Published in October of 2018 by Knopf, Killing Comendatore by Haruki Marukami is a book described as a “rambling voyage of self-discovery” by Xan Brooks for the Guardian. (Brooks, 2018). The design of the book jacket was designed by Chip Kidd. It is noted on Chip Kidd’s portfolio website that he was the Lead Designer and Art Director for the visual elements of the book.  The book jacket is primarily blue, not quite an electric blue, but also could not be described as dull. On the left side of the cover features what appears to be an eye. But, instead of white surrounding the pupil it is yellow, almost looking more fruit-like. Immediately surrounding the black pupil is a red iris. This artwork on the book slightly covers the title of the book and the name of the author, which are in a san serif, yet rather traditional typeface. When removing the cover the previously yellow portion becomes a moon surrounded by darkness. This is a nod to the contents of the book itself in a much more abstract sense (i.e. things are not always what they seem, things under the surface are a lot darker) In this sense, the book jacket acts as a literal facade to the contents of the book. After an immediate glance at the cover, it is hard to define it to one genre. The typeface is one popularized in advertisements in the 70s, while the cover itself is much more indicative of the collage movement of the early 1900’s.

Brooks, Xan. “Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami Review – a Rambling Voyage of Discovery.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/17/killing-commendatore-by-haruki-murakami-review.

“Chip Kidd.” Chip Kidd, chipkidd.com/home/tag/chip-kidd/page/4/.