The Kindness of Women

by J. G. Ballard // Picador

The latest addition in the J.G. Ballard redesigned series for Picador. A semi-autobiographical sequel to Empire of the Sun.

I finally heard from Ballard's agent that he liked this cover. He actually said he liked it. Nice. This is high praise since he wasn't fond of any of my other redesigns for him. Or for that matter, any of his covers ever published anywhere.
And thanks to The Book Design Review Blog for the kindness of their words in highlighting this cover and the Picador list.

J. G Ballard dies age 78 // April 18, 2009.

Labors of the Heart: stories

by Claire Davis // Picador

Cover photograph by Henry Sene Yee

These stories take place in the Big Sky Country of Montana.
This photograph is one I took over the big sky of Coney Island:

The Paris Review Interviews: vol. 2 // final

introduction by Orhan Pamuk / edited by Philip Gourevitch // The Paris Review / Picador

• A PRINT's Regional Design Annual Selection

• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner // Paperback Series

Author and The Paris Review editor Philip Gourevitch loved the yellow used on volume one and wanted us to continue the bright palette for this four volume series. I didn't want to go to red just yet and he suggested a "pool chalk" blue. This second volume will print with a fluorescent blue / PMS 801 background.

The Exotics Trade // Wall and Mean

Some comps that didn't go anywhere...






...except for the very last one at the bottom right. I forgot that that was the published jacket. Thanks for the correction Francine.

by Thomas "Tom" Bernard

Art Director: Francine Kass // W. W. Norton & Co.

Watching the World Change

by David Friend // Picador

Cover photograph by Patrick Witty

• A readerville.com Most Coveted Covers Selection, No. 152

This cover was just selected by readerville.com as their Most Coveted Covers. Nice. Thank to Keith H. for bringing this to my attention and thank you Karen Templer for choosing Picador.

The attack on the World Trade Center was the most watched event in human history. And footage from that day came not only from TV news sources, but also from workers, tourist, and passersby, each of whose lives would change dramatically when confronted with the sights of the attacks. The author uncovers the stories behind those incredible images. The towers crumbling, people falling, fragments of the remaining structure, people frantically running from engulfing debris, firefighters raising the American flag over ground zero, and many more.
Finding the one representational image out of all of these was difficult and emotionally hard. But what they all have in common was that we all watched these images with shock and horror. I thought the cover image was the best choice for the book. Us.

Author David Friend posted his admiration of my cover design on his blog.

"For those who have resisted purchasing the hardcover because of the pricetag, now is your opportunity to obtain a light, portable copy, with a sleek new cover, designed by Henry Sene Yee, which has a bold, noir, mid-50s feel, reminiscent of film posters by Saul Bass. The graphic echo of the twin towers is evident on the spine, the title page, and even in the juxtaposition of the title and subtitle on the cover."

Saul Bass? Wow. Thanks David

Authors@Google presents David Friend // September 5, 2007

Whose Freedom?

by George Lakoff // Picador

Authors@Google presents George Lakoff // July 12, 2007

The Echo Maker

by Richard Powers // Picador
Photograph by Michael Forsberg

Return to the Middle Kingdom

by Yuan-Tsun Chen

Art Director: Jonathan Sainsbury // Avalon Publishers

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

by Dinaw Mengetsu
Art Director: Charles Bjorklund // Riverhead Books // Penguin

Alternate design:

The Blind Side

by Michael Lewis

Art Director: Ingsu Liu // W. W. Norton & Co.

• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner

Rejected ideas:




Here's a New York Times Magazine article about the left tackle phenom Michael Oher.



Authors@Google Presents Michael Lewis // September 11, 2007

The World Is Flat 3.0: final

by Thomas L. Friedman // Picador

Cover illustration by Christoph Niemann

Not an easy project. With over 8 million copies sold of the very familiar hardcover, originally designed by Dean Nicastro, the author wanted a complete redesign for the paperback. His thoughts was that every business man already owned this book. He wanted to reach out to the NASCAR dads and soccer moms whose lives are also being effected by a flattening world through their jobs being outsourced. We tried different approaches, but this was the one that he approved with one word, "Bingo."

Detail of art:

The World Is Flat Final? Not so much.

Single line drawings by Phil Pascuzzo:



The Book Is Flat: a wraparound design that makes sense when the book is opened. The act of reading the book becomes the manifestation of the text.

