I pulled out this number from our ever-growing, ever-teetering bookcase to commemorate the 30-years this month since William Gibson's Neuromancer was published in 1984… There is so much to be said about the book itself, especially of the author's psychic-imagination and his vision on the future shape of the internet... and how it trickles down to the lowest class of society…
Since it's release, influence has pronounced the book in an array of spectrums across the board; from The Matrix, to Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy, to the Ed Snowden moment, to every social network known today…
But anyway...
For now, we'll concentrate on the craft of the artist behind the cover of the allegorical novel, whose name is Steve Crisp…
The designer studied in London, concentrating on graphics and won some student-awards which brought attention from agency top-guns, Artist Partners. Crisp then took on commissions from leading British publishers which later led to gigs with U.S. publishers… then on to producing posters and video covers for movies such as Aliens, The Princess Bride, Mad Max, Death on the Nile and others…
Shifting to more digital methods, we can't say we aesthetically identify with all of Crisp's work, but considering what a legend he is in his own right, his website is certainly worth a gander...
The first line from Neuromancer - which instantly lured me in - goes, The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel…