Well this will definitely be going into the personal library. When I was a kid this is the kind of book I would spend hours reading and re-reading, especially if it was filled with gorgeous illustrations like this one is. ” The big picture James Lovelock’s tool kit for the future.” By Taschen is illustrated by Jack Hudson, a British illustrator with a particular interest in scientific subjects and the interaction of macro and micro scales, and features contributions by quantum physicist Lisa Randall, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson, and Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel. The book was Conceived by James Lovelock, inventor of the Gaia theory, this illustrated essay collection brings together an all-star lineup of thinkers and scientists to offer essential understanding about who we are, how we live, and where we might be going.
Book Design
Logo Modernism from Taschen.
Over the last seven years, Jens Müller has been collecting and compiling modern logos created from 1940 to 1980. As Müller puts it, this was the golden age of the modernist aesthetic in design, architecture, art, product design. And to a point he is right. Some of the most visually memorable brand marks and logos come from this four decade period. Müller’s collection is what makes up the content of Aachen’s 6000 page tome Logo Modernism.
The book covers pretty much every business and organization of note, and represents a sweeping retrospective modernism and how the style changed over time. Broken into specific sections the book’s main chapters cover Geometric, Effect, and Typographic. Each sub-chapter breaks down each style even further into sections such as dots and squares, overlays, alphabet, color, etc.The book features an introduction from Jens Müller on the history of logos, and an accompanying essay by R. Roger Remington on modernism and graphic design. In addition there are series of designer profiles on masters of the craft Paul Rand, Yusaku Kamekura, and Anton Stankowski focusing on their legendary work.
In typical Taschen heritage, the book is physically huge. at 10 by 14 inches in size and 432 pages of content. And as always from Taschen, the book is multilingual. It’s available for pre-order and this just made my list of books to add to the reference library. Oh and it’s affordable. Just $69.00 on the Taschen site.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
Nothing gets me going more then when multiple thing I am interested in come together at the same time. For instance, Graphic Design, Film, Automotive Design, and Industrial Design. In this case it is one of the latest books from Gestalten, the topic, and the support film released on their website.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! is a record of limited edition, history making vehicles, and industrial design finessed into rolling art. All of this is packaged in a beautifully designed book that is filled with show stopping photography, type, and page layouts. Jared Zaugg and the team at Bonhams have put together a book that gives the reader a true sense of the intensity of true automobile culture, representing it in a large format designed to showcase the forms and details of these classics.
The short video below is a wonderfully shot and edited piece that highlights the contributors to the book, the cars themselves, and the the content that fills the pages. With each short film they release the crew at Gestalten gets better and better at their craft. The video itself really does a fantastic job of selling the story behind the book, and the book itself.
“The book features a selection of models that go far beyond mere technical stats and gleaming chrome. Rather, they all offer something far more valuable: compelling stories. These include the rare and uniquely configured Lamborghini Miura SV Coupe purchased by rock star Rod Stewart. Or the Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe from 1937 that, after the owner’s death, was rediscovered by his family sitting exactly as he left it nearly a half-century earlier. All the big names are included, but the focus is on what can be found behind the logos and the polished surfaces.”
“Criterion Designs”, Thirty Years of Movie History in 300 Pages.
For more than three decades, The Criterion Collection has released a steady stream of important classic and contemporary films. The Criterion Collection has been dedicated to collecting films from around the world and offering them in editions that feature high technical quality and award winning stories and content.
The Criterion Collection which began in 1984 started by offering laserdisc’s and VHS tape, moved to DVD, Blue-ray and now online streaming. With that they have amassed a massive collection of promotional and packaging materials which are now being offered in a lavish coffee table book.
The book features an illustrated look behind the scenes, that includes sketches, mockups, mood boards and reference materials, all pulled from the The Criterion Collection‘s in-house design department’s archives. The book was the brain child of Criterion Art Director Sarah Habibi and Staff Designer Eric Skillman, who assembled 300 pages of material into a hardbound visual feast creating a lush tactile experience for the true movie fan.
For me this is a must have book. It is a beautifully designed archive of thirty years of visual history, that documents changing styles, influences, and trends, from the movie industry and graphic design world.
Modular 4 