MAY 9th, 2013 | NEW YORK CITY
MANHATTAN PENTHOUSE
“An Evening with Chip Kidd” by Chip Kidd ’86, associate art director for Alfred A. Knopf
Co-sponsored by the Penn State College of Arts & Architecture

Enter the world of renowned author, editor, and graphic designer Chip Kidd '86, called by USA Today "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design. The Manhattan Penthouse, a stately loft overlooking the heights of New York City, will furnish the perfect backdrop for an elegant and exclusive evening, as Kidd shares an insider's look at highlights of his design career spanning over a quarter century and counting. In his signature charismatic style, Kidd will also regale attendees with special previews of future projects. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with fellow Penn Staters during a cocktail reception and a three-course seated dinner, as the city lights gleam through the Penthouse's stunning glass views.

Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his innovative book covers, including notably the iconic T-Rex image he designed for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Kidd is currently associate art director at Knopf, an imprint of Random House. Publishers Weekly has described his book jackets as “creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature." Kidd's TED talk of 2012 has garnered over 600,000 views to date. He was a 2004 Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Fellow Award recipient.

Thursday, May 9, 2013
6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Manhattan Penthouse on 5th Avenue
80 5th Avenue
New York City, New York 10011
212.627.8838

$35 Alumni Association members
$50 non-members

All registrants must be at least 21 years old, as alcohol will be served. Business attire is suggested.

SCHEDULE:

For further information please CLICK HERE!

Hey Everybody!! Here’s a quick post to inform you that we have just added a ton of new photos of Chip Kidd’s “Book Cover Design” work over at the GALLERY PAGE. Actually, some of them were also even added to Page Two. About half of them are ones he just completed for brand-new books coming out in 2013 and then there are a few he designed awhile back. Sort of like, “something old, something new”. Anyways, Please feel free to check them out and we hope you enjoy them. Please remember to always check back because we’re obsessed with adding more all the time, ha!

You can just click the Gallery TAB up above or please CLICK HERE!

Also, please remember to share this website with all your friends and family on your favorite social network website ( Like: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, etc…) Thanks!

Over at the INSPIRATION FEED website one of their Bloggers, a guy named Igor Ovsyannykov, recently did a post where he shared a ton of photos of Retail Store Signs that inspire him. I mean, all the signs he posted are extremely cool and are also a very nice study of GREAT Graphic Design & Typography! Just check out the ones we borrowed from his story. Now, we have only shown a few here as examples but you need to check out his post to see way more, it’s cool stuff, just CLICK HERE!

This post is not only for sharing the news about a reallt great book coming out, titled “THE DANIEL CLOWES READER: A Critical Edition of GHOST WORLD And Other Stories, With Essays, Interviews, and Annotations” (Fantagraphics). Whew! Now that’s a title, ha! but this book is already getting great buzz and the other reason for the post is that the Publisher was very generous in supplying a very large preview of the book, which you can read down below. Also, you can pre-order the book RIGHT HERE and save some money too.

The book was edited by Ken Parille. It has 360-pages, full-color, and measures about 7.25″ x 10.25″ (softcover) and will retail for around $24.99. (ISBN # 978-1-60699-589-1). Look for it to hit bookstores around July, 2013.

This landmark collection features ten of Daniel Clowes’s most influential graphic narratives, along with interviews about his career and creative process, and twelve thought-provoking essays by contemporary scholars and critics. Oh yeah, here’s the preview:

Abigail Crouse, a Kansas State University student, recently posted a very sweet article about Chip Kidd’s visit last month to the AIGA KANSAS CITY Meeting where he gave a lecture titled, “Failing Better”. The post contains many different quotes from some of the Graphic Design Students & Designers and we want to thank them for both the kind words & wonderful hospitality they all shared.

To read the article, please CLICK HERE!

HEY! If you would like to schedule Chip Kidd for a speaking engagement or lecture then please be sure to visit the RANDOM HOUSE SPEAKERS BUREAU.

Over at the NEW YORK TIMES Style Section they recently posted an extremely interesting “interactive” article showcasing some of the various book covers created over the years for THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of course the main one is the rare First Edition, in blue, with the stylistic set of eyes & mouth floating over the Boardwalk. This book jacket was originally designed by Francis Coradal-Cugat and it’s not only beautiful, but it’s also a complete icon of book design.

Well, the fun part of their article is that they report about a book collector, and F. Scott Fitzgerald biographer, named Matthew J. Bruccoli who recently donated his HUGE collection of GREAT GATSBY books. What’s great is that it showcases nearly 83 years of book design. Sadly, he died in 2008. But his collection, which is considered to be one of the most complete in the world, lives on at the University of South Carolina.

