Furniture design described through various thematic lenses in a new book from the Brazilian design duo
by Felipe Meres São Paulo design duo Luciana Martins and Gerson de Oliveira of Ovo have recently released Mobiliário_OVO, a book about their furniture design, iconic objects and art projects. For more than a decade the designers have developed an array of exquisite and clever pieces that are at once…
Continue Reading…
A visual narrative of the art and design that spawned a cultural movement and DIY generation
Born in dungy London basements and matured in equally grimy streets, the punk counter culture of the mid 1970’s and 80’s defined an unrelenting angst felt by youth the world around. While many books have surfaced over the years to document its documenters, Punk: An Aesthetic wraps over 350…
Continue Reading…
Graphic designer and art director Darren Wall loves (video) gaming so much he’s founded a new publishing company, Read-Only Memory, to publish beautifully designed and exhaustively researched books on the subject…
Wall has made a film to explain his intentions with ROM and also to outline what the first book is all about. Why? Because he needs help to get the funding to actually print ROM’s first book. The following film appears on a Kickstarter page he’s set up where he hopes to raise the $30,000 required to make the project happen:
Sensible Software 1986–1999 from Darren Wall on Vimeo.
Here is a gif showing some spreads from Sensible Sofware 1986-1999 which is all ready to print, pending funding:
And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see a vinyl record of Sensible Software’s greatest hits?
Find the project’s Kickstarter campaign page here.
CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print
Students, grads, young professionals: if you buy one issue of CR this year, make sure it’s this one. The September print issue of CR is our annual graduates special. In it, we have teamed four recent graduates with professional practitioners in their chosen field who offer invaluable advice on how to get started in their profession. APFEL meet graphics graduate Arthur Carey, BETC London ECD Neil Dawson meets Sophia Ray, illustrator Matthew ‘The Horse’ Hodson offers sage advice to Sam Tomlins and photographer Jenny van Sommers meets Megan Helyer. In addition, our September issue also features Google Creative Lab, Unit Editions’ new book on Herb Lubalin, Michael Evamy on place branding, Jeremy Leslie on new bilingual magzine Figure and Gordon Comstock on the importance of failure.
Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
A beautifully illustrated guide to living off the land based on Rohan Anderson’s blog
Aggravated by the unsustainable food industry in his native Australia (and everywhere else for that matter), Rohan Anderson took it upon himself to change things in his own life. Anderson now lives entirely off the land with his family in the rural town of Ballarat, documenting their DIY adventures…
Continue Reading…
Competition: Dezeen and designer Dominic Wilcox have teamed up to give readers the chance to win one of five copies of his new book that features over one hundred drawings of his “odd yet strangely logical” inventions (+ movie).
A device for popping balloons silently and a four-headed family poncho (below) are just some of the illustrations featured.
He has also made an animation of some ideas (top) to mark the launch of the book.
Wilcox has a solo exhibition running from 6 to 26 September at the KK Outlet in east London, with a private view 7-9pm this evening.
The book will be shown for the first time at the exhibition, alongside other new work such as a pair of shoes that can navigate the wearer to their destination.
A selection of his illustrations are available to buy at Dezeen Super Store, our pop-up shop in Covent Garden, London.
To enter this competition email your name, age, gender, occupation, and delivery address and telephone number to competitions@dezeen.com with “Variations on Normal” in the subject line. We won’t pass your information on to anyone else; we just want to know a little about our readers.
Read our privacy policy here.
Competition closes 4 October 2012. Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeenmail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.
The post Competition: five copies of Variations on Normal
by Dominic Wilcox to be won appeared first on Dezeen.
Croation designers Bruketa&Žinić have produced an unusual annual report for an investment company – a book that turns green in the reader’s hands.
The ‘In Good Hands’ report for Adris reveals green leaf patterns on the cover when warmed by the heat from a hand.
Last year we featured the designers’ previous annual report for Adris, which has a cover that glows in the dark.
Bruketa&Žinić are also responsible for Dezeen’s most popular story ever – an annual report for a food company that must be baked before reading.
Photographs are by Domagoj Kunić.
See all our stories about Bruketa&Žinić »
See all our stories about books »
Here’s some more text from the designers:
A book that grows green in your hands.
Good things grow in good hands. Adris group is a company owned by its employees and that is why it has grown in the past year, despite the crisis. Adris group’s annual report, entitled ‘In Good Hands’, reveals floral details when heated by the palm of the hand, metaphorically illustrating how hands can achieve anything.
