The hilarious art of book design | Chip Kidd

譯者: I-Hsiang Lin 審譯者: Nova Upinel Altesse

Hi.

哈囉。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

I did that for two reasons.

我這麼做有兩個原因。

First of all, I wanted to give you

第一，我要給你們一個

a good visual first impression.

好的第一視覺印象。

But the main reason I did it is that

但主要原因是

that's what happens to me when I'm forced to wear

這是當我被迫戴上女神卡卡怪異的麥克風時

a Lady Gaga skanky mic.

就會做出來的事。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

I'm used to a stationary mic.

我習慣用定點式麥克風。

It's the sensible shoe of public address.

那是公共演說的合理配備。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But you clamp this thing on my head, and something happens.

但你把這東西夾在我頭上，有些事就發生了。

I just become skanky.

我變得很怪。

(Laughter) So I'm sorry about that.

(笑聲)所以我很抱歉。

And I'm already off-message.

而且我已經偏離主題了。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Ladies and gentlemen,

先生女士們，

I have devoted the past 25 years of my life

我奉獻我生命中過去的25年

to designing books.

用來設計書。

("Yes, BOOKS. You know, the bound volumes with ink on paper.

「對，書本。你知道，油墨印刷在紙張上集結成冊的東西，

You cannot turn them off with a switch.

你不能按開關把它關起來。

Tell your kids.")

告訴你的孩子們。」

It all sort of started as a benign mistake,

這一切的開始其實有點像是個良性的錯誤，

like penicillin. (Laughter)

像盤尼西林。(笑聲)

What I really wanted

當時我其實想要

was to be a graphic designer

成為一位平面設計師，

at one of the big design firms in New York City.

在紐約其中一家最大的設計公司工作。

But upon arrival there,

但當我到了那裡，

in the fall of 1986, and doing a lot of interviews,

那是1986年的秋天，我參加了很多面試，

I found that the only thing I was offered

而我唯一入取的職位是

was to be Assistant to the Art Director at Alfred A. Knopf,

克諾普夫出版社(Alfred A. Knopf)藝術總監

a book publisher.

的助理。

Now I was stupid,

我當時很笨，

but not so stupid that I turned it down.

但沒有笨到拒絕接受這個職位。

I had absolutely no idea

我完全不知道

what I was about to become part of,

我將要參與其中的是什麼，

and I was incredibly lucky.

所以我是極為幸運。

Soon, it had occurred to me what my job was.

很快地，我知道我的工作是什麼。

My job was to ask this question:

我的工作是問這個問題：

"What do the stories look like?"

「這些故事看起來是怎麼樣子？」

Because that is what Knopf is.

因為這就是克諾普夫出版社的存在價值。

It is the story factory, one of the very best in the world.

它是個全世界最好的故事工廠之一。

We bring stories to the public.

我們把故事帶給大眾。

The stories can be anything,

故事可以是任何東西，

and some of them are actually true.

當中有些甚至是真實的。

But they all have one thing in common:

但它們都有個共同點。

They all need to look like something.

它們都長的像某個東西。

They all need a face.

它們都需要一張臉。

Why? To give you a first impression

為什麼？為了給你一個

of what you are about to get into.

你將得到的資訊的第一印象。

A book designer gives form to content,

封面設計者賦予內容形體，

but also

同時，

manages a very careful balance between the two.

小心地在兩者間取得平衡。

Now, the first day

當我第一天

of my graphic design training at Penn State University,

在賓州州立大學上圖面設計課程時，

the teacher, Lanny Sommese, came into the room

我的教授，Lanny Sommese，走進教室，

and he drew a picture of an apple on the blackboard,

在黑板上畫了一顆蘋果，

and wrote the word "Apple" underneath,

接著在下面寫上「蘋果」字樣，

and he said, "OK. Lesson one. Listen up."

然後他說，「好，第一課，聽好。」

And he covered up the picture and he said,

他把蘋果圖案遮起來，他說：

"You either say this," and then he covered up the word,

「你要不就這樣表現，」然後他把字遮起來，

"or you show this.

「不然就是這樣表現。

But you don't do this."

但你不能這麼做。」

Because this is treating your audience like a moron.