When asked why he didn’t sell his collection (it’s worth millions) and why donate it, Bruccoli replied, “You don’t buy books as an investment, you buy them because it gives you pleasure to read them, to touch them . . . to see them on shelves.”

As an example of some of the book covers/jackets featured at their site we have posted a few pics down below, but if you CLICK HERE you can enjoy even more eye candy!

Gavin Aung Than is a freelance cartoonist who lives in Melbourne, Australia. He runs a website called ZEN PENCILS where he shares his wonderful art and also sells limited-edition art prints and posters. Shown up above is one such item. This is his “CREATE GOOD ART” Poster which is based on one one his comic strips.

OK, I’m sorry, I’m getting a little way too ahead of myself. Please check out this back story:

Back in May of 2012 Gavin had seen the (now famous) speech of the bestselling author, Neil Gaiman, who delivered a special commencement address at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, in which he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he urged them to “Make Good Art”. Now, after seeing this speech, Gavin was inspired to create a special comic strip quoting a small portion of Gaiman’s address. I mean, the speech was about, “Hey! Go Make some ART”, so he did! You can read that COMIC STRIP by clicking right HERE.

Now, long story short, the comic strip went totally viral and so Gavin decided to contact Neil Gaiman for permission to print the strip as a special poster. Neil gave his blessing, under one condition, that a portion of the purchase price be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). Hey, no problem! Now we have this wonderful poster I’ve been rambling on about forever, ha!

The poster is available for purchase RIGHT HERE. It is available in a vast multitude of sizes ranging from MINI (10″ X 7″ at $17.00) to X-LARGE (39″ X 28″ at $60.00) with 50% of the purchase price going right to CBLF, whose work fights censorship and saves free speech in America!

Now, we should also mention that Neil Gaiman’s famous speech is being made into a book (unrelated to the comic strip we have been talking about). The book is titled, Neil Gaiman’s MAKE GOOD ART Speech, and was designed by graphic artist Chip Kidd. The book will contain the full text of Gaiman's inspiring speech, all done in a unique clever way. Here’s Neil, holding the book fresh off the press from the Publisher, William Morrow!

Look for the book to hit Bookstores around May 18th, 2013 or you can always pre-order from TFAW (Just CLICK HERE) or from Amazon, link provided down below. Also, if you want to view a High-Def Photo of Chip Kidd’s Book Cover Jacket, then please be sure to visit this site’s GALLERY PAGE.

Oh yeah, and if you have NOT seen the VIDEO of Neil Gaiman’s Speech then please be sure to do so by CLICKING HERE!

Check out this extremely interesting video posted by KNOPF DOUBLEDAY where they show the process of creating a special Foil-Embossed Book Jacket for Dan Brown’s THE LOST SYMBOL. This book was published by Anchor Books back in 2009 and it had a first printing of 5,000,000 copies! (Whoops! I guess should make a special note here stating that Chip Kidd did not design this book cover, we’re just sharing a fun video for you to enjoy).

Yes! We can finally talk about it, ha ha! The Book Publisher, Workman Publishing, just released the Cover Photo and Release Date for Chip Kidd’s next brand-new book which will be titled, “GO: A Kidd’s Guide To Graphic Design”. You can look for it at your favorite Bookstore location around October 8th, 2013.

The basic concept is that this book is geared toward teaching “Graphic Design” to Children. Yes, school kids need to understand design concepts too but the book will also prove to be valuable to Adults as well. We’re talking about Graphic Design Students, Working Designers and other Creative Types. Chip Kidd opens the book with the following statement:

“CONGRATULATIONS, you have decided to open this book, even though you have no idea what it’s about, and the cover is weird and seemingly at cross-purposes and possibly even pretentious. But you opened it anyway. And you know what? That was a design decision. Yes indeed, whether you realized it or not, pretty much most decisions you make, every day, are by design…Take my word for it, you are a designer.”

Chip Kidd starts with the promise that everyone is a designer, and uses each page to show the reader why that is. Each spread explains and demonstrates a crucial introductory graphic design concept like: Form, Size, Scale, Repetition and Pattern, Color, Typography, etc.

HEY! Amazon has the hardcover book available for pre-order at a special price for a limited time:

This Tuesday, on April 16th, 2013 at 7:30pm Graphic Designer Chip Kidd will be speaking at the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium, inside Schafer Hall at Bismarck State College. The school is located in Bismarck, the capital city of North Dakota.

A writing workshop with Chip Kidd is scheduled from noon to 1:00pm on April 16th in BSC’s National Energy Center of Excellence Basin Electric Auditorium (Room #304). We’re also proud to announce that the 2013 ArtsQuest event offers both the workshop and evening presentation for FREE, at no charge!

For more information, please CLICK HERE!