Chip Kidd: The art of first impressions — in design and life

翻译人员: Muyun Zhou 校对人员: Xiaoya Song

Blah blah blah blah blah.

吧啦吧啦吧啦吧啦吧啦

Blah blah blah blah,

吧啦吧啦吧啦吧啦

blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah.

吧啦吧啦，吧啦啦啦啦啦

Blah blah blah, blah.

吧啦啦，吧啦

So what the hell was that?

这都说得是什么鬼？

Well, you don't know because you couldn't understand it.

你不知道 因为你根本听不懂

It wasn't clear.

这话说的不明不白

But hopefully, it was said with enough conviction

还好，有一点可以确信

that it was at least alluringly mysterious.

至少这段话神秘而有趣

Clarity or mystery?

想要明确性还是神秘感

I'm balancing these two things in my daily work as a graphic designer,

作为一名平面设计师 我在工作中平衡二者

as well as my daily life as a New Yorker

作为纽约人 我在生活中也是如此

every day,

每天如此

and there are two elements that absolutely fascinate me.

我着迷于两种元素

Here's an example.

举个例子

Now, how many people know what this is?

多少人知道这是什么？

Okay. Now how many people know what this is?

好吧，那么现在呢？

Okay. Thanks to two more deft strokes by the genius Charles M. Schulz,

多亏查尔斯·M·舒尔茨 那绝妙的两笔

we now have seven deft strokes that in and of themselves

现在，我们有了这简单的七笔线条

create an entire emotional life,

来展现整个感情生活

one that has enthralled hundreds of millions of fans

一张在过去的50年里

for over 50 years.

积攒了亿万粉丝的脸

This is actually a cover of a book

其实，这是我设计的一本书的封面

that I designed about the work of Schulz and his art,

介绍舒尔茨和他的作品

which will be coming out this fall,

今年秋季发售

and that is the entire cover.

这就是整个封面

There is no other typographic information or visual information on the front,

封面上没有别的文字信息或视觉信息

and the name of the book is "Only What's Necessary."

书名叫《绝无赘述》

So this is sort of symbolic about the decisions I have to make every day

所以，这象征了我每天必须 做出的设计抉择

about the design that I'm perceiving,

有关我接收到的设计

and the design I'm creating.

以及我创作出的设计

So clarity.

也就是明确性

Clarity gets to the point.

重点就是明确性

It's blunt. It's honest. It's sincere.

直截了当，诚实而有诚意

We ask ourselves this. ["When should you be clear?"]

我们问自己 [何时应当保持清晰？]

Now, something like this, whether we can read it or not,

现在，比如这个 无论我们是否看得懂

needs to be really, really clear.

都必须要非常、非常地明确

Is it?

对吧？

This is a rather recent example of urban clarity that I just love,

这是近期一个关于城市明确性的例子 我非常喜欢

mainly because I'm always late and I am always in a hurry.

主要是因为，我经常迟到，通常很赶

So when these meters started showing up a couple of years ago on street corners,

所以，当这些计时器 在最近几年开始在街角出现的时候

I was thrilled, because now I finally knew

我很激动，因为我终于知道了

how many seconds I had to get across the street

我必须在多少秒内通过街道

before I got run over by a car.

才能不被车撞到

Six? I can do that. (Laughter)

六秒？我做得到（笑声）

So let's look at the yin to the clarity yang,

现在，我们来看看与阳对应的阴 （此处他指的是阴阳对立面关系）

and that is mystery.

也就是神秘

Mystery is a lot more complicated by its very definition.

神秘感就其定义来说极度复杂

Mystery demands to be decoded,

神秘感需要解码

and when it's done right, we really, really want to.

要是做得好的话 我们会非常非常想去解码

["When should you be mysterious?"]

[何时应当保持神秘？]

In World War II, the Germans really, really wanted to decode this,

在第二次世界大战时， 德国特别想破译这个

and they couldn't.

