London-based graphic designer and founder of magCulture, an editorial design consultancy and an equally-informative magazine design blog, Jeremy Leslie is channeling 25 years of experience into his newest book, “…
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A British graphic designer and founder of Struktur Design, Roger Fawcett-Tang brings us “Numbers in Graphic Design,” a new sourcebook for dealing with information-heavy design. The practical guide surveys one of the more fascinating players in graphic design, and one that isn’t limited by linguistic or cultural boundaries. Essentially,…
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Two centuries of archived threads from The Vintage Showroom
Safeguarding the proud stock of British sportswear, Douglas Gunn and Roy Lucket founded The Vintage Showroom in 2007 as a collector’s tribute to historic threads. Their Notting Hill showroom and retail space in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials are dedicated to outdoor duds from throughout the ages. Their new book,…
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Beautiful frames in a new book and a giveaway from Biomega
An up-to-the minute catalogue of the bike and brands that are changing the cycling industry, “100 Best Bikes” curates a mighty selection ranging from compact folding rides to chainless wonders. Zahid Sardar details throughout the book objects that “epitomize the widespread 21st-century bicycle renaissance.” His brief introduction to bicycle history begins with what he calls “clownish and hard to ride Penny-farthing or high-wheeler bikes” and moves gradually towards the modern safety bike. Recently, he notes, new technologies and changing ways of life have spurred designers to rethink the classic form.
Monty offers the “Kamel 231 XXV” that ditches the seat and A-frame in favor of two parallel tubes, the upper of which is humped for shock absorption. The styling reflects the stand-up technique for bike trials, in which riders pass through an obstacle course without setting foot on the ground—not to mention, it looks downright rad.
On the other end of the sprectrum is Velorbis, a maker of traditional cruisers who recently entered the fixie game with the “Arrow,” a luxe sport model with clean horizontal lines, a Brooks saddle and brown leather grips. Old-school details on the bike include front and rear fenders as well as the brand’s signature lion’s head insignia.
Designer Joey Ruiter pioneers unconventional thinking with his “Big City Cruiser,” which eliminates the chain in favor of hub-mounted pedals and leaves a mere iota of space between the 36-inch wheels. Think of this all-black city rider as Bruce Wayne’s eco-friendly alternative to the Batmobile.
Craig Calfee strikes an all-natural note with his bamboo bike, which is held together at the joints by Chinese hemp soaked in epoxy. For the handles and forks, Calfee elected to equip the bike with an aggressive set of horns. The designer also produces consumer models that use a bamboo frame but ditch the horns for more traditional parts.
Biomega shows off several models in the book, including their “LDN,” “NYC” and “SYD” models, all of which reflect the company’s signature organic shapeliness. To commemorate the launch of “100 Best Bikes,” Biomega is also giving away a “Boston” folding bike for Cool Hunting readers (read on and check Twitter for more details). The Jens Martin Skibsted-designed model features an integrated lock halfway down the frame that allows for easy folding and has been on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
“100 Best Bikes” is available for pre-order from Laurence King and on Amazon.
Linguistics presents a friendly face in this user’s guide to semiotics
Those who have tried to plough through the works of Ferdinand de Saussure or Jacques Derrida are likely to flee from anything with “semiotics” in the title—and with good reason. Without a significant amount of time and dedication, the field is nearly impenetrable. “This Means This, This Means That“, however, delivers on a promise to explain the obscure field of semiotics by way of example. Dedicating only one double-sided page per term, author Sean Hall has effectively distilled the essential vocabulary that underlies all semiotic thought.
The layout relies on a few apt examples rather than long-winded, technical explanations of linguistic terminology. Much in the way that John Berger’s famous “Ways of Seeing” series opened people’s eyes to visual language, this book challenges the reader to anticipate layers of meaning in common images. The Q&A layout engages readers to become more than simply receptive, teaching them to react rather than absorb. A simple question and an image conjure up associations and thought processes, and readers employ the tenets of semiotics as part of the experience.
Readers discover the role that cultural education plays in the way we understand representations in explanations throughout the book. You probably know more than you think, and Hall’s work has the added advantage of arming you with words like “paralanguage” and “intratextuality” to bust out at your next cocktail party. Those with a love of graphic design will find that a basic understanding of semiotics heightens their ability to read the layered texts of images.
The second edition of “This Means This, This Means That” releases 6 March 2012 and is available for pre-order from Amazon.
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