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Loading... By Its Cover: Modern American Book Cover Designby Ned Drew, Paul Sternberger
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We all know we're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but the truth is that we do just that nearly every time we walk into a bookstore or pull a book off a tightly packed shelf. It's really not something we should be ashamed about, for it reinforces something we sincerely believe: design matters. At its best, book cover design is an art that transcends the publisher's commercial imperativesto reflect both an author's ideas and contemporary cultural values in a vital, intelligent, and beautiful way. In this groundbreaking and lavishly illustrated history, authors Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger establish American book cover design as a tradition of sophisticated, visual excellence that has put shape to our literary landscape. By Its Cover traces the story of the American book cover from its inception as a means of utilitarian protection for the book to its current status as an elaborately produced form of communication art. It is, at once, the intertwined story of American graphic design and American literature, and features the work of such legendary figures as Rockwell Kent, E. McKnight Kauffer, Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, Rudy deHarak, and Roy Kuhlman along with more recent and contemporary innovators including Push Pin Studios, Chermayeff & Geismar, Karen Goldberg, Chip Kidd, and John Gall. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)741.640973The arts Graphic arts and decorative arts Drawing & drawings Graphic design, illustration, commercial art Books and book jackets History, geographic treatment, biographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Here are some examples of "helpful" text:
"Kidd's designs are not easy: his covers lead his viewers through a process of perusing and decoding multi-leveled combinations of images and type."
"Using typography as a subordinate accent, Carson is willing to let the image take center stage, whether it hovers in a field of white or dominates the cover"
"Indeed, Lubaz pointed out the duality of historicist practice that, on one hand, presented the viewer with familiar visual languages, and on the other, spoke to fellow designers on a more sophisticated, self-referential level."
The authors also seem pretty upset that publishers want to sell books, rather than just providing a venue for book cover designers to experiment with whatever the heck they want to do. Basically, the book sort of annoyed me all the way through. Maybe 1.5 stars, but rounded down because these two at least are well-educated and should have known better.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve! ( )