但他们失败了

Here's an example of a design that I've done recently

这是我最近所做设计的例子

for a novel by Haruki Murakami,

设计村上春树的小说

who I've done design work for for over 20 years now,

我已经为他做了20多年的设计工作，

and this is a novel about a young man who has four dear friends

这本小说，讲述一个小伙子， 有四个挚友

who all of a sudden, after their freshman year of college,

他们突然在大一之后

completely cut him off with no explanation,

完全孤立了他，也并没有向他解释

and he is devastated.

小伙子变得消沉

And the friends' names each have a connotation in Japanese to a color.

其中每个挚友的名字隐含了 日文中的一种颜色

So there's Mr. Red, there's Mr. Blue, there's Ms. White, and Ms. Black.

有红色先生、蓝色先生、 白色先生和黑色先生

Tsukuru Tazaki, his name does not correspond to a color,

而多崎造的名字并不对应某种颜色

so his nickname is Colorless, and as he's looking back on their friendship,

所以，他也叫“无色” 当他回顾他们的友谊时

he recalls that they were like five fingers on a hand.

他记得他们就像一只手的五个手指

So I created this sort of abstract representation of this,

因此，我创作了这样一个抽象概念

but there's a lot more going on underneath the surface of the story,

但是表面情节之下还潜藏着很多事情

and there's more going on underneath the surface of the jacket.

同样，封面之下也潜藏了很多事情

The four fingers are now four train lines

四根手指现在是东京地铁系统的

in the Tokyo subway system,

四条线路

which has significance within the story.

在故事里非常重要

And then you have the colorless subway line

然后，你有这条无色地铁线路

intersecting with each of the other colors,

与其他色彩相交

which basically he does later on in the story.

正如小伙子在之后的故事里的所作所为

He catches up with each of these people

他找到每一个人

to find out why they treated him the way they did.

去寻求他们这样对待他的原因

And so this is the three-dimensional finished product

这就是三维成品

sitting on my desk in my office,

它在我办公室的桌上

and what I was hoping for here is that you'll simply be allured

我希望在座的各位能够被它的神秘感所吸引

by the mystery of what this looks like,

and will want to read it

并且想要阅读这本书

to decode and find out and make more clear why it looks the way it does.

去破译它， 从而更清楚地了解它为什么长这个样子

["The Visual Vernacular."]

[“视觉白话”]

This is a way to use a more familiar kind of mystery.

这是一种运用更熟悉的神秘感的方法

What does this mean?

什么意思？

This is what it means. ["Make it look like something else."]

就是这个意思 ["让它看起来像其他东西"]

The visual vernacular is the way we are used to seeing a certain thing

视觉白话 就是我们习惯把一种事物

applied to something else so that we see it in a different way.

视为另一种事物 从而我们以不同的方法看待它

This is an approach I wanted to take to a book of essays by David Sedaris

对于戴维·赛达瑞斯的散文集 我想采取的就是这个方法

that had this title at the time. ["All the Beauty You Will Ever Need"]

那时这是它的书名 ［《你所需的一切美丽》]

Now, the challenge here was that this title actually means nothing.

现在，难点在于这个标题并没有任何含义

It's not connected to any of the essays in the book.

它和书中的任何一篇文章都没有联系

It came to the author's boyfriend in a dream.

它来自于作者男友的一个梦

Thank you very much, so -- (Laughter) -- so usually, I am creating a design

非常感谢，那么（笑声） 那么我就要创作一个

that is in some way based on the text, but this is all the text there is.

在某种程度上基于文章的设计 但文章就只有这些

So you've got this mysterious title that really doesn't mean anything,

所以你就看到了这神秘的 没有任何含义的题目

so I was trying to think:

我就试图想： 我会在哪里看到这样神秘的文字

Where might I see a bit of mysterious text that seems to mean something but doesn't?

看似有着某种含义 却其实并没有呢？

And sure enough, not long after,

果然，不久之后

one evening after a Chinese meal,

一天晚上我吃完中国菜后

this arrived, and I thought, "Ah, bing, ideagasm!" (Laughter)

这个出现了，我想 “啊，对了，有了！”（笑声）

I've always loved the hilariously mysterious tropes of fortune cookies

我很喜欢幸运饼干里 那些搞笑而神秘的隐晦短语

that seem to mean something extremely deep

貌似蕴含着什么深刻道理

but when you think about them -- if you think about them -- they really don't.

