As a tangent from our normal interview posts, today we’re showing off some of the Alvin Lustig covers we collect (courtesy of Charles Brock and Tim Green)… and can you blame us?
Here is a bit of information about him. Lustig was a modernist designer who partook in nearly all disciplines of design (we, of course, focus on the book jackets). He began the journey as a book jacket designer in 1937. One of the most amazing accomplishments of his career and expressions of his creativity was when he found himself going blind and still conducted his design work, directing his wife and assistants by referring to the colors in his house and geometric shapes.
And for our application as book cover designers: learn how to design blind… maybe not… But really, when designing a book cover, “His (Lustig’s) method was to read a text and get the feel of the author's creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms.”
This is a very brief look into Lustig’s history. If you would like to look deeper into his life and work, visit The Alvin Lustig Archive, dedicated to him.
—Jason Gabbert
11.16.09 // Henry Sene Yee said:
You guys own actual books? So jealous.
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11.16.09 // Catherine Casalino said:
I have been collecting Lustig designed books and advertisements for a few years now. I just love their simplicity and often pull them out for inspiration when I'm working on a project where the budget is limited. The Longest Journey is a great example of that< 2 colors and a few lines and panels. Genius.
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11.16.09 // Ian said:
what more can be said. The hearty melts when you view Lustig's work. and it melts even more to know we lost him at 40 or so years of age. What he contributed to the world of design period, is insurmountable. It would be quite a leap if books today could bend the boundaries he was bending back then. Sad.