Credits: Davor Bruketa, Nikola Žinić (Creative Directors), Nebojša Cvetković, Neven Crljenak (Art Directors), Ivan Čadež (Senior Copywriter), Vesna Đurašin (Copywriter, Production Manager), Radovan Radićević (DTP), Zrinka Jugec (Account Director), Ivana Drvar (Account Executive Senior), Vedran Klemens (illustrator), Brlog / Tin Kadoić (digital production). Adris grupa / Predrag D. Grubić (editor), Kristina Miljavac (executive editor), Hrvoje Patajac (text).
Print: Cerovski print boutique, Stegatisak
Thermo color printing: Knepsen
Binding and blind folding: Knjigovežnica Firšt
The post In Good Hands
by Bruketa&Žinić appeared first on Dezeen.
The Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design is a boxed edition of 500 A4 cards detailing some of the world’s most important examples of the medium. At 13kg it’s an object with some presence, but how will it weigh up with readers?
A selection of the 500 cards that make up the Phaidon Archive
While its considerable size and loose leaf format initially makes you wonder ‘isn’t this what the iPad is really good at?’, handling each of the individual cards – the cover of Eric Gill’s Typography (1931), or of an issue of David Carson’s Beach Culture (1990), for example – reminds you that when print works well, it can work like nothing else.
Front and reverse of card detailing Eric Gill’s book, Typography, 1931
In a sense the packaging (the large box comes harnessed in a sturdy carrying handle) is a bit of a distraction: the content is the main event here. It’s a pleasure just to sit and look through the range of magazines and newspapers, posters and advertisements, typefaces, logos, symbols, books, album covers and motion graphics, which have been selected by a panel of designers, writers, critics and historians. (In the name of full disclosure both myself and CR’s Eliza contributed research to the project but weren’t involved in the selection process.)
This is Phaidon’s stab at a graphic design canon and judging by the editorial process outlined in the foreword – thousands of entries were whittled down to 500 – it’s been a considerable undertaking. The Archive’s introductory text also explains the reasoning behind displaying the work across 500 large-format double-sided cards, instead of making a 1,000-plus page book, or an app. Primarily, Phaidon claim, this enables the reader to easily organise the work however they like; to siphon off just the posters, symbols, or book covers, or even to display the images as prints.
Card showing Catherine Zask’s Rain poster for L’Hippodrome de Douai, 2001
And despite the pull of the digital potential for something like this, it doesn’t feel like the publisher’s explanation is post-rationalising the design approach. It strikes me that being able to simply pull out individual entries will appeal (and be of practical use) to creative professionals, and something the general reader will equally enjoy. Each card boasts a single, well produced image of the particular work on the front, the reverse features a selection of additional related images and a few hundred words of text.
Poster for M/MINK, designed by M/M (Paris), on left; and Werk No.17 for Eley Kishimoto by Theseus Chan
The 500 picture cards also put more emphasis on the reader to act – to compare and contrast, to make connections between works that are perhaps centuries apart. Readers can arrange the cards to any theme they desire, too, and dividers are supplied with the set in order to categorise by format – ‘Book Cover’, ‘Identity’, ‘Film Graphics’ and so on.
Ver Sacrum magazine designed by Alfred Roller, 1898
The cards are initially arranged in chronological order, with work dating from 1377 to 2012, and it’s a treat to dip into the various styles, schools, tastes and production methods bookended on one side by the Gutenberg Bible and the Nuremberg Chronicles, and dot dot dot magazine and Leftloft’s Documenta art festival designs on the other. Phaidon plan to issue further batches of cards in the future, so that the Archive can be updated both with historical additions and recent projects.
David Carson’s Beach Culture magazine, 1990
One point to note, however, is how well the cards will stand up to repeated viewings. Entries of course have to be put back in the correct place in order to be found again later (not a tricky concept, but one likely to go awry when the cards are routinely referenced) and this could make for a less than enjoyable user experience. The emphasis is firmly on interacting with the work, but the down side to this is that once cards are removed from their slot in the system, the system starts to fall apart. And that’s something that conventional books, with their fixed pages and indexes housed reliably at the back, don’t really have to worry about.