但是，如果你真的会思考它们的话—— 它们真的没什么意义

This says, "Hardly anyone knows how much is gained by ignoring the future."

上面写着，“几乎没人知道， 忽略未来可以给你带来多少好处”

Thank you. (Laughter)

谢谢（笑声）

But we can take this visual vernacular and apply it to Mr. Sedaris,

但如果我们能将这个视觉白话 运用在赛达瑞斯先生上

and we are so familiar with how fortune cookie fortunes look

我们不需要幸运饼干 就知道幸运饼干里的运气是什么样的

that we don't even need the bits of the cookie anymore.

We're just seeing this strange thing

我们看到了这个奇怪的标题

and we know we love David Sedaris,

我们也知道我们很喜欢戴维·赛达瑞斯

and so we're hoping that we're in for a good time.

我们自然期待着我们会很享受阅读

["'Fraud' Essays by David Rakoff"] David Rakoff was a wonderful writer

[大卫·拉科夫《欺诈》] 大卫·拉科夫是一位极好的作家

and he called his first book "Fraud"

他把他的第一本书称为《欺诈》

because he was getting sent on assignments by magazines

因为他被杂志分配到了

to do things that he was not equipped to do.

一些他根本没有能力完成的任务里

So he was this skinny little urban guy

就这样，他是这么瘦小的一个城里人

and GQ magazine would send him down the Colorado River

《智族》杂志却把他发配到 科罗拉多河上漂流

whitewater rafting to see if he would survive.

然后看他能不能幸存

And then he would write about it, and he felt that he was a fraud

然后，他还要描写这段经历， 他觉得他就是个骗子

and that he was misrepresenting himself.

他觉得他在歪曲自己

And so I wanted the cover of this book to also misrepresent itself

因此，我想这本书的封面也歪曲这本书本身

and then somehow show a reader reacting to it.

然后，用某种方式让读者对此产生反应

This led me to graffiti.

这让我想到了涂鸦

I'm fascinated by graffiti.

我痴迷于涂鸦

I think anybody who lives in an urban environment

我想任何一个在城市里生活的人

encounters graffiti all the time, and there's all different sorts of it.

都会经常看到涂鸦 各种各样的涂鸦

This is a picture I took on the Lower East Side

这是我在下东区拍下的照片

of just a transformer box on the sidewalk

就是一个人行道边上的变压器箱

and it's been tagged like crazy.

它已经被疯狂地画满了涂鸦

Now whether you look at this and think, "Oh, that's a charming urban affectation,"

现在，无论你看到它后是想到 ”哦，这真是个可爱的城市装点“

or you look at it and say, "That's illegal abuse of property,"

还是看到它后会说， “这是非法占用财产”

the one thing I think we can all agree on

在有一点上我想我们都会同意

is that you cannot read it.

你读不出来这些涂鸦

Right? There is no clear message here.

对吧？这里没有明确的信息

There is another kind of graffiti that I find far more interesting,

还有另外一种涂鸦，我觉得更为有趣

which I call editorial graffiti.

我称它为评论涂鸦

This is a picture I took recently in the subway,

这是最近我在地铁中拍下的照片

and sometimes you see lots of prurient, stupid stuff,

有些时候，你看到很多淫乱、愚蠢的东西

but I thought this was interesting, and this is a poster that is saying

但是，我认为这很有趣

这是一张海报， 上面写着 “呜啦，呜啦，Airbnb“

rah-rah Airbnb,

and someone has taken a Magic Marker

有人用马克笔

and has editorialized about what they think about it.

评论了他们对此的看法

And it got my attention.

这引起了我的注意

So I was thinking, how do we apply this to this book?

所以，我想， 我们怎么把它运用到这本书上呢？

So I get the book by this person, and I start reading it, and I'm thinking,

我从作者那里拿到这本书， 然后开始阅读

我想这个人并不像他说的， 是个骗子

this guy is not who he says he is; he's a fraud.