因為這像是在說你的觀眾是傻瓜。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And they deserve better.

而你的觀眾值得更好的。

And lo and behold, soon enough,

於是你瞧，很快地，

I was able to put this theory to the test

我可以將這個理論

on two books that I was working on for Knopf.

用來測試我在克諾普夫出版社作的兩本書。

The first was Katharine Hepburn's memoirs,

第一本是Katharine Hepburn的回憶錄，

and the second was a biography of Marlene Dietrich.

第二本是Marlene Dietrich的傳記。

Now the Hepburn book

Hepburn這本書

was written in a very conversational style,

是用會話體寫成，

it was like she was sitting across a table telling it all to you.

就像是她坐在桌子另一邊告訴你全部的事。

The Dietrich book was an observation

Dietrich這本書

by her daughter; it was a biography.

則是她女兒的觀察；是本傳記。

So the Hepburn story is words

所以Hepburn的故事是字，

and the Dietrich story is pictures, and so we did this.

Dietrich的故事是圖片，於是我們這麼做。

So there you are.

你可以看到。

Pure content and pure form, side by side.

純萃的內容和形體，兩個擺在一起。

No fighting, ladies.

女士們，不要吵架。

("What's a Jurassic Park?")

「侏儸紀公園是什麼？」

Now, what is the story here?

現在來看這個故事是什麼？

Someone

有人

is re-engineering dinosaurs

藉由提取

by extracting their DNA

史前時代琥珀中恐龍的DNA，

from prehistoric amber.

重新設計製造恐龍。

Genius!

真是天才！

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Now, luckily for me,

幸運的是，

I live and work in New York City,

我住在紐約，也在這裡工作，

where there are plenty of dinosaurs.

這裡有很多恐龍。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

So,

於是，

I went to the Museum of Natural History,

我去了自然歷史博物館，

and I checked out the bones, and I went to the gift shop,

看了些骨頭，然後去禮品店，

and I bought a book.

買了一本書。

And I was particularly taken with this page of the book,

書中這一頁特別引起我的注意力，

and more specifically the lower right-hand corner.

尤其是右下角這部分。

Now I took this diagram,

於是我取這個圖表，

and I put it in a Photostat machine,

將它放在一台直接複印機上，

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

and I took a piece of tracing paper,

然後我拿了一張描圖紙，

and I taped it over the Photostat

用3M思高膠帶

with a piece of Scotch tape -- stop me if I'm going too fast --

將它貼在複印紙上-- 阻止我如果我說太快 --

(Laughter) --

(笑聲)

and then I took a Rapidograph pen --

接著我拿一支工程針筆(Rapidograph) --

explain it to the youngsters --

跟年輕人解釋一下這是什麼 --

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

and I just started to reconstitute the dinosaur.

於是我開始重新架構這隻恐龍。

I had no idea what I was doing,

我不知道我在做什麼，

I had no idea where I was going,

我不知道我的方向，

but at some point, I stopped --

但在某個時間點，我停下來 --

when to keep going would seem like I was going too far.

這時候再繼續似乎就會過頭了。

And what I ended up with was a graphic representation

於是我用這個我們看來是

of us seeing this animal coming into being.

動物活過來的圖像設計做為定案。

We're in the middle of the process.

我們正在設計過程的一半。

And then I just threw some typography on it.

接著我做了一些排版。

Very basic stuff,

非常基本的東西，

slightly suggestive of public park signage.

有點令人聯想到公共停車場招牌。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Everybody in house loved it,

公司內每個人都很喜歡，

and so off it goes to the author.

於是我們把它提交給作者。

And even back then,

即使在當時，

Michael was on the cutting edge.

Michael是非常前衛的。

("Michael Crichton responds by fax:")

「Michael Crichton用傳真回覆：」

("Wow! Fucking Fantastic Jacket")

「哇賽！真他媽的好的封面。」

(Laughter) (Applause)

(笑聲)(掌聲)

That was a relief to see that pour out of the machine.

看到這張傳真從機器跑出來時真令人鬆了一口氣。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

I miss Michael.

我想念Michael。

And sure enough, somebody from MCA Universal

想當然，環球影業

calls our legal department to see if they can

打電話給我們的法律部門，

maybe look into buying the rights to the image,

詢問他們是否能購買此圖像的版權，

just in case they might want to use it.

