the search for a new cover of J. G. Ballard’s Crash
| December 23, 2007

Many well respected book cover designers have taken their stab at designing a cover for J.G Ballard’s Crash. The long legacy of cover variations starting in 1973, include designs by Carin Goldberg, Michael Ian Kaye, Henry Sene Yee, and others. It’s fascinating that one book can give a tour of style and aesthetics of a genre through the decades.

I originally learned about the evolution of the Crash cover design in an article by Rick Poyner in issue 52 of Eye magazine in 2004.

“To celebrate the release of Ballard’s new autobiography, Miracles of Life: From Shanghai to Shepperton, published on February 4, 2008, Times Online[UK] has teamed up with publishers Harper Collins to give you the chance to redesign the cover of his 1973 novel Crash.”

I’m really looking forward to see the outcome of this new competition. A flickr pool has been created by Times Online for the submissions. All cover design entries must be submitted by 5pm on April 30, 2008.

And don’t forget to look at the Times Online’s article, “Ten tips on how to design an eye-catching book cover” (but bear in mind that every designer has their own way...and this advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt)

cover credit info for a sampling of previous Crash covers shown here (left to right, top to bottom):
1. Original Jonathan Cape hardcover designed by Bill Botton in 1973
2. Minotauro Spanish edition designed in 1980, designer unknown
3. Vintage paperback designed by Carin Goldberg in 1985
4. Noonday Press US edition designed by Michael Ian Kaye and Melissa Hayden in 1994
5. Picador USA edition designed by Henry Sene Yee in 2000

Link:  more details for competition

Tags:  book cover, competition, design