And I get out a red Magic Marker,

之后，我拿起我的红色马克笔

and out of frustration just scribble this across the front.

然后像在封面上出气一样地乱画

Design done. (Laughter)

设计完啦（笑声）

And they went for it! (Laughter)

然后他们批准了！（笑声）

Author liked it, publisher liked it,

作者喜欢，出版商喜欢

and that is how the book went out into the world,

这就是这本书如何来到这个世界上的

and it was really fun to see people reading this on the subway

我看到人们在地铁上读这本书

and walking around with it and what have you,

拿着它走路，这真的很可笑

and they all sort of looked like they were crazy.

他们看起来都有点像疯子

(Laughter)

（笑声）

["'Perfidia' a novel by James Ellroy"] Okay, James Ellroy, amazing crime writer,

[詹姆斯•埃尔罗伊《背叛》] 好，埃尔罗伊，令人惊艳的犯罪小说作家

a good friend, I've worked with him for many years.

一个好朋友，我和他已经一起工作好多年

He is probably best known as the author

他最广为人知的就是

of "The Black Dahlia" and "L.A. Confidential."

他的《黑色大丽花》和《洛杉矶的秘密》

His most recent novel was called this, which is a very mysterious name

这是他最新小说的名字，名字很神秘

that I'm sure a lot of people know what it means, but a lot of people don't.

我确定很多人知道它的意思 但也有很多人不知道

And it's a story about a Japanese-American detective in Los Angeles in 1941

小说讲述了一个日裔美籍侦探 1941年在洛杉矶

investigating a murder.

调查一桩谋杀案的故事

And then Pearl Harbor happens,

之后，珍珠港事件发生了

and as if his life wasn't difficult enough,

然后就好像生活没有难为够他一样

now the race relations have really ratcheted up,

现在，种族关系也变得紧张

and then the Japanese-American internment camps are quickly created,

日裔美国人拘留营很快就被建立起来

and there's lots of tension

有很多紧张可怕的事情

and horrible stuff as he's still trying to solve this murder.

但是他始终试图查清这个谋杀案

And so I did at first think very literally about this in terms of

所以我一开始真的只考虑了字面意义

all right, we'll take Pearl Harbor and we'll add it to Los Angeles

那好，我们就把珍珠港加在洛杉矶上

and we'll make this apocalyptic dawn on the horizon of the city.

再在城市地平线上添上预示灾难的黎明

所以这就是一张把珍珠港

And so that's a picture from Pearl Harbor

just grafted onto Los Angeles.

直接拼接在洛杉矶上的照片

My editor in chief said, "You know, it's interesting

我的主编说， “你知道，这有点意思，

but I think you can do better and I think you can make it simpler."

但是我想你能做得更好 你能把它变得更简单。”

就像我经常做的那样， 我回到绘图板

And so I went back to the drawing board, as I often do.

但是，在我的环境中工作

But also, being alive to my surroundings,

我在中城的摩天楼里工作

I work in a high-rise in Midtown,

and every night, before I leave the office,

每晚，在我离开办公室之前

I have to push this button to get out,

我必须按下这个按钮才能出去

and the big heavy glass doors open and I can get onto the elevator.

又大又重的玻璃门才能打开 我才能登上电梯

And one night, all of a sudden,

一天晚上，突然

I looked at this and I saw it in a way that I hadn't really noticed it before.

我以一种前所未有的方式观察了它

大红圈，危险

Big red circle, danger.

And I thought this was so obvious

但我想，它这么明显

that it had to have been done a zillion times,

肯定被用过无数次了

and so I did a Google image search, and I couldn't find another book cover

我就用谷歌搜索了一下图片 却并有找到另外与之类似的书的封面

that looked quite like this,

and so this is really what solved the problem,

它真的解决了问题

从图像上看更生动有趣

and graphically it's more interesting

and creates a bigger tension between the idea

并使这个想法产生了更大的张力

of a certain kind of sunrise coming up over L.A. and America.

某种黎明马上就要笼罩在 洛杉矶和美国的上空

["'Gulp' A tour of the human digestive system by Mary Roach."]

