Whatâs going to happen next?
Well, thatâs one of the biggest mysteries of all, isnât it? Fortune cookies have been around for the past hundred years, and we hold out hope, after a Chinese meal, that they will
tell us what to expect. Or at least we are entertained by them, spurred on to think about what they might mean. On the one hand, itâs silly; on the other, itâs possibly something to
think about.
The design of the fortunes is a fascinating combination of simplicity and reduction that enlivens the theater of the mind and its infinite conjectures on the possibilities of fate. And all from
one sentence on a tiny slip of paper!
And then, of course, thereâs interpretation: the fortunes are deliberately vague, so that we draw from our personal experiences in order to bring an explanation to them.
First impression: What does this mean, and how does it apply to me?
PROJECT:
ALL THE BEAUTY YOU WILL EVER NEED
BY DAVID SEDARIS
AN ESSAY COLLECTION
This was the book that eventually became When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and it is the only jacket in this volume that didnât actually get produced. As
sometimes happens in publishing, the author was weighing several different titles, and finally selected a different one.
Such a change also, of course, affects the cover design process and how I adapt my methods. The original title, All the Beauty You Will Ever Need, didnât directly apply to the
content of any of the essays in the book, so in that sense I was free to think about an original context for the phrase. A Chinese fortune cookie seemed apt, as it provided a visual that I thought
most everyone could recognize, yet had an attending sense of mystery. Note that the form of the slip of paper is so strong and recognizable that I didnât need to include cracked bits of
cookie around it.
When the final title became what it is, I tried using it with the same design scheme, but it just didnât workâI think mainly because fortune cookies never tell you anything as
shocking as the fact that youâre on fire, right now.
David found a painting by van Gogh of a skeleton smoking, and that was greatâthe subject had already been through it all.
And so, yet again . . .
I find that the older I get (I turned fifty during the making of this book), the clearer I want things to be. I think this is a natural symptom of maturationâas we age,
mysteries pile up, and theyâre usually not the fun ones:
Just how long do I have?
Why do some people get what they deserve, and others donât?
Why are certain problems so easy to solve, while others are totally impossible?
Will they ever, ever bring working jetpacks to the marketplace?
Whoever you are, whatever you do for a living, you have problems to solve. I hope that this book has given you a little something to think about in terms of how you might proceed to do so. Ask
yourself: What is this problem Iâm trying to solve? How do I define it? What are its components? What is the goal Iâm trying to achieve with its solution?
And remember . . .
As we go on, Mystery becomes more important, too, because it helps us deal with things we canât understand.
It is fueled by faith: belief in ourselves, our friends, âthe system,â humanity in general, and whatever else it is we need to believe in. Thereâs a reason we donât want
great magic tricks explained.
Mystery is also valuable as a coping mechanismâthe things that are all too clear are piling up, too:
Life is short.
Love canât be taken for granted.
Everything has a cost.
Just holding on to something doesnât mean it wonât go away.
You can try to solve everything, but if you canât, thatâs okay. As long as youâve tried your best.
So: whatâs clear to you?
And what isnât?
Those are not unimportant questions. Ditto these:
Are you clear to others when you need to be?
Do you understand how to use clarity and mystery, and when each is necessary?
Do you pay attention to how you are perceived by the world, no matter how big or small that world is?
Which brings us back to first impressions, a fitting way to end this little meditation. With this book, Iâve underscored the importance of healthy judgment. But Iâve also tried to
introduce you to a few ideas (via my ideas, I am well aware) that might encourage you to look at things a little differently than you used to.
Did I succeed?
Thank you:
Michelle Quint,
June Cohen,
Susan Lehman,
Gina Barnett,
Geoff Spear,
J. D. McClatchy,
Chee Pearlman,
David Rockwell,
Chris Anderson.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHIP KIDD is a designer and writer living in New York City. His book cover designs for Alfred A. Knopf, where he has worked nonstop since 1986, have
helped create a revolution in the art of American book packaging. He is the recipient of the National Design Award for Communication Design, as well as the Use of Photography in Design Award from
the International Center of Photography. Kidd has published two novels, The Cheese Monkeys and The Learners. A distinguished and prolific lecturer, Kidd has spoken at Princeton,
Yale, Harvard, RISD, and a zillion other places.
WATCH CHIP KIDDâS TED TALK
Chip Kiddâs TED Talk, now available for free at TED.com, is the companion to Judge This.
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