Circles, repeating patterns, Helvetica, optical illusions, squares and solid colours were a popular graphic design aesthetic in the world of book covers from the 1950s through to the 1970s. They were everywhere: on the covers of psychology, astronomy, and quantum physics textbooks, classic novels, and manuals on theological meditation.
The graphically interesting cover designs were unrelated to the works of science, fiction, philosophy or sociology written in the book. The books published during this era were not only a celebration of the authors and their written work but also of the graphic designers.
Curious to know what these covers would look like in motion, Henning Max Lederer animated 55 book covers in this short film Covers. Through a calculated use of texture and colour, the book covers published during the mid-century were dynamic in nature and Lederer manipulates this quality to a beautiful effect in Covers.