Another issue is the standing Phaidon places on its own printed products within the the centuries of graphic design collected here. As a “client”, Phaidon actually has the largest number of projects represented in the Archive – five are listed in the index. Of course, with names like Alan Fletcher and Irma Boom directly associated with the creation of some of the company’s most famous books (Fletcher designed both The Art Book and his own The Art of Looking Sideways; Boom the Hella Jongerius monograph) some crossover is perhaps to be expected. But out of 500 pieces, to devote five entries to one’s own publications – the Bauhaus is cited twice; Monotype, three times – seems a little surprising.
The Great Ideas series from Penguin, art directed by David Pearson
That said, the sweep of the selection is exciting and impressive and it does feel like the biggest decision – to print each of the entries as a single page, instead of binding them in book form or formatting them for screen – went the right way. The temptation to digitise all the content must have been considerable (and will no doubt happen soon), but it’s impressive to see print fighting back like this.
At £144 the Archive is perhaps not quite as accessible as it thinks it is, but it goes some way to suggesting what the most significant and visually arresting moments in the history of graphic design might be.
The Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design, Phaidon; £144 (shipping end of September). More details at phaidon.com. At this year’s designjunction event, which takes place at The Sorting Office on New Oxford Street in London, Phaidon will be running a daily exhibition of The Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design alongside a pop-up bookstore. There will also be a programme of daily author signings, competitions, and free drop-in talks.
CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print
Students, grads, young professionals: if you buy one issue of CR this year, make sure it’s this one. The September print issue of CR is our annual graduates special. In it, we have teamed four recent graduates with professional practitioners in their chosen field who offer invaluable advice on how to get started in their profession. APFEL meet graphics graduate Arthur Carey, BETC London ECD Neil Dawson meets Sophia Ray, illustrator Matthew ‘The Horse’ Hodson offers sage advice to Sam Tomlins and photographer Jenny van Sommers meets Megan Helyer. In addition, our September issue also features Google Creative Lab, Unit Editions’ new book on Herb Lubalin, Michael Evamy on place branding, Jeremy Leslie on new bilingual magzine Figure and Gordon Comstock on the importance of failure.
Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
Published today, David Jury’s new book, Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers: The Printer as Designer and Craftsman 1700-1914, (Thames & Hudson, £36) looks to chart the evolution of ‘print’ into ‘graphic design’…
“Johann Gutenberg invented movable type with one purpose: to print books,” writes Jury in the book’s introduction. “However, from the outset, printers were asked to put their presses to other uses,” he continues.
“Such tasks, collectively called ‘jobbing’ work, increased in volume and commercial importance as industrial and business interests grew in variety and ambition, enabling many printers to specialise in this area. This book focuses on the printers who did this kind of work – effectually graphic design before graphic designers – their training and working environments, the products they designed, and the changing social and technological circumstances in which these were achieved.”
The book’s main focus is the developments of the 19th century which saw the printing process undergo a technological revolution and the printer become integral to the expansion of industry and trade. The book doesn’t just focus on letterpress but also takes into account the importance of various crafts vital to the world of print and design such as engraving – which allowed for more flowing calligraphic styles of text and, of course, illustration – and sign-writing, the art of which influenced type design, in particular display type.
The 312 page, hardback book (with 3/4 length dust jacket) contains nearly 800 illustrations of engraved frontispieces and title pages, handbills, posters, catalogues, type specimens, pamphlets, advertisements and product labels, many of which were specially photographed from private collections, that served the demands of the emerging consumer classes of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Here are some spreads:
Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers: The Printer as Designer and Craftsman 1700-1914, by David Jury, is published today by Thames & Hudson (£36).
More info at thamesandhudson.com.
CR for the iPad
Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print
Students, grads, young professionals: if you buy one issue of CR this year, make sure it’s this one. The September print issue of CR is our annual graduates special. In it, we have teamed four recent graduates with professional practitioners in their chosen field who offer invaluable advice on how to get started in their profession. APFEL meet graphics graduate Arthur Carey, BETC London ECD Neil Dawson meets Sophia Ray, illustrator Matthew ‘The Horse’ Hodson offers sage advice to Sam Tomlins and photographer Jenny van Sommers meets Megan Helyer. In addition, our September issue also features Google Creative Lab, Unit Editions’ new book on Herb Lubalin, Michael Evamy on place branding, Jeremy Leslie on new bilingual magzine Figure and Gordon Comstock on the importance of failure.
Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
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,…
Continue Reading…
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:
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
