Chronicle Books

Thankfully, Chronicle employees are pretty fun. We love games. In fact, right now we’re playing “Where In The World Is David Belisle?”

In the meantime, I asked a few folks around here what it was like to work on R.E.M.: HELLO with the book’s designer, Corianton Hale. Our Senior Designer Jake had this to say:

“As an art director, I was pleasantly overwhelmed with Corianton’s tremendous output. It’s sort of rare for someone to do that much, and it reflects people’s genuine love for the material and the band. It was a unique situation because Corianton is a friend of David’s, so even though everyone always wants to get paid, he was really in it for the love and excitement of the book. It’s David’s first book, and Corianton’s first full-length book as well, and that enthusiasm was reflected in every step of the design process. The result is that the book just feels so personal, like you’re really hanging out with R.E.M.

Corianton’s just really nice and went above and beyond on everything. In fact we could barely contain the energy he brought to the book. As we were in the process of working on the cover, instead of delivering two options, he would give us two dozen! And they were all great. After we landed the final cover design, Corianton sent a just-for-fun graphic of all the alternate covers tiled together. We happened to already be tossing around the idea of a limited edition poster to accompany the first 250 preorders, and we jumped at the chance to incorporate the book’s process. So that’s the poster: an alternate reality carnival of Corianton book covers.

I don’t know what else to say… Book designers don’t usually bring a bunch of drama like fashion designers. That’s why there’s not a reality show about us. Is that enough? Can I go back to work now?”

Yep, thanks Jake. And I’m back to my game. David, your move!

Also, be sure to check out R.E.M.’s under-the-radar appearance at the Apple Store on London’s Regent Street this Wednesday night. Lucky fans can score passes from XFM Radio (broadcasting the show) or the Evening Standard. Stuck stateside? Check out the ‘Live From London’ recorded performance when it hits iTunes soon.

Welcome to life on the road. Today kicks off the start of our behind-the-scenes tour blog with our book’s photographer, David. Except, well, he’s busy actually being behind the scenes in London. Just sent from his iPhone: “I’ve got some really great shots for the blog but right now I’m at a biggee show on this tour, at the Royal Albert Hall. I promise to post tomorrow and I’ll make it really good, okay? xo, D.”

Okay, David. But for today we’re treating fans to page 116 of the book, the only one that features the man himself - or what you can see of him from behind the flash. Just so you know he exists. And that he’s promised to be good!