Gestalten TV

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.”

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Out of the Jar.

Out of the Jar by Gestalten is a new book about the best, and some of the most unusual spirits from small distillers around the world. These are spirits made by a new generation of distillers who are using combinations of rare fruits, herbs, grains and spices to reinvent and reinterpret high octane recipes for alcoholic drinks. The book features distillers that are crafting these by hand from the distllery to to bottling the final product. The video above introduces a hands-on whiskey maker from a prohibition-era distillery in Brooklyn, a passionate mezcalero who doesn’t chicken out from an unusual recipe, and a Berlin-based artisan whose rum is taking the world’s best cocktail bars by storm.  It’s a nice little video short with quality production value, and it makes me want to go find some of the booze featured here.

Choppers.

Gestalten has a new book out chronicling the history of the Chopper. Even if you aren’t into motorcycles, the book and the video below are worth taking a look at. The motorcycle, and in this case the chopper are an iconic part of American culture. The video below is an interview with Paul d’Orléans aka the Vintagent, author of the book and gives a really nice insight into the history of the bikes and the culture surrounding them. It’s a great set up for the book, and is definitely something I’ll be checking out in the near future.

Juan Velasco on Infographics

Former National Geographic Art Director Juan Velasco sat down with Gestalten last fall for an interview following his two day workshop on data visualization and infographics. In the video below he talks about the differences between visual journalism and written reporting. In addition he explains his process for developing clear narratives and talks about the ever evolving field of infographics and data visualization. It’s a pretty interesting little video, even if you aren’t an infographics or data visualization creator.