OK, As kind of a legal disclaimer ( ha ha ) we must state that this book cover for THE GREAT GATSBY was NOT designed by Chip Kidd. But, it is one of the most iconic Book Jackets out there in the world, it’s just beautiful. Plus, it is a GREAT American Novel. Here’s a funny video giving sort of a study of this classic book & the guy makes a few good points. Enjoy!

Check out this totally hilarious Video by Designer Aaron Draplin of the Draplin Design Company. In it, he explains his total angst over the future of American Design. The thing that makes it so funny is that it’s both extremely honest… and very true, ha!

OK, if you enjoyed that then you’ll want to be sure to watch this video lecture taped at the Walker Art Center where he explains his origin in getting into design & also shares some of his design processes. Plus, he also explains, a little bit, about the above video… good stuff!!

In October 2008, Author John Updike spoke with Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the New York Times Book Review, about the craft of fiction and the art of writing.

Here’s a YouTube Video we came across that features a lecture given by Chip Kidd back in 2008. It is from an event at the University of Michigan’s School of Art & Design. The theme of the show was “A Number of People “. Hey, just watch it, you’ll get an idea what that means, ha! The video also contains some background to the design of a few Book Covers and Dust Jackets along with some interesting info on the Authors. Enjoy, and please don’t forget to share on Twitter or Facebook!

Among Fans of Commercial and Industrial Design Milton Glaser needs no introduction. He practically created the job description of “Designer”. His “Push Pin Studios”, a Design Firm he created in the 1970′s, is legendary. He’s a Pioneer and a Leader, all at the same time.You might know him for being the guy who created the “I Love ( Heart ) NY” Logo, which is completely iconic and has been made into 934 million parodies. In fact, it’s still the most popular image today at all the New York City Tourist Centers. He also created this very famous poster of Bob Dylan, shown up above, that is equally iconic. He designed the DC bullet logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005. The list could go on and on. Also, back in 1968 he founded “New York” magazine, which is totally great & still being published today.

Chip Kidd had the honor of interviewing him for an event at Cooper-Hewitt. This video was posted 2 years ago and is still relevant today. In it, Milton Glaser talks about many issues surrounding the importance of design. Plus, he’s just so smart, clever, and funny that you will enjoy listening to him anyway, ha! So, please check it out.

Random House just re-released Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” in Soft Cover Paperback ( it’s the one shown on the left, the other Cover on the right is for the eBook Edition & Audio Book ). So, we thought we would present this wonderful video of a Speaking Lecture Mr. Chabon did at the Dominican University of California in 2010. In it, Michael talks almost exclusively about the creation of this iconic novel & how he came about writing it, it’s very entertaining for sure & lasts for about an hour. So, go fix yourself some Popcorn, grab a drink, get comfy, and enjoy.

OK, I don’t mean for today to be “Video Day” here at CHIPKIDD.COM ( Ha Ha! ). But while surfing through YouTube last night I came across this extremely excellent video of the Opening Sequence to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Movie (2011) and the visuals are just completely incredible! It reminds me of the ones you see in many James Bond 007 films. It’s pretty cool. Plus, the modern-day cover version of Led Zeppelin’s Classic, “The Immigrant Song” ( circa 1970 ), is great too.

WAIT! THERE’S MORE! I should also note that this movie is based on the Stieg Larsson Trilogy Book Series published by Random House Knopf. The book covers were art directed by Peter Mendelsund & down below is a link to the special “Millennium Trilogy Deluxe Boxed Set” published after the huge success of these books. I mention it here because Peter did an excellent video for it that you can see ON the Amazon page. I wanted to share that too but you can’t embed or share it. You have to watch it on Amazon. So please be sure to check it out.

Elysabeth Alfano, the Host of the excellent Web TV Series “Fear No ART” from Chicago, sits down with acclaimed Graphic Novelist, Chris Ware, in his home library for an understanding of this influential artist. Now, while parts of the interview cover Chris Ware’s entire career they also use many of the graphics that can be seen in his next book, “Building Stories”, which has a release date from Pantheon Books around October 2nd, 2012.

“Building Stories” imagines the inhabitants of a three-story Chicago apartment building: a 30-something woman who has yet to find someone with whom to spend the rest of her life; a couple, possibly married, who wonder if they can bear each others company another minute; and the building’s landlady, an elderly woman who has lived alone for decades. Taking advantage of the absolute latest advances in wood pulp technology, Building Stories is a book with no deliberate beginning nor end, the scope, ambition, artistry and emotional prevarication beyond anything yet seen from this artist or in this medium, probably for good reason.

Fans of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will totally love this wonderful lecture series by Poet J. D. McClatchy. His witty English-language libretto of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” has become a holiday favorite at The Metropolitan Opera. He has now translated seven of the libretti, including The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cos Fan Tutte. To celebrate the publication of his translations, Mr. McClatchy is joined by Met singers for an evening of readings and Classical Music performance. This video was recently published & it was recorded at the 92nd Street Y on December 1st, 2010.

For more information about the special events happening at the 92nd Street Y please CLICK HERE!

Many people work behind the scenes at Random House to bring each book to the widest possible audience. In this brand-new promo video, you’ll meet some of them and learn more about what’s involved, from editorial and design through production, marketing, sales, and distribution. This video was posted just last month at the Official Random House YouTube page & if you watch it I think you’ll experience two things: One, what it’s like to bring a book to life, and two, how many very talented people it really takes just to get things done.