The work of Jamie Keenan has always reminded me of another one of my favorite book designers, Gray 318. Both designers seem to enjoy getting creative when they can utilize a wide variety of approaches while delivering bread & butter covers most likely when they have to.

I was intrigued when I read in Print Magazine that the pair actually share a studio in London’s East End where they run their freelance operations (after getting pink slips from Random House UK). It’s clear the friends share a common love of old type, collage, and hand lettering. Keenan sometimes phones it in in my opinion, but in general, his work has always spoken to me.

The two recently spoke about the Twenty Immutable Theories of Cover Design in New York to a packed house of designers and publishers. I wish the event was recorded but as of this writing I haven’t found any details beyond the Print article. I’m very interested in the strange drift between UK and US theories of cover design and I can’t imagine this creative pair passed on commenting on it.