The book jacket is the outer cover of a book that has colorful pictures and words. The back of the cover has flaps displaying the author’s biography. The book jacket makes effort to promote the book and protect the book from damage. Jamie Keenan and Chipp Kidd are examples of graphic designers who produce the book jacket. This paper compares and contrasts Keenan and Kidd works as graphic designers. The two are some of the best graphic designers in the world and have an enormous contribution in designing book jacket.
Chipp Kidd is a renowned book designer in the world. Kidd manages to build a sterling reputation that emanates from his skill in designing elaborate book covers for authors in America. Among his many vocations, include Novelist, lecturer, musician, Editor, and a book designer. Kidd has had a lot of fascination with the popular culture that led him to pursue graphic design in university.
His other fascination includes memorabilia, comics, and collectibles (Schutze 44). His initial focus is book design while later on he manages to author and edit graphic novels. Some of his novels include Cheese Monkeys, Batman, True Prep, and the Learners. Kidd does not draw inspiration from designs and fashion trends instead from artifacts collected. Kidd conveys a joyful mood in the comic Jurassic Park. Kidd has managed to develop own style instead of the conventional book design to enable uniqueness of the book cover. Kidd uses idiosyncratic technique to design the picture of the dinosaur in Jurassic Park.
Kidd incorporates a technique of stretching the visual surrounding between statements and visuals by applying first glance pictures as non-sequiturs. Kidd has managed to design many designs including the silhouetted skeleton of Michael Crichton’s book called Jurassic Park. The graphic design applied by Kidd ranks his works as a blockbuster merchandising logo in the 1990s. Kidd uses creative versatility to design the book covers (Schutze 46). This has made him rise in the ranks of one of the best book-jacket designers in the world. As a graphic designer, Kidd uses gimmicks on other authors and a jacket to print the title while the cover displays pictures. Other book covers designed by Kidd include Awakenings, American Tabloid, Seek My Face, and Naked among others (Schutze 46). The materials that Kidd uses is aesthetic objects that enable him recall his past instead of the latest trends in fashion. Kidd uses simple available tools such as a pencil and paper rather than hi-tech tools. Kidd uses the picture of a dinosaur in a Photostat machine to trace the picture. Then he uses a scotch tape, and a radiograph pen to reconstitute the dinosaur in the book cover. Jurassic Park final draft features a skeleton of tyrannosaurus dinosaur which is against a white backdrop. The books subject matter is for children and adults.
Jamie Keenan is a freelance, London-based designer and a budding author. Among his works, include Never Let Me Go and Stiff. Jamie ranks among top fifty British designers. The British Design & Art Direction recognizes most of his designs. Lolita: The Story of a Cover Girl has employed many designers as they attempt to capture Vladimir Nabokov message. This literal work is controversial summarized in 1955 (Hetenyi 17). Designers illustrating Lolita face, the obstacle of communicating its complexity, since it depicts the message of child rape. This book has a complex theme and ethical setting that attracts the female designers. The book has collected many designs that explain the novels sinister complexities. The book cover has historical and modern designers where many are women.
Keenan is a modern designer who puts a new cover design for the book. Keenan is wise and subtle to display the role of Lolita among other graphic designers (Hetenyi 17). Keenan is a gentle and refined graphic artist to illustrate the design of novel. Keenan expertly conveys the books content and uses both humorous and disturbing images. Keenan employs accuracy in designing Lolita book cover. Keenan uses simple yet provoking images. Keenan’s cover is a reminder that people have control over their minds and senses. The image does not only portray a wall there are other items shown. Keenan uses pure colors and the reflection of light in a room to display a soft American landscape (Hetenyi 17). The cover depicted by Keenan portrays a claustrophobic room and a semi-nude image of a girl. Lolita conveys a somber mood of a man kidnapping, tormenting and raping an orphaned girl. Keenan succeeds as a graphic designer in illustrating what Lolita goes through in her life. Keenan idealizes the sexuality of Lolita who is semi-nude, and this provokes the reader.
Kidd uses comical effect to display a dinosaur in the novel Jurassic Park while Keenan depicts a painful tragedy of a young girl. Keenan’s cover depicts a multifaceted indistinct image. This illustration shows the corner of the room where two walls connect and meet the ceiling. Keenan depicts horrible connotations in the novel.
Kidd uses simple text and a legendary skeleton figure that is very popular. This logo franchises the entire blockbuster film Jurassic Park since it is iconic. Both book covers portray the realm of the popular culture. The works of Lolita have many participants who attempt to convey the message of Vladimir Nabokov. Countless cover artists in the design of Lolita suggest that there is no right way to convey the message.
Kidd manages to follow Michael Crichton idea in using scientific factual material to convey the message. Kidd manages to illustrate an image that is iconic to captivate the audience. Lolita is a controversial classic that deals with the rampant social issues in every society. Jurassic Park is a comic novel that mentions science fiction related issues.
Renowned graphic designers who are well experienced design both books. Keenan manages to outdo other 80 contestants in the participation. Both graphic designers have received prestigious awards and recognition in their contribution, in the field of graphic design. Chipp Kidd is an American graphic designer while Jamie Keenan is a British graphic designer.
Works Cited
Hetenyi, Zsuzsa. "Lolita as Goddess between Life and Death: From Persephone to the Poplars: Mythical Allusions in Nabokov's Lolita." Intertexts 22 Mar. 2008: 17-21. Print.
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Lolita. New York: Vintage Espanol, 2009. Print.
Schutze, Stephan. "The creation of an audio environment as part of a computer game world: the design for Jurassic Park - Operation Genesis on the XBOX TM as a broad concept for surrounds installation creation." Organised Sound 8.02 (2008): 23-67. Print.
