TED Talk: Chip Kidd on Book Design

“A book cover is a distillation.” It’s a “haiku,” if you will, of the story. So says graphic designer extraordinaire Chip Kidd. I highly recommend his TED Talk as he takes us through the thought process behind some of his best-known cover designs.

Had the chance to meet Chip at the Miami International Book Fair a few years ago, but I was too shy to introduce myself. We were both presenters, and I wanted to mention that he designed the P&W Inspiration Issue cover that I was featured in (January 2010). Oh well. I'm sure there will be a next time.

My favorite quote from the talk: “The book designer’s responsibility is three-fold: to the reader, to the publisher, and most of all, to the author.”