Chip Kidd

Designer Kidd's book covers and photographer Ettlinger's author photos deliver a shock of recognition-oh, so that's who designed the cover for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, and who hasn't seen that photo of Raymond Carver delivering that ponderous aquamarine glare into the camera? Kidd's accomplishments in repositioning the boundaries of book design come to the fore when presented in bulk, highlighting such innovations as running text across art, using found-art images (which usually include a healthy dose of extreme wit) and even printing type or photos upside down. Ettlinger's sleek photographs take on a slightly otherworldly quality, with authors delivering the same grave facial expression, staring into the camera as though trying to project into infinity. Rather than bringing out each author's individual qualities, Ettlinger instead molds them into an ideal of the author-and it works, despite the fact that anyone who's attended a book signing realizes that authors are as squinty, nerdy, spindly and awkward as the rest of us. Any lover of books will enjoy learning that the making of a book always involves more than one creative person; these two, presented in fittingly well-illustrated, carefully printed and thoughtfully laid-out editions, are at the forefront of managing readers' first impressions. (Oct.)