The Best Book Covers of 2014
What is the value of a book cover if fewer and fewer people shop at
bookstores? I used to browse St. Mark’s Bookshop looking for covers that
caught my eye. It was an exciting way to discover new authors, and
design played a huge role. Now, one increasingly encounters books
through social media or online recommendations, and the role of the
designer might, at first glance, seem diminished.
As I look at the inspired creativity on display among the books published in 2014, however, design feels as relevant as ever. I love the fusion of type and illustration for Jeff VanderMeer’s “Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy”; the playfulness of Mariner Books’ Italo Calvino series; the emotional rawness of Dinaw Mengestu’s “All Our Names”; the mysterious polygon for “Your Face in Mine,” by Jess Row; the vandalized cover of John Beckman’s “American Fun”; and the nearly complete short-short story on Lydia Davis’s “Can’t and Won’t,” to mention a few. All these show that book design remains vibrant and essential.
As I look at the inspired creativity on display among the books published in 2014, however, design feels as relevant as ever. I love the fusion of type and illustration for Jeff VanderMeer’s “Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy”; the playfulness of Mariner Books’ Italo Calvino series; the emotional rawness of Dinaw Mengestu’s “All Our Names”; the mysterious polygon for “Your Face in Mine,” by Jess Row; the vandalized cover of John Beckman’s “American Fun”; and the nearly complete short-short story on Lydia Davis’s “Can’t and Won’t,” to mention a few. All these show that book design remains vibrant and essential.
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Design by Rachel Adam.
“Never Love a Gambler” by Keith Ridgway.
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Design by Peter Mendelsund.
“Silence Once Begun” by Jesse Ball.
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Design by Peter Mendelsund and Oliver Munday.
“Into the War” by Italo Calvino.
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Design by Chip Kidd.
“Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage” by Haruki Murakami.
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Design by Oliver Munday.
“The Silent History” by Eli Horowitz, Matthew Derby and Kevin Moffett.
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Design by Rodrigo Corral and Tyler Comrie.
“Area X — The Southern Reach Trilogy — Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance” by Jeff Vandermeer.
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Design by Isabel Urbina Peña.
“All Our Names” by Dinaw Mengestu.
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Design by W. H. Chong.
“A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing” by Eimear McBride.
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Design by Gabriele Wilson.
“The Third Plate — Field Notes on The Future of Food” by Dan Barber.
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Design by Charlotte Strick.
“Can’t and Won’t” by Lydia Davis.
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Design by Pablo Delcan.
“American Fun” by John Beckman.
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Design by Oliver Munday.
“Your Face in Mine” by Jess Row.
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