This post is a quick shout-out to thank the MadLit Publishing Tumbler Page for their mention of a quote by Chip Kidd on a Book Cover he did awhile back. This was for Bret Easton Elis’ book, “American Psycho”. They also linked the story to our GALLERY Page. Hey, Thanks MadLit!

Over at the Official TORY BURCH Website they recently conducted a very excellent interview with Book Designer & Author, Chip Kidd. Now, as you would expect, their website is mostly all about the brand-new fashions of Tory Burch: Clothing, Shoes, Handbags, Accessories and other “Must-Haves”. But they also have a BLOG where they talk about Style, Culture, Travel, Music, etc… Wow! They put their Spotlight on Chip Kidd! Their site is very well-designed, of course, and the INTERVIEW is really fun to read ( also, very good questions ). So, please be sure to check it out!

WOW! We don’t mean to brag or anything, but the GALLERY PAGE to the Official CHIP KIDD Website has been getting a lot of buzz lately! So we just wanted to say THANK YOU to all the blogs and websites out there who have been talking about it. We really appreciate it! The 1st Gallery Page has grown so much we just recently added a second one. You can access it by clicking the “GALLERY TAB” up above & then scrolling down to the bottom of that page, then just click “Next Page”. We plan on adding many more Chip Kidd-designed Book Covers and Jackets so please check back later. Also, here’s the list of sites who have mentioned it recently:

OUT OF PRINT CLOTHING
BOOKSHELF NEWS
BETTY MING LIU

Here’s a quick post to share a website we recently discovered that’s pretty interesting. Well, it’s very interesting if you totally love fonts! What they do is present some images where TYPE has been used in Magazine Ads, Product Packaging, Building Signage, etc… and then tell you what FONT it is. OK, it sounds kinda dumb ( ha ha ) but it’s actually very interesting and also inspiring. Like, did you know the font used for the “Google” logo is named “Catull”? Hey, here’s a LINK so you can check it out for yourself. Also, please let us know what you think.

This post is a shout out to all the Fans of Dr. Seuss ( a.k.a. Theodore Seuss Geisel ). Before finding fame and fortune as a major Children’s Book Author Mr. Geisel supported himself and his family with commercial art work. Yes, during the Depression he was an Illustrator and did a lot of Advertising Graphics for Magazines. He quickly developed a large list of Clients like General Electric, FLIT Bug Killer, Holly Sugar, NBC and many more.

Well, One great source to view his advertising artwork is at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. The library has scanned a selection of these advertisements for greater access, which they call “The Dr. Seuss Collection”, and they can be viewed by clicking right HERE. Please be sure to check it out sometime because it’s not only important historically, but is also very inspiring.

With the release of the recent movie trailer for the film adaptation of ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac ( 1922 - 1969 ) I thought it would be fun to share a LINK to a website where they have collected a ton of different covers for this famous book. Down below are just a few examples but if you visit the SITE you’ll be shocked by how many there are & it’s also sort of an interesting study on Graphic Design. Speaking of which, the drawing you see up above was actually done by Jack Kerouac has his idea of what the book jacket should look like. Strangely, the Publisher never considered it and even after all the covers that have been made over the years this version has never popped-up. It’s also interesting to note, about the website, that the Book Covers & Dust Jackets shown there are in English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, French, etc…

ON THE ROAD was written in 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. The book is mostly autobiographical in nature. It portrays the story of a fierce personal quest for meaning and belonging. This comes at an interesting point in American history when conformity was praised and outsiders were suspect. This was during the start of the Cold War. The book instantly became a major hit and it is considered a defining work of America’s “Beat Generation”. One thing that is pretty interesting about the creation of this book was the fact that Jack Kerouac wrote it on one solid piece of paper that he called “The Scroll”. He taped many pieces of teletype paper together to achieve this. The “Scroll” still exists & can be seen in the photo down below.

Earlier I mentioned the “new movie” coming out and you can see that trailer at the bottom of this post. But first, I think it would be best to view another video where Jack Kerouac made an early appearance on TV’s “The Steve Allen Show” in 1959. He reads from the book and it’s pretty interesting to not only hear his original voice but it also gives you an idea of “the rhythm in which he wrote it”. Many Literary Critics have labeled the style of this book as a “Jazz Piece” because of it’s continuous flow.

Here are 2 videos that showcase the new features found in Adobe Photoshop CS6. The 1st one is “Official” and the 2nd one is fan-made, both are worth watching. Let us know what YOU think, thanks.

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!

In this outtake from Gary Hustwit’s 2007 documentary “Helvetica”, type designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones discuss the creation of Gotham. The font was originally commissioned for GQ Magazine but went on to have another life altogether.

Logos surround us in digital and physical space, but we rarely examine the thought and artistic thinking that goes into the design of these symbols. Utilizing a silent vocabulary of colors, shapes, and typography, Logo Designers give a visual identity to companies and organizations of all types. From Cave Painters to modern Designers, Artists throughout history have been reducing the complex down to simple ideas that communicate with the world.