Author/designer Chip Kidd to give Visual Literacy Forum's keynote
Chip Kidd (Photo by John Madere)
Award-winning graphic designer and author Chip Kidd will talk about the importance of visual communication when he lectures Thursday, Nov. 13, at Skidmore College. His talk, titled “! Or?: Let me be perfectly clear. Or mysterious,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
The talk is co-sponsored by Skidmore’s Visual Literacy Forum and Northshire Bookstore, which will host a book-signing session following the talk. In a related event, Skidmore’s Lucy Scribner Library will host a display of Kipp’s work starting Sunday, Nov. 9, on the first floor of the building, near the “new books” area. Library admission is free.
Kidd writes and designs from several locations: New York City; Stonington, Conn.; and Palm Beach, Fla. He has worked for Alfred A. Knopf since 1986, designing book covers that have helped “create a revolution in the art of American book packaging,” according to his web site. His awards include the National Design Award for Communications, as well as the Use of Photography in Design Award from the International Center of Photography.
The author of two novels, The Cheese Monkeys and The Learners, Kidd is also the author of Batman: Death by Design, an original graphic novel published by DC Comics and illustrated by Dave Taylor. Kidd has written several books about comics, including Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz and Jack Cole and Plasticman (with Art Spiegelman). In addition, Kidd is the co-author and designer of True Prep, the sequel to the Official Preppy Handbook.
Kidd’s 2012 TED talk, “Designing books is no laughing matter. Ok, it is,” has almost 1.3 million views to date. The TED web site calls it “one of the funniest talks from TED2012, in which Kidd shows the art and deep thought of his cover designs.”
Skidmore’s Visual Literacy Forum is under the auspices of Project VIS, an initiative to advance strategic, pedagogical, and liberal learning goals in visual literacy and communication. An Andrew Mellon Foundation grant supports the initiative.
