For Christmas, my sister bought me Chip Kidd: Book One – Work: 1986-2006, which is a monograph of his book cover designs of the past two decades. I finally had a chance to sit down today and take a look through the book while enjoying my cup of coffee and cinnamon swirl coffee cake at the Starbucks across the street from my apartment. Chip Kidd makes covers for Knopf and has become a sort of cultural icon, having designed covers for famour authors (Michael Crichton, Amy Bloom, Haruki Murakami, John Updike, etc.) while radiating an energetic pulse and giving a feeling of “cool” to the publishing world. His name – a real one – has become a brand in and of itself. What impressed me about Kidd was his “organic” approach to work – he never grows complacent with his designs and also finds ways to use his talent in other areas. His list of projects and accomplishments keeps on growing: he edits graphic novels for Pantheon, he teaches classes at various universities, he does magazine covers, and he’s already written a novel, Cheese Monkeys, and is currently working on a sequel. He is an avid collector of tchotkes, and he often finds ways to use these little objects to adorn his book covers in a very relevant and symbolic way.

He’ll be speaking at Cooper Union next Thursday, and I really hope I can go and attend the event. His work will be on display at Cooper Union until February 4th. He’s a true enthusiast who loves to make use of typography, photography, and juxaposition to come up with compelling designs that reflect the core message of each book (he reads each one in its entirety – often a painful task, he admits). It’s easy to shower praise on someone whose work seems to be loved by everyone at the moment, but next time you’re in a bookstore, take a look at the back of the book and see who’s designed the cover. Maybe you’ll find one done by Chip Kidd and know what I’m talking about.

I need to run and get a haircut now, but I just wanted to write somewhere that I really admire Chip Kidd. Not that every single one of his covers is great and incredible, but that he’s relentless in his pursuit of new projects, new methods, and new perspective. I’d like to think that I am on such a track with my various interests and all, but sometimes it’s just easy to sit on the couch and be content with the status quo (making some money, buying nice things, going through the yearly cycles, looking forward to weekends, etc.). It’s not that being comfortable with a certain way of life is lesser than an adventurous one, but you have to admit that it’s probably more interesting to try new things and keep pushing yourself to learn new things. It’s not fame and fortune that makes me want to follow Kidd’s path; it’s the feeling of waking up each morning and knowing that I have many choices, many ways to expend my energy, and many ways to feel satisfied after the day is over.