I found his statement “We made the decisions to make Stalin a vivid color and the rest of the cover a dull putty. That’s about the woman being the only bright spot in their lives. That’s as far as I’ll go with any literal metaphor or meaning” to be especially interesting. It gives definite substance to an impression that I’ve had of his work that I was never able to put my finger on.
Love the photo. Partially like the type – the way it appears to get smaller in the same perspective as the photo is cool. Still, the author’s name seems a little slapped on.
I can’t comment on “Terrorist”, but having more than “co” designed that Martin Amis jacket, I find (as well as not having my name mentioned in that Esquire article) Chip’s rational more than a little bit puzzling. I remember choosing that little color pic of Stalin, as well as the “putty” pictures after weeks of meticulously research. I did maybe twenty different mock-ups of this thing on my computer before the final rendering- and frankly adjusted the color again quite a bit afterwords. Frankly, the little color photo simply looked better in color than in black and white. And, if anything, the female character is a divisive, destructive figure in these men’s lives. If there is a metaphor to be gleaned from these color choices, it’s that ultimately, all these characters who loom large in the narrative are ultimately pawns of history, grist for Stalin’s gruesome mill. HE, Stalin, is ultimately is the only thing in color. not her.
Peter, great after thought to that. I have seen the cover featured on your site and have seen it in book stores. So was it enlightening to work with Chip or just another Art Director who happens to have talent. Are his covers more a result of the man or the circumstance. I guess it’s a little of both for everyone.
I like this cover. Great twist (pun intended) on the photo…
Just a headsup that Kidd has a nice little piece on Esquire.com right now.
I found his statement “We made the decisions to make Stalin a vivid color and the rest of the cover a dull putty. That’s about the woman being the only bright spot in their lives. That’s as far as I’ll go with any literal metaphor or meaning” to be especially interesting. It gives definite substance to an impression that I’ve had of his work that I was never able to put my finger on.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-08-15 08:54:00
Love the photo. Partially like the type – the way it appears to get smaller in the same perspective as the photo is cool. Still, the author’s name seems a little slapped on.
— Tal, 2007-08-15 17:09:00
I can’t comment on “Terrorist”, but having more than “co” designed that Martin Amis jacket, I find (as well as not having my name mentioned in that Esquire article) Chip’s rational more than a little bit puzzling. I remember choosing that little color pic of Stalin, as well as the “putty” pictures after weeks of meticulously research. I did maybe twenty different mock-ups of this thing on my computer before the final rendering- and frankly adjusted the color again quite a bit afterwords. Frankly, the little color photo simply looked better in color than in black and white. And, if anything, the female character is a divisive, destructive figure in these men’s lives. If there is a metaphor to be gleaned from these color choices, it’s that ultimately, all these characters who loom large in the narrative are ultimately pawns of history, grist for Stalin’s gruesome mill. HE, Stalin, is ultimately is the only thing in color. not her.
— Peter Mendelsund, 2007-08-15 17:50:00
i like the photo…...the way it is upside down makes an unrecognizable suspect.
i think the font is over used. when the subject is about terrorism i see this kind of font.. like a font template for all its genre…
— supercow, 2007-08-15 20:41:00
bam, peter mendelsund. and well done, at that.
— sts, 2007-08-16 00:09:00
I like Peter’s explanation of the Amis cover, it’s enlightening.
— Doogie, 2007-08-16 10:01:00
It should be noted that this cover looked better in hardcover, less some of the copy.
— Michael McCartney, 2007-08-16 15:03:00
Peter, great after thought to that. I have seen the cover featured on your site and have seen it in book stores. So was it enlightening to work with Chip or just another Art Director who happens to have talent. Are his covers more a result of the man or the circumstance. I guess it’s a little of both for everyone.
I like this cover. Great twist (pun intended) on the photo…
— ian s., 2007-08-17 18:46:00
this is the kinda cover..that gets me hot!
cheers!
xoxo
— suicide_blond, 2007-08-19 15:51:00
Pretty garish and boring if you ask me.
Looks like something that will appeal to most Americans. I.E. it’s not very good.
— C-Dog, 2007-08-19 17:33:00
Garish
1 : clothed in vivid colors
2 a : excessively or disturbingly vivid b : offensively or distressingly bright :
— travis, 2007-08-20 06:33:00
Yeah, you know those darn Americans. Always loving their vivid and dull book covers. wait, what?
— Brandon H., 2007-08-22 06:28:00
maybe C-Dog ment “greyish”
— JR, 2007-08-22 06:32:00
maybe Kiddish.
— ian s., 2007-08-23 08:45:00
Not a huge fan of the purplish hue the image has. I’d like to see it in b/w with possibly the title in color. Everything else is well done of course.
— Neil M, 2008-02-19 10:15:00