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This week we’re excited to feature titles from Corraini Edizioni, Nobrow, Laurence King and Princeton Architectural Press. See all the books after the jump.
Italo Lupi: Graphic Autobiography By Italo Lupi / Published by Corraini Edizioni 376 pages / Text in English and Italian
Graphic autobiography is a comprehensive volume which tackles Italo Lupi’s prolific output, from his work in publishing to small architectural projects, urban design and, above all, his museum exhibitions.
Piero Fornasetti: One hundred years of practical madness Curated by Barnaba Fornasetti / Published by Published by Corraini Edizioni 200 pages / Text in English and Italian
Painter, engraver and printer, designer, collector, stylist, refined craftsman, art gallery manager and exhibition promoter, Piero Fornasetti was an extremely rich and complex personality. He designed and made approximately 13,000 objects and decorations. His world is animated by the rigour of project, of art and craftsmanship, but also by unbridled fantasy, surrealist invention and poetry.
The book accompanies the exhibition of the Triennale Design Museum, curated by Barnaba Fornasetti, the first grand and unprecedented exhibition in Italy of the artist’s work.
London Deco By Thibaud Herem / Published by Nobrow 22 pages/ English
Join architectural illustrator Thibaud Herem as on a journey through the streets of London to discover the capital’s most intriguing, striking and elaborate art deco buildings. From imposing Orwellian giants to the hidden jewels of the thirties, Herem takes us on a tour of London’s forgotten Deco landmarks in an art edition of giant proportions.
Available at Amazon, Nobrow or your local book shop.
How to be an Illustrator (2nd Edition) By Darrel Rees / Published Laurence King 168 Pages / Text in English
This book offers practical help and guidance to aspiring illustrators. All areas of the job are covered – how to create a portfolio; the most effective ways to approach would-be clients; how to prepare for meetings and negotiate contracts; and how to handle, deliver, and bill a job. There is advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that can undermine crucial first impressions; how to set up a studio; and how to maintain a flow of work and manage one’s time and cash. Success in self-promotion, creating websites, self-publishing, and the pros and cons of agents are all explored.
Grids & Guides: A Notebook for a Visual Thinkers Published by Princeton Architectural Press 160 Pages
Map out graphs, schematics, sketches, and dreams with this sleek and durable workbook. Inspired by vintage laboratory notebooks, Grids & Guides features 144 pages of graph paper (eight designs repeating throughout) interspersed with a multitude of scientific charts, tables, and infographics featuring everything from the periodic table to alternative alphabets to Newton’s Laws of Motion.
This week we’re excited to feature titles from Flying Eye Books, Laurence King, Peach Pit Press, PA Press, Kat Ran Press and more. See all the books after the jump.
Graphic Icons: Visionaries Who Shaped Modern Graphic Design By John Clifford / Published by Peachpit Press 240 Pages / 6.9″x9″ / English
In this fun, fast-paced introduction to the most iconic designers of our time, author John Clifford takes you on a visual history tour that’s packed with the posters, ads, logos, typefaces, covers, and multimedia work that have made these designers great. You’ll find examples of landmark work by such industry luminaries as El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko, A.M. Cassandre, Alvin Lustig, Cipe Pineles, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Wim Crouwel, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Paula Scher, and more.
Available at Amazon, Pearson and your local book shop.
Twentieth-Century Type and Beyond (mini edition) By Lewis Blackwell / Published by Laurence King 216 Pages / 6.8″ x 8.7″ / English
This substantially revised edition of Lewis Blackwell’s classic study provides an up-to-date, decade-by-decade analysis of the issues that have shaped the history and development of typographic design. The book provides an informed and accessible guide to the typography of the twentieth century and the key questions that are shaping contemporary graphic practice.
