TYPE: (Journal 2) Who is Chip Kidd? Who is John Gall?

Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is an art director at Knopf Publishing, a division of Random House. He is a graphic designer and writer living in New York City and Stonington, Connecticut. He has written 'The Cheese Monkeys,' 'Batman Collected,' and co edited and designed 'Batman Animated.'

Some interesting comments that have been said about him include: "His designs have been described as “Monstrously ugly” (John Updike), “apparently obvious” (William Boyd), “Faithful flat-earth rendering” (Don DeLillo), “surprisingly elegant” (A. S. Mehta), “a distinguished parochial comic balding Episcopal priest” (Allan Gurganus), “Two colors plus a sash” (Martin Amis) and “not a piece of hype. My book was lucky.” (Robert Hughes)."

An interesting quote that I found by him was: ""I'm very much against the idea that the cover will sell the book. Marketing departments of publishing houses tend to latch onto this concept and they can't let go. But it's about whether the book itself really connects with the public, and the cover is only a small part of that."

He is considered the worlds best book jacket designer... not a bad title to flaunt.

John Gall

"Gall’s stylish sensibility, simple but elegant use of typography and quietly rebellious spirit infuse these literary works with an added dimension. Subtle and compelling, his covers play with the perceptions of the viewer in unexpected ways, and to satisfying effect."

John Gall is an art director for Vintage/Anchor Books. He has many award-winning cover designs for people and places such as Alfred A Knopf, Grove Press and CD packages for Nonesuch records. They have been recognized by the AIGA and ID magazine. A lot of is work is also featured in the books: Next: The New Generation of Graphic Design; Less Is More; and the forthcoming By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Design.

John Gall has also written about graphic design covering different topics such as the history of Grove Press and contemporary skateboard graphics.

Quote that I found interesting: "A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system."