in the day about doing a short interview with them regarding the tragedy in Colorado, as I am viewed as a ‘Batman Expert’ (which is fine, no complaints there). By chance, I had a ticket to the 2:20pm IMAX Lincoln Center showing of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and planned to get there at least an hour ahead of time, and they were interviewing people standing in line. So, the timing and situation were perfect.

I spoke with Dan Harris for a good 20 minutes while they filmed, and showed (and gave) him copies of ‘Batman: Death By Design’, ‘Rough Justice’, and ‘Batman Collected.’ He was very professional and engaged, asked smart questions, I liked him a lot. Of course, there was no guarantee any of it would end up on the broadcast. I totally understood that. What did actually make the cut was me saying that I was still going to the movie despite what happened. Period.

That’s disappointing, because I went on to say that the horrible events perpetrated in Aurora were and are antithetical to everything the character and idea of Batman stands for: anti-gun, anti-killing. I do wish they had kept that in, so I’m emphasizing it here. In fact, there is a fight scene about halfway through the movie (which is well worth seeing, btw, and definitely in IMAX) in which Batman and Catwoman are duking it out with armed mercenaries on a Gotham rooftop. Catwoman disarms one of them, picks up his gun and points it him. Then Batman swats it out of her hand and screams ‘No guns! No killing!’ Right on. I also said, ” that the discussion really should be about tougher gun control laws, not cartoon violence in fantasy films.” Anyway, I thank ABC and Dan for including me, however briefly.” - C. K.

Yes, here is some very exciting news! Over at the KIOWA COUNTY SIGNAL website they just did a very excellent Book Review on Chip Kidd’s latest project, the BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN Graphic Novel, published by DC Comics with artwork by Dave Taylor. For people who have read the book you know that the main focus, or theme, is “Architecture” and it’s funny because the Kiowa County Signal gave the book a score of “8 out of 10 Skyscrapers!” But seriously, it’s well-written and we appreciate it. So, please read it by clicking HERE!

This particular post was created to share an extremely excellent podcast interview of Chip Kidd done awhile back by Debbie Millman. For the few people unfamiliar with her work: she is a Partner and President of the design division at Sterling Brands, one of the leading brand identity firms in the country. Millman is President Emeritus of AIGA, and chair of the School of Visual Arts’ Master’s Program in Branding. She is a contributing editor to Print magazine and host of the podcast “Design Matters.” She is also the Author of many excellent books on Branding & Graphic Design, whew!

OK, now, we could not embed the podcast here at this site but please follow this LINK to the “DESIGN OBSERVER” where you can listen to it. If you’re a fan of Chip Kidd, or just love Graphic Design in general, then you’ll really love it. It’s really well done & also entertaining as well. It was done around the time Chip Kidd wrote his 2 Books: “The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters” and “The Learners: A Novel”. But, they are not the only focus of the interview because they also do an excellent job of covering many different aspects of Design. So, go check it out!

Whoops! One last thing, if you would like to learn more about Debbie Millman then please be sure to visit her website by clicking HERE!

At the recent 2012 San Diego Comic Con Chip Kidd announced that he’ll be designing a brand-new book for PictureBox Inc. The title is “The Passion Of Gengoroh Tagame: Bara Master ” ( Gay Bondage Manga ) and it’s set to be published in Spring 2013. Plus, it will be an over-sized volume & the Japanese language will be translated by Anne Ishii. The Book Cover Prototype is shown up above & we want to thank Tom Spurgeon, the Writer of THE COMICS REPORTER website, for breaking this story. In fact, the article he wrote is wayyy better than what you’re reading here, ha ha! So please, check it out —> CLICK HERE!