In the City: Drawings by Nigel Peake By Nigel Peake / Published by Princeton Architectural Press 144 Pages / 6″ x 8″ / English
For the follow up to In the Wilds, his much-loved illustrated ode to rural life, Nigel Peake swaps the bucolic Irish countryside where he grew up for the bustling sidewalks of the city. Peake’s companion volume, In the City, explores the visual details of a variety of urban metropolises including Shanghai, New York, Antwerp, London, Paris, Oslo, Lausanne, Budapest, Istanbul, and San Francisco.
Postage Stamps by AIGA Medalists By Michael Russem / Published by Kat Ran Press 24 Pages / 9″ x 12″ / English
From the publisher
“Since 1920 the American Institute of Graphic Arts has been awarding its AIGA Medals “to individuals who have set standards of excellence over a lifetime of work or have made individual contributions to innovation within the practice of design.” To date, 155 designers have been awarded Medals; only a handful have designed government-issued postage stamps. This is their story.”
I Like it. What is it? By Anthony Burrill / Published by Laurence King 30 pull-out posters / 64 pages / 11″ x 14″ / English
I Like It. What Is It? is a collection of unique posters featuring catchy typographic slogans by designer Anthony Burrill. Simply pull out the detachable prints and display the bright statements on your wall.
Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space By Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman / Published by Flying Eye Books 64 Pages / 11.5″ x 11.4″ / English
Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space explores topics such as gravity, extraterrestrial life, time, and many other fascinating subjects that will take you and your children on a journey to the very frontiers of space!
Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use personally and believe will add value to our readers.
A Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965 is the latest title from LACMA curator Bobbye Tigerman and profiles 140 of the most significant design figures from the mid-twentieth-century. As a companion to the catalog California Design: Living in a Modern Way and the exhibition of the same name, the book features Grain Edit faves such as Saul Bass and Alvin Lustig, as well as many lesser known but influential practitioners. Also included is an extended reading list, images of the exhibition installation and sources for further research.
Designed by the award winning designer Irma Boom, the book is a beautifully crafted object in its own right. The layout is restrained in its approach, but shines within the subtle details. I especially appreciate her “Connections and Collaborations” diagram which takes on a pattern-like quality that possibly emulates some of the textile work of the era.
You can pick up a copy at the LACMA shop as well as Amazon. The exhibition, which recently wrapped up in Tokyo, makes its next stop at the Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand on July 7th of this year.
Fresh picks from our favorite publishers! Here’s the latest books to hit our shelves.
Nobrow 8: Hysteria Published by Nobrow 128 pages / 12.1″x8.6″
Forty-five artists have risen above (or maybe plunged even deeper into) their hysterical minds to produce double page illustrations or four-page-long comics. Jim Rugg, Emmanuelle Walker, Sam Bosma, Marta Monteiro, David Lucas, Kenard Pak, Bob Flynn, Keith Negley, Carmen Segovia, Gwendal Le Bec, Robin Davey, Andrea Kalfas, William Grill, Luke Pearson, Dustin Harbin, José Domingo, Matteo Farinella and Dilraj Mann are just some of the illustrious names who have let their hysterical drawings loose on Nobrow 8’s pages.
Just like Nobrow 6 and Nobrow 7, Nobrow 8 is in actual fact two magazines rolled into one and sealed with a double cover.
Pre-order a copy at Amazon or buy directly from Nobrow
Topsy Turvy World by Atak Published by Flying Eye Books 30 pages / 11.6″ x 9.6″
A fantastical illustrated book where mice chase cats, penguins live in the jungle, cars fly and aeroplanes float!
It’s a time-honoured children’s game – catching out the grown-ups when they’re telling lies. Atak’s just given it a new twist, using lots of classic tall tales, and adding a few new ones as well. By seeing what’s obviously wrong, kids will learn what’s really right.
Draw Your Own Alphabets: Thirty Fonts to Scribble, Sketch, and Make Your Own By Tony Seddon / Published by Princeton Architectural Press 160 pages / 10″ x 7.5″
Draw Your Own Alphabets is a fun, hands-on workbook that teaches how to create funky hand-lettered fonts sure to jump off the page, poster, or screen. Presenting thirty complete alphabets, custom-drawn in a variety of styles by various young designers and illustrators, this do-it-yourself guide demonstrates how to adapt the letters and make them your own.
