Hasta La Ideas

At a time when “creative director” can mean everything from head designer to heavily remunerated brand ambassador, Joe Zee is the real deal. In this second installment of our three-part interview, he peers out from his perch near the tippy-top of the Elle masthead to describe his typical day (or lack thereof). “I work with all the visuals from cover to cover, so when you read the magazine, whether it’s the model, the celebrity, the styling, the fashion, the photography, all those things come into my play,” Zee explains. “It’s really sort of helping to define a visual signature for the magazine.”

Watch Part 1: Joe Zee puts it All on the Line

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At a time of year when our inbox runneth over with word of imminent fall happenings, it’s refreshing to receive a package by post, particularly when it contains a design classic in the making. Such was the case when a beautifully wrapped copy of Marion Bataille’s ABC3D (Roaring Brook Press) arrived at UnBeige HQ. The Paris-based graphic designer’s first U.S. publication has been rapidly embraced (and widely lauded) by the kiddie lit set, but design lovers of all ages will be entranced by this pop-up tour through the alphabet, which begins with a lenticular cover and moves through shape-shifting letterforms that involve spinning discs, collapsing lattices, mirrors, scrim-like pages, and other feats of paper engineering. Photos don’t begin to convey the typographical magic Bataille has wrought. Digital media to the rescue! Experience ABC3D in 2D with this video:

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John Waters followed his “Zen-like” cross-country hitchhiking adventure (research for his next book) with a busy summer. In June, the filmmaker, writer, artist, and curator took to the stage at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall to honor Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo on the occasion of her 2012 CFDA Award. “I wear Comme des Garçons the same way Andy Warhol wore $100,000 women’s necklaces underneath his Brooks Brothers turtlenecks—to be fashionable in secret,” said Waters in his remarks, which are excerpted in this month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar. “Only you know you spent money when you wear Rei’s creations. In fact, some of the more fashion-impaired public actually feel sorry for us!”

In July, Waters knocked ‘em dead on the left coast, where he performed a one-man show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (treat yourself to Linda Yablonsky’s take on it here) and later collected the annual Outfest achievement award. Meanwhile, Frieze caught up with him at his Baltimore home to discuss sex, death, God, and the art world. “[T]he Pope of Trash has found an escape hatch from his own instantly recognizable cultural legibility in the hermetic domain of contemporary art,” notes Frieze’s Drew Daniel. Here’s the highlight reel:

Thirsty for more Waters? Pick up a copy of Role Models (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), a self-portrait told through chapter-size portraits of everyone from Kawakubo to Johnny Mathis, or watch Paul Holdengräber‘s 2010 chat with Waters at the New York Public Library.

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It may be impossible to improve upon an A.M. Cassandre poster, but Spanish design studio Atipo has outdone itself with this tribute to his famous “Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet” triptych (above). Once you’re savored the last drop of loving homage, treat yourself to Cassannet, Atipo’s Art Deco-flavored font based on the lettering in Cassandre posters.

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Innovative. Refreshing. Full of ideas. Three ways to describe both TED and Chip Kidd. The charismatic graphic designer, author, editor, Batman expert, and rock star made his TED debut at the recent Full Spectrum conference in Long Beach, California, thanks to “guest curators” Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell, who organized a smashing session entitled “The Design Studio” that featured creative superstars including architect Liz Diller, Metropolitan Museum of Art director Tom Campbell, and IDEO’s David Kelley, bracketed by the whimsy of Maira Kalman‘s tapestry-cum-stage set and the wisdom of John Hodgman, who provided interstitial interrogations on design classics such as Philippe Starck‘s Juicy Salif citrus squeezer (“When you fall asleep it comes alive,” warned Hodgman. “Mr. Starck, I have revealed your terrible secret.”) In the leadoff spot was Kidd, who managed to bring the tech-heavy crowd to its feet by talking about the wonders of books: the analog kind, with dustjackets, odors, and, according to Kidd, “tradition, a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness—a little bit of humanity.” Treat yourself to his freshly posted TED talk:

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