[玛丽·罗奇《吞咽：人体消化系统游览》]

Mary Roach is an amazing writer

玛丽·罗奇是一位极好的作者

who takes potentially mundane scientific subjects

她把看似乏味的科学话题

and makes them not mundane at all; she makes them really fun.

变得一点也不乏味 她令它们变得非常有趣

So in this particular case,

所以这个例子

it's about the human digestive system.

是关于人类消化系统的

So I'm trying to figure out what is the cover of this book going to be.

我在想这本书的封面是什么样的

This is a self-portrait. (Laughter)

这是我的自画像（笑声）

Every morning I look at myself in the medicine cabinet mirror

每天早上我都会照一照药箱上的镜子

to see if my tongue is black.

检查一下我的舌头是不是黑色的

And if it's not, I'm good to go.

如果不是的话，我就可以出门了

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I recommend you all do this.

我建议你们都这么做

But I also started thinking, here's our introduction.

但同时我也开始想 这是我们的“入门”

Right? Into the human digestive system.

对吧？人体消化系统入门

But I think what we can all agree on

但我想我们至少都会同意

is that actual photographs of human mouths, at least based on this,

人体口腔的照片 或者是基于它的作品

are off-putting. (Laughter)

都是使人反感的（笑声）

So for the cover, then, I had this illustration done

所以我给封面画了这个插画

which is literally more palatable

更容易被接受一点

and reminds us that it's best to approach the digestive system

并提示我们 了解消化系统的最好途径

from this end.

是从这端——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I don't even have to complete the sentence. All right.

我甚至不用说完

["Unuseful mystery"]

［无用的神秘感］

What happens when clarity and mystery get mixed up?

当明确性和神秘感混淆在一起时 会发生什么？

And we see this all the time.

我们随时都能见到这样的例子

This is what I call unuseful mystery.

这就是我所谓的无用的神秘感

I go down into the subway -- I take the subway a lot --

我走进地铁站—— 我经常乘坐地铁——

and this piece of paper is taped to a girder.

看到贴在柱子上的这张纸

Right? And now I'm thinking, uh-oh,

对吧？我就开始想了， 哎呀——呃

and the train's about to come and I'm trying to figure out what this means,

列车就要来了 而我还在纠结于它想表达的含义

and thanks a lot.

我也真是谢谢它了

Part of the problem here is that they've compartmentalized the information

这里，一部分问题是 他们已经划分了信息

in a way they think is helpful, and frankly, I don't think it is at all.

根据他们认为信息有用与否 但坦白而言，我并不认为有用

So this is mystery we do not need.

所以这就是我们不需要的神秘感

What we need is useful clarity, so just for fun, I redesigned this.

我们需要用得上的明确性

所以只是为了好玩， 我重新设计了它

This is using all the same elements.

用的全是一样的元素（掌声）

(Applause)

Thank you. I am still waiting for a call from the MTA. (Laughter)

谢谢，我还在等着地铁公司的电话

You know, I'm actually not even using more colors than they use.

你知道吗，我甚至连一个颜色 也没比他们多用

They just didn't even bother to make the 4 and the 5 green,

他们甚至都懒得把4和5变成绿色

those idiots. (Laughter)

这帮蠢货（笑声）

So the first thing we see is that there is a service change,

所以我们看到的第一条信息是 有一个服务变更

and then, in two complete sentences with a beginning, a middle and an end,

然后是两个完整的句子 有开始，有过程，有结尾

it tells us what the change is and what's going to be happening.

它告诉我们什么服务变更了 还有现在会发生什么

Call me crazy! (Laughter)

就说我是疯子吧（笑声）

["Useful mystery"] All right.

［有用的神秘］ 好的

Now, here is a piece of mystery that I love:

这是一个我喜欢的秘密：

packaging.

包装

This redesign of the Diet Coke can

这个健怡可乐罐的新设计

by Turner Duckworth is to me truly a piece of art.

来自特纳•达克沃斯 于我而言这是一件真正的艺术品

It's a work of art. It's beautiful.