以供他們之後使用。

Well, they used it.

嗯，他們的確用了。

(Laughter) (Applause)

(笑聲)(掌聲)

And I was thrilled.

我當時真的非常興奮。

We all know it was an amazing movie,

我們都知道這是一部驚人的電影，

and it was so interesting to see it

能看到它步入文化中，成為一個現象，

go out into the culture and become this phenomenon

而且看到它轉換變成各種不同的形體，

and to see all the different permutations of it.

真的非常有趣。

But not too long ago,

但不久之前，

I came upon this on the Web.

我在網路上到看這個。

No, that is not me.

不，這不是我。

But whoever it is,

但無論這是誰，

I can't help but thinking they woke up one day like,

我忍不住想像有一天他們醒來時發現，

"Oh my God, that wasn't there last night. Ooooohh!

「我的天阿，昨天晚上還沒有這東西阿。噢!

I was so wasted."

我醉得一蹋糊塗。」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But if you think about it, from my head

但如果你想想，從我的腦袋

to my hands to his leg.

到我的手，再到他的腳。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

That's a responsibility.

這是有責任的。

And it's a responsibility that I don't take lightly.

而且我不輕看這個責任。

The book designer's responsibility is threefold:

書本封面設計者的責任是三重的：

to the reader, to the publisher and, most of all, to the author.

對讀者，對出版社，還有最重要的，對作者。

I want you to look at the author's book

我要你看到一個作者的書，

and say, "Wow! I need to read that."

然後說：「哇！我一定要讀這個。」

David Sedaris is one of my favorite writers,

David Sedaris是我最喜歡的作者之一，

and the title essay

而這本散文集的主要隨筆

in this collection is about his trip to a nudist colony.

是有關他去一個裸體主義的聚居地旅行。

And the reason he went is because

他去的原因是因為

he had a fear of his body image,

他害怕他自己的身體影像，

and he wanted to explore what was underlying that.

而他想要探索隱藏其中的原因。

For me, it was simply an excuse to design a book

對我而言，這只是一個可以名正言順

that you could literally take the pants off of.

設計脫下內褲的封面的理由。

But when you do,

但當你這麼做時，

you don't get what you expect.

你達到的不同於預期。

You get something that goes much deeper than that.

你挖掘到更深層的東西。

And David especially loved this design

David常常要簽書，

because at book signings, which he does a lot of,

他特別喜歡這個設計，因為當他簽書時，

he could take a magic marker and do this.

他可以用魔術筆畫這個。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Hello!

哈囉！

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Augusten Burroughs wrote a memoir

Augusten Burroughs寫了一本回憶錄，

called ["Dry"], and it's about his time in rehab.

書名為「乾」("DRY")，有關他戒酒的日子。

In his 20s, he was a hotshot ad executive,

當他二十幾歲時，他是個很有能力的廣告公司經理，

and as Mad Men has told us, a raging alcoholic.

就如同影集廣告狂人(Mad Men)中告訴我們的，他是一個憤怒的酗酒狂。

He did not think so, however,

然而，他自己不這麼認為，

but his coworkers did an intervention and they said,

但他的同事開了一個協調會，他們說，

"You are going to rehab, or you will be fired and you will die."

「你要不就戒酒，不然你會被開除而且你會死。」

Now to me, this was always going to be a typographic solution,

到了我手上時，我用文字編排來設計這個封面，

what I would call the opposite of Type 101.

我稱這個為文字編排學第一門課的相反。

What does that mean?

這是什麼意思？

Usually on the first day of Introduction to Typography,

通常上第一堂文字編排學的課時，

you get the assignment of, select a word

你有一個作業，選一個字，

and make it look like what it says it is. So that's Type 101, right?

讓它看起來像它要表達的意思。所以這是文字編排學的第一堂課，對吧？

Very simple stuff.

非常簡單的東西。

This is going to be the opposite of that.

而這就是它的相反。

I want this book to look like it's lying to you,

我要這本書看起來像是在對你撒謊，

desperately and hopelessly, the way an alcoholic would.

