TEDtalk Tuesday: Book Covers and Funny Business

OH GOD.

Chipp Kidd is HI-lay-ri-ous. Click the video to watch him wiggle.


This was the first video I clicked on in my explorations today, and I think it has just jumped to the top of my "Favorite talks of all time" list.


Mr. Chipp started off his talk telling me that he is a book designer for...wait for it...

ALFRED A. KNOPF.

That's where my love of this man and his talk began.


I said before that I'm taking Kate Trueblood's Editing and Publishing class this quarter, and she's kicking my butt with all kinds of overwhelming information about all the steps necessary to publish a book.  It's as if the second she steps into the classroom, she brings with her a history and alternate reality that is the publishing sphere.
5 weeks ago I was a creative writing senior with only a few ideas of the kinds of jobs I could secure with my English degree.  I had a general statement prepared for those who asked me what I was going to do with my creative degree:

"I'm going Florence, Italy to earn a certificate in graphic design that I can bring back stateside so I can marry it to my english degree and passion for writing, and hopefully the three of us together we can sweet-talk our way into a paid position with a publisher."
The end.

Yeah that's right.
 I've got ALL my ducks in a row.

That's still the dream (I think)...but in the last 5 weeks, I've learned that there are SO MANY more positions within the publishing industry that you wouldn't/couldn't think of.  There are so many individuals who get a cut of the profits, but maybe aren't acknowledged.

..writers cowriters ghostwriters writingcoaches publishers editors professionalreaders proofreaders copyeditors literaryagents coagents queryinterns receptionists outsideeditors bossmen pitchpeople publicitypeople booksellers coverdesigners...

Anyway, back to the TEDtalk.  Mr. Chipp stresses, from the very beginning of his speech, the effect of a first impression.  This first impression can be good or bad--but on the whole, he tries to make them good--and he seems to do so with such ease. >.<
I mean, he designed iconic covers like these:

I think I just may add Chipp to my list of people that I'd like to meet someday.  Graphic designers see the world in a different way than the rest of us...it's that perspective that influences their creativity.  Someday I hope my creativity can be influenced in the same way. Anyway, he's pretty cool.
(BTW, I just started that list. It's not very long.  >.<)


And after listening to him explain that the job of the cover designer is three-fold (for the author, the publisher, and you), I think I just added "Cover Designer" as a definite job that I'd like to obtain someday (this also falls on a list).  That sounds like a good fit for me, no?


Wouldn't you like to be the reason that good writing gets read because you counted on the fact that people DO judge books by their cover?



P.S.
I should also mention that thanks to Finchy, I'm now composing this post to the beautiful South Korean voices BigBang on my youtube playlist.
P.P.S.
That's right people, this TEDtalk Tuesday is actually on-time.  (tomorrow's homework, however, is questionable)

P.P.S.
Did you catch Chipp's snarky comments about e-books?  foreverlove. =)