Pick up copy at Amazon, PA Press or your local book shop.
Pap! by Mick Marston Designed and published by Dust 52 pages / Limited Edition of 200
The words in this book are the result of Mick’s desire to put his images to work. An image was selected at random and sent to a collection of friends, writers, students and colleagues who were asked to write something with the image in mind – a reversal of the usual illustration process if you like.
Flying Eye Books is the latest branch in Nobrow’s budding empire. The imprint will strictly focus on Children’s titles while retaining the same quality and curation that you would come to expect from Nobrow.
For their first release, they worked with award-winning UK-based illustrator Viviane Schwarz to create an awesome robot book - literally. The aptly titled Welcome to Your Awesome Robotprovides you with everything you need to design, build and test a robot from cardboard. With instructional comics and Vivienne’s charming sense of humor as your guide, the book is fun to read and makes for an excellent family activity.
Details: Welcome to Your Awesome Robot
By Viviane Schwarz / Published by Flying Eye Books
32 pages / 12.4″x9.4″
Irving Harper: Works In Paper is a recent monograph from Skira Rizzoli celebrating the multi-faceted designer, Irving Harper, with a focus on his incredible collection of paperboard sculptures.
As the director of design at George Nelson Associates in the 1960s, Harper contributed to numerous mid-century creations, namely the Marshmallow Sofa for Herman Miller furniture and the Ball and Sunburst clocks for Howard Miller, and also leading the design of the Chrysler pavilion for the 1964 New York World Fair. According to Julie Lasky who penned an essay for the book, the pressure of work ‘almost drove him to knit’, yet with his skills in building client presentation models in cardboard, he soon eased his way into sculpting with paper. Inspired by Picasso, African Art, Surrealism and de Stijl, Harper constructed whimsical characters and breathtaking abstracts mostly out of paper in addition to straws, wood, toothpicks, twigs, spare materials from his office and discarded doll parts from his daughter. His collection numbered close to 300 when he ran out of display space in 2000. He completed his stunning final piece which appropriately graced the book cover - an owl with glass eyeballs and draped in folded brown paper feathers.
Pick up a copy at Amazon, Rizzoli or your local book shop.
This has been a guest post by Liz Surya. Check out her amazing blog Pleat Farm as well as her well-curated and uber-stylish Pinterest account.
What better way to start off the week than with some exciting new releases from our favorite publishers? Our latest installment includes whimsical architectural renderings by James Gulliver Hancock, reissues of obscure illustration classics by William Wondriska and Robinson and much more!
Paris, Line by Line
By Robinson / Published by Universe
48 pages / 11.75″ x 13″
Pre-order a copy at Amazon, Rizzoli and your local book shop
Brian Grimwood: The Man Who Changed the Look of British Illustration
Intro by Peter Blake / Published by Black Dog Publishing
224 pages / 11′ x 9″
With an “Introduction” by Brian Grimwood’s friend and peer, Sir Peter Blake, this beautifully illustrated book is the first complete overview of Grimwood’s work, and serves to further reinforce his
fundamental contribution to the changing face of illustration since the 1960s—both in Britain and internationally.
The Sound of Things
By William Wondriska / Published by Corraini Edizioni
44 pages
The sound of things was born in the spring of 1955, when a young William Wondriska just before he was drafted into the Armed Services conceived, designed, and printed it in the Department of Design of Yale University, as partial fulfillment of degree requirements.
In this book, the author – in a wonderful combination of drawings, letters, and colors – brings the sound of all kinds of objects visually alive.
Tumbling Old Women
Text by Daniil Kharms. Illustrations by Joanna Neborsky / Published by Corraini Edizioni
20 pages
The creative and colourful collages of Joanna Neborsky illustrate a short story by Daniil Kharms, recreating the unreal and imaginary atmosphere of early nineteenth-century Russian Surrealism to which the story belongs.
