Tuesday 25 September 2012

No Shades of Grey - Black & White Book Covers

by Julie Oreskovich

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Everything is Illuminated
by Jonathan Safran Foer
No matter what you call it - monochromatic, void of color, black & white - these covers are anything but stark. The use of black and white has been widely used in a variety of mediums and book covers in particular have seen a resurgence of this type of design aesthetic.
From the earliest days of motion pictures, the film used was black and white with color gradually added from 1930 to the 1960s. Considered "retro" and niche now, black and white photography was the norm when photography first got it start in the mid-1800s. Once color was available, black and white was the dominate choice of film due to its classic looks and lower cost. Television also got its start in black and white and it wasn't until the late 1960s that color became mainstream. Newspapers, magazines and comic strips also were entirely black and white until the late 1970s.
Herman Melville's Moby Dick, published by Vintage, Shades of Nature by Heinrich van den Berg and any other title on this page are minimalist when it comes to color but all pack a big punch when it comes to being pleasing to the eye.

What's black & white and read all over? These books!

The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Stranger
by Albert Camus
Oh The Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey
Oh The Glory of It All
by Sean Wilsey
Daniel Eatock Imprint by Daniel Eatock
Daniel Eatock Imprint
by Daniel Eatock
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Moby Dick
by Herman Melville
Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus
Exile and the Kingdom
by Albert Camus
Eternal Light by Paul McAuley
Eternal Light
by Paul McAuley
Nausea by Jean-Paul Satre
Nausea
by Jean-Paul Satre
Schild’s Ladder by Greg Egan
Schild’s Ladder
by Greg Egan
Shades of Nature by Heinrich van den Berg
Shades of Nature
by Heinrich van den Berg
Scenes of Academic Life by David Lodge
Scenes of Academic Life
by David Lodge
A Russian Affair by Anton Chekhov
A Russian Affair
by Anton Chekhov
The Economics of Innocent Fraud by John Kenneth Galbraith
The Economics of Innocent Fraud
by John Kenneth Galbraith
Irresponsibility by Chris Vitiello
Irresponsibility
by Chris Vitiello
The Last Magazine by David Renard
The Last Magazine
by David Renard
Black and White Graphics by Andrea Lugli
Black and White Graphics
by Andrea Lugli
The Summer of the Ubume by Natsuhiko Kyogoku
The Summer of the Ubume
by Natsuhiko Kyogoku 
 
 
 

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