The Jacket Designer’s Challenge: To Capture A Book By Its Cover

Peter Mendelsund estimates he’s designed “somewhere between 600 and 1,000 book covers,” ranging from Crime and Punishment to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But the self-taught, sought-after designer says he spends a lot of time reading, too.

“It’s always surprising to people when they come to my office or they walk by my door and they see me with my feet kicked up with a manuscript,” he tells Fresh Air’s Dave Davies. “But I read constantly from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep.”

Now Mendelsund has designed the covers for two new books of his own. Cover is a collection of hundreds of his book covers, including many that were rejected, along with commentaries on his technique. What We See When We Read is about how words give rise to images in our minds.

Full piece here:
http://www.npr.org/2014/10/16/345548582/the-jacket-designers-challenge-to-capture-a-book-by-its-cover