Bird Beak Book
By Oscar Bolton Green /Published by Corraini Edizioni
24 pages
Oscar Bolton Green’s clear-cut line drawings and brilliant colours explain the many different variations with the same simplicity as the accompanying text.
His immediate, essential style, with its patches of colour and clarity of line, shows how tiny hummingbirds stretch into the flowers to draw out the nectar and how graceful flamingo dips its spoon-shaped beak beneath the surface of the water.
No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism (mini edition)
By Rick Poynor / Published by Laurence King
192 pages / 8.75″ x 6.75″
No More Rules was the first wide-ranging critical survey to focus on and explore postmodernism’s impact on graphic design in the 1980s and 1990s, an era that transformed the discipline. Now re-issued in a new mini format, it tells the story of how designers and typographers threw away the rule book and forged experimental new approaches.
Pre-order a copy at Laurence King and your local book shop
American Modernism: Graphic Design 1920–1960 (mini edition)
By R. Roger Remington / Published by Laurence King
192 pages / 8.75″ x 6.75″
American Modernism is a comprehensive survey of Modernist graphic design as it emerged in America in the period between 1920 and 1960 in various media – advertising, information design, brand identity, magazine design, book design and posters.
Pre-order a copy at Laurence King and your local book shop.
All the Buildings in New York: That I’ve Drawn So Far
By James Gulliver Hancock / Published by Universe
64 pages / 7.5″ x 9.75″
A charmingly illustrated journey through New York City, neighborhood by neighborhood. All the Buildings in New York is a love letter to New York City, told through James Gulliver Hancock’s unique and charming drawings of the city’s diverse architectural styles and cityscape. His buildings are colorful and chock full of fun and offbeat details, and this book is full of new discoveries as well as old chestnuts for anyone who loves the Big Apple. Organized by neighborhoods, the book features iconic New York buildings, such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Flatiron Building, as well as the everyday buildings that make up New York City—the boutique shops in SoHo, timeless brownstones in Brooklyn, and rows of busy markets in Chinatown.
Pre-order a copy at Amazon, Rizzoli and your local book shop.
Woodcut Notecards
By Bryan Nash-Gill / Princeton Architectural Press
5.25 x 6.5 inches (13.3 x 16.5 cm), Gift Box With 12 Full-Color Cards (6 Designs, Repeating 2 Times) And 12 Envelopes
In this collection of notecards, based on the book Woodcut, the arboreal rings come to life in exquisite detail, revealing the great beauty and power within each tree.
From books on vintage record cover art to typographic notecards, here’s the latest batch of items to hit our shelves.
Mati & The Music: 52 Record Covers 1955-2005
Text by Serge Bramly / Published by RM/Librairie 213
184 pages / 12″x12″
Mati & the Music presents Klarwein’s 52 paintings that appeared on album covers, a body of work that began in the mid–1950s and continued for half a century. The majority of the album covers Klarwein painted were commissioned by the musicians themselves, most famously by Miles Davis for his breakthrough fusion albums Bitches Brew and Live Evil and Carlos Santana for Abraxas.
Lemon V / King
Published by Lemon
125 pages / 11″ x 10.8″
In this, the fifth installment of Lemon, we’ve checked ridicule at the door and invited an eclectic cast of contributors to celebrate the pure pop magic that Michael Jackson embodied when at his best. Much of the work therein was created especially for this issue, and all of it is a distinct departure from the usual retrospectives which have filled the shelves -ad nauseum, ad infinitum - in the days since his death.
Letterpress Now: A DIY Guide to New & Old Printing Methods
By Jessica White / Published by Lark Crafts
176 pages / 8.5″x10″
a contemporary how-to reference on letterpress, a traditional craft that’s experiencing a huge resurgence! This information-packed book offers details on how to use a variety of presses and all the tools of the trade, including about 20 modern projects and features on top letterpress artists.
Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal
By Karen Falk / Foreword by Lisa Henson
Published by Chronicle Books
192 pages / 8″x10″
Compiled directly from The Jim Henson Company archives, Imagination Illustrated adapts the diary that Jim faithfully kept throughout his career, supplementing it with a trove of little-seen visual material, including rare sketches, personal and production photographs, storyboards, doodles, and much more. Throughout, archivist Karen Falk delves into the behind-the-scenes details of Henson’s life and artistic process.
Brooklyn Makers: Food, Design, Craft, and Other Scenes from the Tactile Life
By Jennifer Causey / Published by Princeton Architectural Press
176 pages / 7.5″ x 9.5″
In Brooklyn Makers, photographer Jennifer Causey captures the spirit of this homegrown movement by documenting thirty of the borough’s most celebrated craftsmen. This eclectic mix of established and up-and-coming makers includes bakers, ceramic artists, clothing designers, florists, distillers, and more. With an eye for small details, Causey’s charming photographs reveal each artisan at work in their own space. Her lively interviews reveal what inspires them, keeps them motivated, and their thoughts on the city where they live and work.
The Tote Bag Book (mini Edition)
By Jitesh Patel / Published by Laurence King
160 pages / 7.1″ x 5.1″
The featured totes come from over 120 illustrators, graphic designers and design studios around the world, from the Netherlands to Nigeria. Designs include floral prints, typography, illustrations and characters.
Maps: 3 Mini Journals
By Paula Scher
64 pages each / 4.25″ x 5.75″
Introducing a new line of smart and stylish gift products developed in collaboration with legendary international design firm Pentagram. These three pocket-sized journals are decorated with Pentagram partner Paula Scher’s obsessively detailed, highly personal city maps.
Vintage Typography Notecards
12 2-color cards (6 designs, repeating 2 times) and 12 envelopes pages
4.75″ x 6″
Discovered in vintage typographic manuals, the specimens featured on these elegant cards range from one-of-a-kind hand-drawn samples to classic favorites used in the early decades of the twentieth century. The back of each card features a minihistory of the typeface’s origins and use.
The Book Design of Josef Capek: Seeing The Book: The Modern Czech Book 3
By Alena Pomajzlova / Published by Kant
328 pages / 9.2″ x 11.3″
Josef Capek (1887-1945) was one of Czech modernism’s most formative protagonists. The artist first studied weaving before finding his métier as both a painter and designer. In this book the authors present a fully-illustrated and complete survey of Josef’s book cover designs, many of which have been rarely seen.
Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art
Foreword by Paul McCartney.Text by Norman Hathaway, Dan Nadel.
Published by Damiani
208 pages / 9.5″ x 10.25″
Electrical Banana documents the great virtuosos of psychedelic art: men and women whose work combines avant-garde design with highly sophisticated image-making. Launching a million Day-glo dreams, the artists include: Marijke Koger, the Dutch artist responsible for dressing the Beatles; Mati Klarwein, who painted the cover for Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew; Keiichi Tanaami, the Japanese master of psychedelic posters; Heinz Edelmann, the German illustrator and designer of the Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine; Tadanori Yokoo, whose prints, books and fabrics defined the 1960s in Japan; Dudley Edwards, a painter, car decorator and graphic artist on the London rock scene; and the enigmatic Australian Martin Sharp, whose work for Cream and underground magazines made him a hippie household name in Europe.
Freedom, Rhythm and Sound: Revolutionary Jazz Original Cover Art 1965-83
Compiled by Gilles Peterson, Stuart Baker
Published by Soul Jazz Records Publishing
180 pages / 12″ x 12″
Freedom, Rhythm and Sound is the first ever collection of this fascinating goldmine of album art, which represents the first wave of inspired independent production within popular music. The book provides a large introduction contextualizing the music and artwork, as well as interviews with many of the people involved.