歇斯底里且絕望地，像個酒精中毒者會做的事。

The answer was the most low-tech thing you can imagine.

於是我用了你可以想像到最低階的設計方法。

I set up the type, I printed it out on an Epson printer

我設定好字體，用愛普生印表機

with water-soluble ink, taped it to the wall

的水溶性墨水將它印出來，把它貼在牆上，

and threw a bucket of water at it. Presto!

然後取一桶水往上灑。立即成效！

Then when we went to press,

接著我們進行印刷，

the printer put a spot gloss on the ink

印刷業者在油墨部分局部上光，

and it really looked like it was running.

所以看起來真的很像在流動。

Not long after it came out, Augusten was waylaid in an airport

在這本書上市後不久，Augusten埋伏在機場裡，

and he was hiding out in the bookstore

他躲在書店中

spying on who was buying his books.

暗中監看買他書的人。

And this woman came up to it,

一位女士走到書前，

and she squinted, and she took it to the register,

瞇著眼看著書，然後把它拿到結帳台，

and she said to the man behind the counter, "This one's ruined."

她告訴站在櫃台後的男士：「這本書毀了。」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And the guy behind the counter said, "I know, lady. They all came in that way."

然後在櫃台後的那傢伙說：「我知道，女士。全部的書送來時都這樣。」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Now, that's a good printing job.

這印刷做的可真是好阿。

A book cover

一個書本封面

is a distillation.

是精華。

It is a haiku,

如果你認同的話，

if you will, of the story.

它就是故事的三行俳句詩。

This particular story

Osama Tezuka

by Osama Tezuka

寫的這個故事

is his epic life of the Buddha,

是佛陀的傳奇一生。

and it's eight volumes in all. But the best thing is

總共有八冊。但最棒的事是

when it's on your shelf, you get a shelf life

當你把它放到書櫃，佛陀的生命展現在書架上，

of the Buddha, moving from one age to the next.

從一個年紀轉變到下一個年紀。

All of these solutions

全部這些封面設計想法

derive their origins from the text of the book,

都源自書的內容，

but once the book designer has read the text,

但是一旦封面設計者讀過內文，

then he has to be an interpreter

他必須身兼解說者

and a translator.

和翻譯者。

This story was a real puzzle.

這個故事是個真正的謎題。

This is what it's about.

故事的內容是：

("Intrigue and murder among 16th century Ottoman court painters.")

「16世紀土耳其宮廷畫家間的陰謀和謀殺。」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

All right, so I got a collection of the paintings together

於是我找了這些畫作的合輯，

and I looked at them and I deconstructed them

我看著它們，解構它們，

and I put them back together.

再把它們集合在一起。

And so, here's the design, right?

所以，這就是設計，對吧？

And so here's the front and the spine, and it's flat.

這是封面和書脊攤平的樣子。

But the real story starts when you wrap it around a book and put it on the shelf.

但當你把它包到書上放到書櫃時，真正的故事才開始。

Ahh! We come upon them,

噢！遇到他們了，

the clandestine lovers. Let's draw them out.

暗通款曲的戀人們。把他們抓出來。

Huhh! They've been discovered by the sultan.

喝！他們被蘇丹王發現了。

He will not be pleased.

他可不會開心。

Huhh! And now the sultan is in danger.

喝！現在蘇丹王很生氣。

And now, we have to open it up

現在，我們必須把書本打開，

to find out what's going to happen next.

才能知道接下來發生的事情。

Try experiencing that on a Kindle.

試著用Kindle(亞馬遜書店電子閱讀器)體驗看看。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Don't get me started.

別讓我打開話匣子。

Seriously.

嚴格說來。

Much is to be gained by eBooks:

電子書有很多好處：

ease, convenience, portability.

簡單，方便，好攜帶。

But something is definitely lost: tradition,

但當中有些東西絕對被遺失了：傳統，

a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness --

感官體驗，物質存在的安心感 --

a little bit of humanity.

一點點的人性。

Do you know what John Updike used to do

你知道當由克諾普夫出版社發行John Updike的新書時，

the first thing when he would get a copy

作者拿到書的時候，

of one of his new books from Alfred A. Knopf?

首先會做的事是什麼嗎？

He'd smell it.

