Peter Mendelsund
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Mannes School of Music (MA)
Occupation(s)book designer, artistic director, novelist
EmployerThe Atlantic

Peter Mendelsund is a novelist, graphic designer known for his book and magazine covers, and the creative director of The Atlantic.[1][2] Mendelsund has been described by the New York Times as "one of the top designers at work today" and "the best book designer of his generation" by Wired.[2][3]

Mendelsund is also the author of five books, including two novels.[4][5]

Mendelsund is co-founder, along with Emma Cline, of Picture Books, an imprint of Gagosian Gallery[6][7] and led the founding of Atlantic Editions, a book imprint of The Atlantic magazine.[8]

Biography

Mendelsund grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Benjamin Mendelsund,[9] and Judith Caton Gimbel. He is the grandson of former labor leader Henoch Mendelsund.[10]

He graduated from Columbia University in 1991 as a philosophy major and received his master's degree in piano performance from the Mannes School of Music.[11][12][13]

Following his graduation, he struggled to make a living as a pianist before training himself in graphic design and was hired by Chip Kidd to work at Vintage Books.[14][15] He was later promoted to associate art director at Alfred A. Knopf and was art director of Pantheon Books and Vertical Press.[16][17] He has designed critically acclaimed book covers for James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Simone de Beauvoir, Julio Cortázar, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Stieg Larsson.[18][19][20][3] His book cover for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been praised by The Wall Street Journal as "one of the most instantly recognizable and iconic book covers in contemporary fiction in the U.S."[21]

During his tenure at Knopf, he also designed The Sewanee Review's first new cover in 73 years.[22] He designed the cover for The New Yorker's May 11, 2015 issue, titled "Injustice: Baltimore, 2015."[23]

In 2019, Mendelsund joined The Atlantic as its creative director, leading its rebranding and the redesign of the magazine.[24][25][26]

Mendelsund's most recent book is the novel The Delivery.[27]

References

  1. ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (2019-11-12). "Introducing a New Look for The Atlantic". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  2. ^ a b Alter, Alexandra (2014-07-28). "The Creative Art of Selling a Book by Its Cover". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  3. ^ a b VanHemert, Kyle. "What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  4. ^ Newman, Andy (2021-02-09). "Numbers, Speed, Mystery: The World of the Delivery Worker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  5. ^ "Peter Mendelsund Is Done Being "The Book Designer"". InsideHook. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  6. ^ "Picture Books". 15 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Design". Peter Mendelsund. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  8. ^ "The 'Atlantic' to Launch Book Imprint with Zando".
  9. ^ "Benjamin Mendelsund 48". The New York Times. 1991-01-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  10. ^ "Guide to the Mendelsund, Henoch. Interview by e. Finn".
  11. ^ "Take Five with Peter Mendelsund '91". Columbia College Today. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  12. ^ "Peter Mendelsund '91 | Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  13. ^ "WEDDINGS; Karla Silverman, Peter Mendelsund". The New York Times. 1999-07-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  14. ^ "Cover | Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  15. ^ "Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  16. ^ Mendelsund, Peter (2014-08-07). "What's the Purpose of Book Jackets in a Digital World?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  17. ^ "Under Cover: Peter Mendelsund and "The Snowman"". The New Yorker. 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  18. ^ Shapton, Leanne (2014-09-26). "Peter Mendelsund's 90 Versions of Yes". T Magazine. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  19. ^ "The art of designing 'Ulysses,' 'Lolita' and 'The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo'". PBS NewsHour. 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  20. ^ "Cover: an ode to Peter Mendelsund's creative book covers". Designer Daily: graphic and web design blog. 2014-06-29. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  21. ^ Fedor, Lauren (2010-07-16). "Making 'Tattoo' Indelible". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  22. ^ "About". The Sewanee Review. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  23. ^ "Cover Story: Peter Mendelsund's "Injustice: Baltimore, 2015"". The New Yorker. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  24. ^ "The Atlantic Hires Renowned Publishing Design Team Peter Mendelsund and Oliver Munday". The Atlantic. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  25. ^ "The Atlantic redesign is "bold but classical, beautiful but spare"". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  26. ^ Hays, Kali (2019-11-12). "From The Atlantic to 'A': The 162-Year-Old Magazine Gets a New Logo". WWD. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  27. ^ "Los Angeles Review of Books". 11 February 2021.
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