The rock star of the book jacket design world

One of the things that most astonished my husband when we met and married five years ago was to discover that I did not know who Chip Kidd is. “You’re a book lover,” he pointed out. “How you possibly not know who Chip Kidd is?”

I was a book lover but I must admit that (until marrying a graphic designer) I never thought much about their covers.

Some seemed nice to me, others less so, and that was about as far as it went. Now, however, I take book covers very seriously.

Some of the concepts are so clever, some of the executions so powerful (and then, of course, some much less so) but at any rate, ignore them I never do anymore.

And I certainly know who Chip Kidd is. He’s the rock star of the book jacket design world.

If you think you’ve never seen his work, I assure you that you’re wrong. If you’ve been in a bookstore, you’ve seen (and perhaps even admired) Chip Kidd’s work – you just didn’t know it at the time.

Anyway, in addition to adorning books, Kidd also writes them. His first novel, “The Cheese Monkeys” was about a graphic design student named Happy.

Kidd’s new book, “The Learners” is the sequel in which Happy grows up and gets a job. To see the Monitor’s review of “The Learners,” click here.