Modern British Posters: Art, Design & Communication
By Paul Rennie / Published by Black Dog Publishing
192 pages / 11″ x 9.0″
Modern British Posters discusses the cultural significance of the poster as mass communication, the development of printing through a large collection of posters. The posters cover topics as broad as
transport, new towns, art, architecture, the seaside and popular culture. The posters in this book demonstrate the graphic language emerging in Britain during this time, as commercial art was transformed into graphic design.
To celebrate the launch of our upcoming online store, we will be holding a special preview sale. If you would like to receive an invite, email us with your details. Please include “grain edit store” in the subject line of the message.
*To access the store you will need a code which will be sent via email prior to the event.
Through his whimsical gouche paintings, Matte Stephens has created a world filled with friendly characters and warm moments that are flavored with nostalgia. Dapper foxes, chirping birds, pipe smoking penguins, turn of the century explorers all inhabit a space on his canvas. Even Monsieur Hulot stops by for the fun. The entire cast make an appearance in Matte’s new book, Matte Stephens Selected Works (Oeuvres choisies). Published by Editions Alto in Quebec, the stunning cloth-bound book highlights many of his most cherished paintings as well as his lesser known works.
Here’s the latest batch of books to hit our shelves. This week includes picks from Princeton Architectural Press and Chronicle Books.
Elegantissima: The Design and Typography of Louise Fili
Foreword by Steven Heller
Published by Princeton Architectural Press
256 pages / 9″x8.1″
Louise Fili has been an inspiration for designers around the world since the 1980s, when she raised the bar on book cover design, creating close to two thousand jackets as art director for Pantheon Books. In 1989 Fili founded her own graphic design studio, Louise Fili Ltd, and branched out into the fields of restaurant and food packaging design. Her lavish and elegant typography, often hand drawn, helps advertise and market such well-known brands as Sarabeth’s, Bella Cucina, Jean-Georges, and Good Housekeeping, among many others. Known for her intense attention to detail, her fresh reinterpretation of vintage sources, and her passion for all things Italian, Fili has won numerous awards. Elegantissima, the first monograph on her work, covers the breadth of her nearly forty-year design career. Featuring case studies showing sketches, references, inspiration, and design process, it’s a must-have for graphic design students and professionals, as well as anyone interested in advertising, food, restaurants, Italy, and books.
Pick up a copy at Amazon, PA Press or your local book store.
A Coloring Book by Mike Perry and You
Published by Chronicle Books
8″x10″ / 32 pages
Pictorial Webster’s Pocket Dictionary By John Carrera / Published by Chronicle Books 3.5″x5.5″ / 208 pages
Now a selection of over 200 gorgeous engravings that once graced the pages of 19th-century Webster’s dictionaries are gathered in this tiny treasure trove of visual wonders. This compact, portable reference is perfect for stuffing in the stockings of scholars, designers, and anyone with a taste for the antique.
Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth
Written by Emily Haynes / Illustrated by Sanjay Patel
Published by Chronicle Books
40 pages / 10″x 9-5/8″
The bold, bright colors of India leap right off the page in this fresh and funny picture book adaptation of how Ganesha came to write the epic poem of Hindu literature, theMahabharata. Ganesha is just like any other kid, except that he has the head of an elephant and rides around on a magical mouse. And he loves sweets, especially the traditional dessert laddoo. But when Ganesha insists on biting into a super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo, his tusk breaks off! Ganesha is terribly upset, but with the help of the wise poet Vyasa, he learns that what seems broken can actually be quite useful after all.
Pug and Bernese Mountain Dog prints Part of the Canine Collection by Lumadessa Limited edition of 100, signed and numbered by artist Josh Brill. 10″x7″ *17″x12″ option available as well
Giclée print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth, 305 g, 100% cotton archival fine art paper.
Pick up a copy here.
