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Cover of Judge This

Judge This

144 pages

A witty, fast-paced tour through the hidden visual language of our everyday lives.

What it feels like

Reading this feels like taking a walk through the city with your most observant, opinionated, and effortlessly cool friend. It is a brisk, highly visual experience that reads less like a traditional book and more like a lively, interactive conversation. The tone is wry and enthusiastic, blending sharp professional critique with a playful appreciation for the mundane. You will find yourself pausing to look at subway tickets, candy wrappers, and book covers with fresh eyes. The prose is punchy and accessible, perfectly complementing the heavy use of imagery. It is an absolute delight for creatives, design nerds, or anyone who wants to understand the invisible forces shaping our first impressions of the world.

Mood
  • curious
  • playful
  • eye-opening
  • lighthearted
Tone
  • wry
  • enthusiastic
  • opinionated
  • humorous
  • observational
Pace
brisk
Themes
the hidden impact of everyday objects · the power of first impressions · visual literacy · finding beauty in the mundane
The writing
Conversational, punchy, and highly visual, reading more like a lively TED Talk than a textbook.
The arc
Moves from casual observation to a heightened, delighted awareness of the designed world around us.
Who it's for
Design enthusiasts, curious creatives, and anyone who loves dissecting why things look the way they do.

About the book

"First impressions are everything. They dictate whether something stands out, how we engage with it, whether we buy it, and how strongly we feel. This is especially true when it comes to design. And design is all around us, secretly shaping our world in ways we rarely recognise. Except if you yourself are a designer, like Chip Kidd. In Judge This, the reader travels through a day in the life of renowned designer Chip Kidd as he takes in first impressions of all kinds. We follow this visual journey with Kidd as he encounters and engages with everyday design, breaking down the good, the bad, the absurd and the brilliant as only a designer can. From the design of the paper you read in the morning to the subway ticket machine to the books you browse to the smartphone you use to the packaging for the chocolate bar you buy as an afternoon treat, Kidd will reveal the hidden secrets behind each of the design choices, with a healthy dose of humour, expertise and, of course, judgment as he goes" --

Description from Open Library.

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