A lot of great stuff in this interview with Peter Mendelsund by Christopher Tobias at design:related:
I definitely gravitate towards using illustration, in general, more than photography in book jackets; and the more abstract the better. I think this approach leaves more to the reader’s imagination. It’s easier to be evocative without being literal. Though, upon reflection, those geometric jackets were to some extent influenced by the fact that they were all designed in Quark, which, really because of the limitations of the software, one finds oneself designing with the most accessible tools—boxes, circles, in flat colors or simple blends on top of art. It’s more tempting in that environment to simply place a shape on top of art. In PhotoShop, or InDesign, of course, because of the ease of blending layers, compositions tend to be denser, shapes more amorphous, and the final result, well, more photographic. We need software updates here at Knopf.
Cant. Stick. To. Just. One. Quote. . . .
Talk a little bit about your work process. Do you start with a pencil and paper, or do you go straight to the mouse?
PM: Every project is completely different. Today for instance, I just pencil sketched one project, (I just had a clear vision of it). On another, I futzed around on my computer till something emerged. There’s one project I’m working on now where the process seems to be: stare at the ceiling, cruise the web till I get carpal tunnel syndrome, bother every coworker I can find, bang my forehead on my monitor, then walk home dejectedly.
. . .
How often do you end up with a finished product that you don’t want your name attached to?
PM: Almost every day. One of the things that I find most people misunderstand about cover design on “the outside” is that so much of what happens is determined editorially, or in a marketing meeting. You try your best, but at the end of the day, most things are not going to turn out the way you liked. That’s why it behooves one to do a high volume of work. The law of averages suggests that you’ll end up with something to be proud of amongst the dreck at the end of the day.
. . .
[A] good three quarters of what one does ends up changed irreparably. That’s not to say we (designers) always get it right the first time around—often things are rejected for good reasons having to do with legibility, marketability, etc. it’s just, none of those “good” reasons turn out to be aesthetic reasons. In any case, my golden rule is – get three covers approved, every list, that I’m proud of. As long as I have those three, I can keep my sanity.
. . .
Are there any disappointing trends you see in book covers and jackets today?
PM: Well, our editors really love the look of parchment, old paper…. I AM REALLY SICK OF OLD PAPER. A lot of our books (Knopf is a very literary imprint) rely on nostalgia as a selling point, so we get asked to design in a way that evokes the past—the result being a lot of OLD PAPER behind our designs. I just worked on a freelance job where the jacket was this clean, pristine, white thing, then, it shows up on the shelves with ALL THIS OLD PAPER behind it. I had no idea this was going to be done. Anyway, you get the point. no more. I’m sick unto death of it.
It goes on. He’s very funny and smart. And he has a guinea pig named Dwayne! Clearly, the Best Designer Ever.
(Thanks, kottke!)