他會聞它。

Then he'd run his hand over the rag paper,

然後他用手滑過紙張，

and the pungent ink and the deckled edges of the pages.

碰觸刺激的油墨，和書頁帶有毛邊的邊緣。

All those years, all those books, he never got tired of it.

這麼多年，這麼多書，他從不厭倦。

Now, I am all for the iPad,

我支持iPad，

but trust me -- smelling it will get you nowhere.

但相信我 -- 再怎麼聞它，你也聞不出東西來。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Now the Apple guys are texting,

現在蘋果電腦的員工正在打簡訊，

"Develop odor emission plug-in."

「研發內建氣味發射器。」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And the last story I'm going to talk about is quite a story.

接著我要說的最後一個故事可不簡單。

A woman

在日本，

named Aomame in 1984 Japan finds herself

1984年時，一個名叫Anomame的女人

negotiating down a spiral staircase

正要穿過一個下高架公路的

off an elevated highway. When she gets to the bottom,

螺旋狀樓梯。當她走到底部時，

she can't help but feel that, all of a sudden,

她不由得感覺到，突然間，

she's entered a new reality

她進入一個新的現實環境中，

that's just slightly different from the one that she left,

這跟她剛離開那個只有一點點不一樣，

but very similar, but different.

但是非常類似，卻又不同。

And so, we're talking about parallel planes of existence,

於是，我們講到存在的平行平面，

sort of like a book jacket and the book that it covers.

有點像是書套和它覆蓋的書。

So how do we show this?

所以要怎麼展現這個？

We go back to Hepburn and Dietrich, but now we merge them.

我們回歸到Hepburn和Dietrich封面設計想法，但現在我們將它們合併。

So we're talking about different planes, different pieces of paper.

我們現在在說的是不同的平面，不同的紙張。

So this is on a semi-transparent piece of velum.

外面是一張半透明牛皮紙。

It's one part of the form and content.

這是形體和內容的一部分。

When it's on top of the paper board,

把它覆蓋到印刷相反的書本紙板外面時，

which is the opposite, it forms this.

它變成這個樣子。

So even if you don't know anything about this book,

因此即使你對這本書一無所知，

you are forced to consider a single person

你被迫會認為

straddling two planes of existence.

一個人兩腳分別踏在兩個存在的平面裡。

And the object itself invited exploration

而這個設計本身就是要引起探索，

interaction, consideration

互動，關心

and touch.

和觸碰。

This debuted at number two

這本書一上市就登上

on the New York Times Best Seller list.

紐約時報暢銷書排行榜第二名。

This is unheard of,

這對身為出版社的我們和這位作者而言，

both for us the publisher, and the author.

都是第一次的體驗。

We're talking a 900-page book

我們在說的事一本900頁的書，

that is as weird as it is compelling,

內容既奇特又令人信服，

and featuring a climactic scene

還包含了一個高潮情節，

in which a horde of tiny people

有一群小人

emerge from the mouth of a sleeping girl

從一個睡著的女孩口中冒出來，

and cause a German Shepherd to explode.

還造成一隻德國牧羊犬爆炸。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Not exactly Jackie Collins.

這和Jackie Collins(英國暢銷女作家)的類型不太一樣。

Fourteen weeks on the Best Seller list,

這本書在暢銷榜上停留14週，

eight printings, and still going strong.

已經印刷八次，銷售量依然強勁。

So even though we love publishing as an art,

即使我們將出版業當作藝術般喜愛，

we very much know it's a business too,

我們也十分了解這是樁生意。

and that if we do our jobs right and get a little lucky,

如果我們做好工作，幸運的話，

that great art can be great business.

好的藝術也可以成為很棒的生意。

So that's my story. To be continued.

所以這就是我的故事，未完待續。

What does it look like?

它看起來像什麼？

Yes. It can, it does and it will,

是的，它可以是，它的確是，它將會是。

but for this book designer,

但對這本書的封面設計者，

page-turner,

這是引人入勝的，

dog-eared place-holder,

會折頁做記號的，

notes in the margins-taker,

可以做很多筆記的，

ink-sniffer,

可以聞油墨的，

the story looks like this.

這故事長的就像這樣。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)