AIGA Design Archives

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Design Category
Book design, 1999
Design firm
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (New York, New York)
Collection
(2000) 50 Books/50 Covers of 1999

Description

I (fortunately) had to give up on the first design because we were unable to get permission for a Picasso drawing the author wanted to use. Once I had the idea for the painting, everything went along relatively smoothly. I saw a book of Grau illustrations and I thought their look and feel perfectly illustrated the main character’s obsession with this sparkling, elegant, yet elusive young French teacher. I did a few comps using Grau’s work, but they showcased the clothes the models were wearing too much (as fashion illustrations should). So I decided to paint it myself.

Credits
Art director: Susan Mitchell
Designer/illustrator: Lynn Buckley
Author: Antoni Libera
Production coordinator: Harvey Hoffman
Trim size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches
Quantity printed: 6,600
Compositor: Stratford Publishing Services, Inc.
Typeface: Opti Bodoni
Printer/binder: R.R. Donnelly
Jacket printer: Jaguar Advanced Graphics
Paper: Glatfelter B-18 cream
Binding method: Adhesive burst
Binding materials: Black (head/foot bands), Pearl Linen 66260 deep Scarlet (head/foot bands), Multicolor golden yellow (sides), Lustfoil GP900 Black (spine stamping)
Endpapers: Cream to match text
Publisher/client: Farrar, Straus and Giroux