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Design by Susan Olinsky
What's special about 1959? According to author Fred Kaplan, it's when we shrugged off tradition and got our modern funk on: Miles Davis released Kind of Blue, Burroughs published Naked Lunch, the Guggenheim opened, and Searle petitioned the FDA for approval of the first birth control pill, among other things (history lesson courtesy of Publishers Weekly). Olinsky's minimal design respects the wealth of these achievements without resorting to the "photo quilt;" heck, I could have even done without the buildings.
Type geeks, chime in: what's the title typeface, and is it appropriate to the late '50s?
Design by Keenan
Sometimes it's worth waiting to see a book cover in the store -- and here's the important part -- among others. I saw Keenan's design for The Alternative Hero on the Knopf site before it was released, and just let it sit in the queue for awhile. Seeing it tonight on the new fiction shelf at Borders (I know...where's the photo? Bad blogger!) next to more pedestrian efforts underscored that this is really odd (in the best sense of the word), and that using a full facial photo would have lessened this design.
Design by Rebecca Seltzer
The BDR's first mathematical equation*:
Hand job + flora (+/- fauna) + riot of color = the indie design aesthetic?
*The BDR is not a mathematician.
Designer credits to come
Marilyn Monroe photograph by Eve Arnold
Oh, I love this, from the Guardian review: "Unlike his snooty modernist peers, (Joyce) was a socialist and democrat who believed in mass literacy - and was happier discussing Dickens with post office workers than he was sitting in bohemian cafes. Reading Ulysses may be a challenge, but so are most jobs. We shouldn't need a sacred priesthood to interpret it for us."
I've seen this photograph before and it's wonderful; I wonder if Faber was tempted to use an image of someone less iconic, in order to further underscore the "Joyce is for the common man and woman" argument put forth by the author. And check this out: it's not the only time this image has been used on a book about Joyce.
The U.S. cover just isn't hitting the same notes for me:
UPDATE: The Caustic Cover Critic points out a few more examples of the use of this particular Marilyn photograph, in addition to the use of another similar photo.
Design by Rex Bonomelli
A two-word critique: fucking kapow.
Castle designed by Kyle G. Hunter; The White Mary designed by Kelly Blair
Buy The White Mary from Amazon.com
Buy Castle from Amazon.com
Two covers do not a trend make; let's get that out of the way. That said, these covers similarly portray the fearful exploration into the unknown that's at the heart of each novel.
In The White Mary, a journalist wanders into the jungles of Papua New Guinea to discover the truth about the alleged suicide of of her idol; in Castle, a private, awkward man buys over 600 acres in NY state only to discover there's someone living in the middle of his oasis.
Castle is definitely creepier, but both toy with representation and the anticipation that it brings to great effect.
Can anyone point out similar examples?
(I'm currently traveling and caring for a sick family member so posts will be limited for a few days, but this landed in the comments on a recent post and it made me laugh, which is exactly what I need right now.)
"Auuuuugh!!
Listen People. Google “Book Cover Design Blogs”. This book blogging thing is getting way out of control. I’m all for freedom of speech but this market is more saturated than government TARP funds. The gig of promoting of one’s self or others through the guise of “information” is UP!
I know, I know, This blog was here long before others, but the spawned droids run amok!
OK, back to work!"
Design by Brett Yasko
Because you don't really know what conspiracy is lurking around the corner...or do you?
Design by Sarah Rainwater
Buy this book from Amazon.com
Punk means different things to different people, which in a way is very punk. The cover of Nicholas Rombes' A Cultural Dictionary of Punk gestures away from politics and class and instead settles on the DIY aesthetic which for many is its defining characteristic. (Whether or not punk is dead was hotly debated over at the Jacket Copy blog a few weeks ago; check out their interview with Rombes and (especially) the comments.) I love the straightforward handbill look of this, and that there's no pink to be seen anywhere on this cover is a major plus in my book.
I don't discuss the interiors of books nearly enough as I'd like to or should (here's a notable exception), but I will note Rombes' book reproduces some pretty cool graphic design artifacts from the era, such as Linder Sterling's Buzzcocks poster:
W/R/T the above, Linder said of collage: "For a short period I'd found a perfect mode of articulation. Punk was cutting out the question, 'Can I do this?'"
The answer, of course, was (and still is) yes.
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