它是一件艺术品 它这样美

But part of what makes it so heartening to me as a designer

而作为设计师，我认为它 振奋人心的一部分原因是

is that he's taken the visual vernacular of Diet Coke --

特纳利用了健怡可乐的视觉地域性——

the typefaces, the colors, the silver background --

字体，颜色，银色的背景——

and he's reduced them to their most essential parts,

并将其精简到了最核心的部分

so it's like going back to the Charlie Brown face.

所以，就像回到查理·布朗的面孔

It's like, how can you give them just enough information so they know what it is

就像你恰好给出充分的信息

but giving them the credit for the knowledge that they already have

但同时尊重他们已有的

about this thing?

关于它的知识

It looks great, and you would go into a delicatessen

它看上去很好 你可以走进便利店

and all of a sudden see that on the shelf, and it's wonderful.

然后在货架上看到它们 这很完美

Which makes the next thing --

也就让接下来的这件事

["Unuseful clarity"] -- all the more disheartening,

［无用的明确性］ 更令人沮丧

at least to me.

至少对我而言是这样

So okay, again, going back down into the subway,

那么，好的 让我们再走进地铁站

after this came out,

接下来就会出现

these are pictures that I took.

我拍的一些照片

Times Square subway station:

时代广场地铁站

Coca-Cola has bought out the entire thing for advertising. Okay?

可口可乐买了整个这样一片 用来做广告，好的

And maybe some of you know where this is going.

或许你们中的某些人知道我要说什么

Ahem.

"You moved to New York with the clothes on your back,

“你搬到纽约，背着衣服”

the cash in your pocket, and your eyes on the prize.

“揣着现金，盯着大奖”

You're on Coke." (Laughter)

“你绝对用了可口可乐／可卡因了。”

"You moved to New York with an MBA, one clean suit,

“你搬到纽约，带着MBA文凭， 一身整洁的西装，”

and an extremely firm handshake.

“一个出奇结实的握手，”

You're on Coke." (Laughter)

“你绝对用了可口可乐／可卡因了。”

These are real! (Laughter)

这些都是真的！（笑声）

Not even the support beams were spared,

连承重柱也能逃此一劫

except they switched into Yoda mode. (Laughter)

除了他们切换成尤达大师语气

"Coke you're on." (Laughter)

“你这是用了可口可乐／可卡因啊！”

["Excuse me, I'm on WHAT??"]

［“抱歉，我用什么了？”］

This campaign was a huge misstep.

这个策划真是错误的一步棋

It was pulled almost instantly due to consumer backlash

由于买家的强力反对 它几乎瞬间就被撤除了

and all sorts of unflattering parodies on the web --

然后网上就出现了各种 令人不悦的滑稽效仿——

(Laughter) --

（笑声）——

and also that dot next to "You're on," that's not a period, that's a trademark.

然后“你上”旁边的那个点 不是个句号，而是注册商标

So thanks a lot.

所以也真是多谢了

So to me, this was just so bizarre

对我而言，这太怪异了

about how they could get the packaging so mysteriously beautiful and perfect

他们居然可以有那么 神秘、完美而漂亮的包装

and the message so unbearably, clearly wrong.

却有这么令人无可忍受的错误信息

It was just incredible to me.

这在我看来简直是难以置信

So I just hope that I've been able to share with you some of my insights

所以，我希望和你们分享一些我的想法

on the uses of clarity and mystery in my work,

关于我作品中对明确性 和神秘感的用法

and maybe how you might decide to be more clear in your life,

然后或许你们就会决定 在生活中过得更加明确

or maybe to be a bit more mysterious and not so over-sharing.

或是更加神秘 而不是如此这般过度分享

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And if there's just one thing that I leave you with from this talk,

而如果我的演讲 只能留给你们一个印象

I hope it's this:

我希望是这个：

Blih blih blih blah. Blah blah blih blih. ["'Judge This,' Chip Kidd"]

哔哩哔哩哔哩吧啦，吧啦吧啦哔哩哔哩 ［“骂我啊，奇普·基德”］

Blih blih blah blah blah. Blah blah blah.

哔哩哔哩吧啦吧啦吧啦 吧啦吧啦吧啦

Blah blah.

吧啦

(Applause)