The World Is Flat 3.0: round 1

Rejected concept

The Paris Review Interviews: vol. 2 // reject

Hand-lettering by Joel Holland

The idea for this 3-4 volume series was to keep the large quotation mark layout but visualize them in different ways. Some ideas I had floating around for the next volumes were helium balloons made into the shape of quotations marks with the type written on them with magic marker and shot floating against a blue sky. Another was to take some actual paperback books and cut them with a band saw into the quote shapes and use a black neutral gray palette.
But the Paris Review loved the first volume which was done purely typographic with bright fluorescent yellow and black. They just want me to switch it out with other bright colors. Which will still look great. Now I need to find some bright yet unusual color combos.
And I need to tell the awesome Mr. Holland that this idea was killed. But he's on vacation now. I think. Maybe he'll read this. Hey Joel, send me a kill fee.

The Paris Review Interviews: vol. 1

introduction by Philip Gourevitch // The Paris Review / Picador

• A PRINT's Regional Design Annual Selection

• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner // Paperback Series

A selection of interviews with writers from The Paris Review that answers the question, "How do great writers do it?" One of my favorite is Joan Didion's account of how she composes a book—"I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm." That's exactly how I work.

A Taxonomy of Barnacles

by Galt Niederhoffer // St. Martin's Press / Picador

• An AIGA's 50 Books // 50 Covers Best Cover Selection
• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner

Illustration of finch bird by Pete Garceau
Illustration of sisters by Pierre Mornet // Marlena Agency

A Taxonomy of Barnacles is a modern Victorian comedy of manners—a wealthy, eccentric patriarch declares that his six daughters must compete for his fortune—and a study in social Darwinism—whoever can best carry on the Barnacle name gets the Barnacle fortune. Much of the book is devoted to the amorous to­ings and fro­ings of the two eldest Barnacle sisters and the cute Finch twins next door. It’s Balthus girls meets Charles Darwin meets The Royal Tenenbaums.

A New York Times interview with the author and her family that was the inspiration for the book.

The Man Who Wanted Everything: Michael Ovitz and the Dark Dreams of Hollywood

by Nikki Finke

• A Type Directors Club Award Winner

Art Director: Anne Twomey // Warner Books Twelve

Art Director Anne Twomey hired me to design this cover for her new imprint TWELVE, for Time Warner, which has since then been renamed Grand Central Publishers. Her only direction to me for this biography of super talent agent to the stars Michael Ovitz was, "Make this say Hollywood and make it look like a Type Directors' Club award winner."
So I came up with the idea that his bigger than life persona is like a movie up on the screen and we are just spectators, but sitting in the worst seat in the theater. Front row and far left. I chose to depict it as end credits since this book was a retrospective and printed on silverish pearlized stock. I had more extreme angles and the back of a person's head blocking some of the type, but legibilty suffered.
Unfortunately the book was cancelled and so far, no plans to be published anytime soon. But that didn't stop Anne from entering the sales proof to the Type Directors' Club competition.
I received an email; "Your entry in TDC53 has been selected by the judges to receive the "Certificate of Typographic Excellence". To be included in the Annual of the Type Directors Club, Typography 28, and to be shown at the 53rd Awards Exhibition in New York."
Nice. It’s been a long while since I designed something type specific that I thought was good enough for TDC.
It's too bad the book won’t have a shelf life out in the public, but at least it's here.

The Interpretation of Murder

by Jed Rubenfeld // Picador

Cover photograph by Edward Steichen

The author has a great companion website created for the book.

The Messiah of Morris Avenue

by Tony Hendra // Picador

Cover imaging by Phil Pascuzzo

• A readerville.com Most Coveted Cover Selection

This cover was just selected by readerville.com as their Most Coveted Covers. Nice. Thank to Keith H. for bringing this to my attention and thank you Karen Templer for choosing Picador.

Inspired by the spray painted wall murals seen around the East Village / Loisaida of NYC by Antonio "Chico" Garcia.
And the METABIOTICS painting/photographs of Alexander Órion.

The Heartless Stone

by Tom Zoellner // Picador

• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner

Flesh and Blood

by Michael Cunningham // Picador

• The New York Book Show 2008 Award winner

Cover photograph by Robin M. White