The Power of Design: How ‘If I Did It’ Became a Guilty Verdict

The frenzy surrounding Netflix's recent release, American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson, is fresh and palpable. With the OTT platform unveiling the four-episode documentary series, viewers get an in-depth look into the infamous and "JUICE-y" 1995 murder trial of the late former footballer Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson.

Simpson was initially accused of the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. However, he was later acquitted in the criminal trial due to allegations of planted evidence and racial bias by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). While the infamously gripping question—"Did O.J. do it?"—was put to rest in denial following his criminal acquittal, Simpson was later found liable in a subsequent civil lawsuit filed by Ron Goldman's family. This lawsuit resulted in the seizure of the majority of Simpson's assets, including his controversial book and all its future proceeds.

The book, ghostwritten by Pablo Fenjves, is supposedly a hypothetical description of the murders. It was originally set to be published under the title O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened by ReganBooks, a division of HarperCollins. However, after obtaining ownership of the book, the Goldmans took advantage of the situation by cleverly manipulating the narrative surrounding Simpson’s involvement in the murders. They altered the title to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.

In the redesigned version-

• The nuanced simplification of the title, achieved by shrinking the word If and enlarging the red I Did It on the cover, subtly steers the title toward an affirmative answer to the lingering question, "Did O.J. do it?"
• Since many readers are unaware of the modifications made by the Goldmans, the title can easily be misinterpreted as a plain and self-damaging confession—"I Did It"—by Simpson himself.

While the actual events of June 1994 may remain open to endless speculation and debate, the book’s redesign demonstrates how slight modifications in typography and layout can make one read between the lines, leaving readers more convinced than ever about who The Killer truly is. This transformation shifts the book’s essence from a purely fictional account to what appears to be a blatant real-life confession, massively altering the original intent behind its creation.

Whether he did it or not, one thing is clear—some graphic designers and marketers are better storytellers than O.J. himself!

So, what do you think—was it a stroke of genius in design and marketing, or the closest thing to a confession we’ll ever get from O.J. Simpson?