I was sent this really cool book—or “pamphlet”, as they call it—called Gratuitous Type / No. 2. A self proclaimed “pamphlet of typographic smut”, this small anthology of current interesting typography, lettering and fonts really runs the gamut of interesting new styles. With an advanced design and extremely impressive printing, the publisher/designer and editor (Elana Schlenker & Kate Marchetto, respectively) really have done a wonderful job putting everything together.
Of the twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, the letter “Q” seems to be to be the quirkiest as it masquerades as a “K” sound, squiggly tail and all. To gain a better understanding and appreciation of all things “Q” related, Berlin based illustrator Katja Spitzer and writer Sebastian Gievert have teamed up to create Quodlibet - a carefully curated illustrated encyclopedia of Q-words inspired by French novelist Georges Perec, who made a book centered around letter “E”.
Quodlibet is not your everyday encyclopedia. In fact, it’s quite the opposite as it primarily features colorful and often comical illustrations of queens, quacks, Quentin Tarantino, and other quandaries. Without any question, do yourself a favor and grab a copy from No Brow.
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
By Michael Bierut / Published by Princeton Architectural Press
272 pages/ 6 x 9 inches
Now available in paperback, designer Michael Bierut’s acclaimed Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design brings together his best critical writing. Covering topics as diverse as Twyla Tharp and ITC Garamond, Bierut’s intelligent and accessible texts pull design culture into crisp focus. Along the way, Nabokov’s Pale Fire, Eero Saarinen, the paper clip, the cover of The Catcher in the Rye, the planet Saturn, the ClearRx pill bottle, and paper architecture all fall under his pen.
Available at Amazon, PA Press and your local book store.
The Electric Information Age Book
McLuhan/Agel/Fiore and the Experimental Paperback By Jeffrey Schnapp and Adam Michaels / Published by Princeton Architectural Press
216 pages / 4.25 x 7 inches
The Electric Information Age Book explores the nine-year window of mass-market publishing in the sixties and seventies when formerly backstage players—designers, graphic artists, editors—stepped into the spotlight to produce a series of exceptional books. Aimed squarely at the young media-savvy consumers of the “Electronic Information Age,” these small, inexpensive paperbacks aimed to bring the ideas of contemporary thinkers like Marshall McLuhan, R. Buckminster Fuller, Herman Kahn, and Carl Sagan to the masses. Graphic designers such as Quentin Fiore (The Medium is the Massage, 1967) employed a variety of radical techniques—verbal visual collages and other typographic pyrotechnics—that were as important to the content as the text.
Available at Amazon, PA Press and your local book store.
Ghost Knigi
By Benjamin Sommerhalder / Published by Nieves
20 Pages, 19.5 x 25.5 cm
On little Ghost Knigi’s birthnight he receives a book from his Aunt Abel.
When she hands it to him all she says is, ‘I hope you enjoy reading this!’
Knigi is quite young, but still at an age when human children normally learn to read. And it’s the same for ghost children. ‘But something is wrong’, Knigi worries. The book is absolutely white – every page, from cover to cover. Knigi is forced to embark on a journey to find out how to read.
A collection of Hervé Morvan—colorful, cute and adorable characters. Hervé Morvan (1917–1980) is a great French poster artist and designer who became well-known for his advertising poster for Perrier
Pantone invites you on a rich visual tour of 100 transformative years. From the Pale Gold (15-0927 TPX) and Almost Mauve (12-2103 TPX) of the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris to the Rust (18-1248 TPX) and Midnight Navy (19-4110 TPX) of the countdown to the Millennium, the 20th century brimmed with color. Longtime Pantone collaborators and color gurus Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker identify more than 200 touchstone works of art, products, décor, and fashion, and carefully match them with 80 different official PANTONE color palettes to reveal the trends, radical shifts, and resurgences of various hues.
Italian postage stamps designed by E. Consolazione, R. Cuzzani, and A. de Stefani in 1967 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Giro d’Italia cycling championship.
