Saturday 17 September 2016

Not Such a Gray World

As promised, here is my post about a talk that I went to last week. I know you've all been holding your breath to find out more. 

So last Monday I attended a talk at Deakin Edge (formerly BMW Edge) in Federation Square that was run by the Wheeler Centre. An excellent organisation dedicated to all things discussion. So I digress! The keynote for the night was Jon Gray - also known as Gray318, an American based designer and oh my goodness some people have the best jobs. Imagine reading new manuscripts and then creating covers for them! I mean it wouldn't be easy of course, the sheer number of covers that he has to do (approximately 100 per year) and the number that he actually likes (approximately 4 maximum out of those) does have you scratching your head about how he can come up with so much content. I suppose it's like most creative things though - I cannot recall who told me about writing, people think they will only write when they have a burst of inspiration but often it's actually about practice and just honing your skills even on the days that you don't feel like it. It was refreshing and comforting to hear that he of all people had designer block! You may be thinking, who is this guy and why should I care but if you frequent our shop you may see some of his titles. It's also sort of funny but I don't know if you remember that scene in the Devil Wears Prada where Miranda talks about how the haute couture styles filter down, it's the same with book design as well! 



I AM A GENIUS JUST AS I WAS STANDING HERE I REALISED THAT THE GERMAN CHARACTER IN PITCH PERFECT TWO IS THE SAME ACTOR IN THAT DANISH SHOW BORGEN - KATRINE!! THIS IS INCREDIBLE. It's Birgitte Hjort Sørensen just FYI.




But back to what I was actually talking about, the interviewer facilitator for the event was Australian designer called W.H Chong and you will ddefinitely know his covers! Someone else cool who I think found out about was Jamie Keenan. If you're interested in Aussie book covers (you know I always love Allison Colpoys) then check out Australian Book Designers Association ABDA here!

Some of Jon Gray's most famous covers (among many) 





W.H Chong covers






And just because here's a little Jamie Keenan for you



 

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