Anyone who has ever taken even the most basic design class has probably heard the following criticism: don’t be so literal. Meaning that if a book is called The History of Cats, you don’t necessarily have to put a cat on it. It’s a philosophy I generally agree with; a little mystery in design is almost always a good thing. But! Sometimes the literal way to go is the only way, as evidenced by these two covers for New Directions by Alvin Lustig. The 1945 edition of A Handful of Dust and the 1950 edition of The Day of the Locust are almost laughably obvious — seriously, if you had told me that anyone could illustrate the cover of A Handful of Dust with, well, a handful of dust, I would have laughed in your face. Ask anyone who’s read it what The Day of the Locust is about and the first thing they say is “Hollywood.” So Lustig thought for what, five seconds? before glitzing up a few simple building shapes and then putting a swarm of locusts up there behind the light-bulb letters. It’s a sneaky decision on Lustig’s part because they’re borderline deceptive. Someone might pick up this edition of Locust and think, “oh, this should be glitzy and fun!” and then of course the opposite ends up being the case — it’s pretty much a stomach-punch of a book. 

I think it takes a lot of confidence to design this way, so openly and illustratively. It’s almost the way a child would interpret the actual titles, only with an added veneer of sophistication. Like almost every project Alvin Lustig touched, the result seems almost inarguable — as tends to be the case with perfection.

Note: If you’re interested in seeing a wide range of Lustig’s work, this archive is essential. And will probably end up being the guidebook for the collection you’re no doubt about to start ...