Ciclisti in volata - Racing cyclists in the general classification of the Giro. The overall winner of the Giro d’Italia wears the maglia rosa (”pink jersey”)
Ciclisti in salita - Cyclists climbing uphill in the mountains classification of the Giro. The best climber in the mountain stages wears the maglia verde (”green jersey”).
We recently received this title on contemporary typography from the friendly folks at Princeton Architectural Press. The book takes a look at the minimalistic typographic work of a variety of well-known and not-so-well-known designers.
From the Princeton Architectural Press website:
“This international collection documents the work of more than twenty-four graphic designers who engage in an aggressively simple typography. Lavishly illustrated with commentary by author J. Namdev Hardisty, the book explores the innovative posters, books, signage, and other forms of print design by such well-known designers as Daniel Eatock, Experimental Jetset, Spin, the Walker Art Center’s design studio, as well as those just beginning to make a mark on the design world, including MGMT., Project Projects, SEA, Xavier Encinas, Manuel Raeder, YES, and more.”
Looking for some new inspiration or something to add to your summer reading list? Here’s a few of the titles that we’ve received within the last month or so.
The Modernist / Edited by R. Klanten, H. Hellige
192 pages
The Modernist documents this uniquely contemporary, yet timeless aesthetic that is built upon the rediscovery and seamless melding of classical type elements and collage of the 1950s, the geometric patterns and graphic elements of the 1960s and 1970s, and the vector graphics and computer-aided montage of the 1990s. With its fresh perspective on the legacy of past craftsmanship and quality in outstanding current work, The Modernist expands our understanding of what modern graphic design can be.
Thirty artists were asked to create repeatable patterns from some of their favourite things, a selection of which will be turned into a variety of Nobrow products in the coming months.
Have you ever wondered what goes on in your life when you’re looking the other way? Perhaps you’re so drawn into what’s going on with you that you fail to notice the events taking place to your periphery—or even right under your nose? In Everything We Miss, Luke Pearson explores the dying days of a failing relationship through the infinitesimal unseen moments that surround it—and us.
In our current day and age we have a plethora of opportunities to view designers’ sparkling clean, polished work. It’s not as often that we get to view the process or beginnings of this work. Julia Rothman’s new book, Drawn In takes us into the pages of sketchbooks from 44 artists, designers and cartoonists.
Along with interviews, we get a glimpse at the ideas, scribblings, and preliminary work of some of my favorite artists and designers, including Jessica Hische, Mike Perry, and Tad Carpenter. Julia does a nice job of showcasing some beautiful work; she also conducts sharp, poignant interviews with the artists, allowing them to talk about their process, technique and thoughts.
On a recent and most adventurous trip to the South of France, I had the pleasure of visiting the small village of Montolieu. Known as the “Village of Books,” Montolieu has a grand array of artisans that specialize in book binding and printing as well as antiquarian bookstores specializing in everything from vintage periodicals and antiquities to comics, art and kids books.
Today’s post will unearth some of my favorite finds from my trip, including books illustrated by J.P. Miller, Charley Harper, and Alain Gree.
I went with a few other folks to Montolieu during the awkward hour of 11:30A, which is right before all shops close up for lunch. I was on a time crunch, and the first (and only) bookstore I visited was La Rose Des Vents, which translates to “The Compass” in English. The shop was fairly small and had two rooms, with regional and history books in the front and children’s books in the back.
While there, I was able to find a few neat books, including a drawing book titled Voyage a Travers Le Monde (Journey Through the World), c. 1974. The book provides instructions on how to draw various cultures from around the world, not by any means accurately by the way.
In addition to that book, I was able to find Le Manege Vivant (c. 1950), which is the French edition of The Marvelous Merry-Go-Round, written by Jane Werner and illustrated by J.P. Miller. I had not seen the book before, and the hippo alone on the cover was enough reason to hold onto it! Upon opening the book, I was pleased to see so many whimsical and colorful illustrations, trademark of Miller’s style.
