Sunday, 11:55pm
14 July 2013
Books received #1
The Roundel, quotes and quips, Various Small Books, interaction design and Unearthing
In the first of a new series of ‘Books received’ blog posts, here is a brief look at some titles that recently arrived at Eye’s Shoreditch office.
The Roundel: 100 Artists Remake a London Icon (Art / Books, £12.95, $20.00, €16.95) documents 100 artists’ interpretations of the London underground logo in commemoration of its centennial. Jonathan Glancey’s introduction maps the history of the logo including the commissioning process between Frank Pick and Edward Johnston which led to the design of Johnston Sans, the face of the London Underground.
The Roundel cover image Untitled (2008) by Paul McDevitt.
Top: spread from Various Small Books featuring Kai-Olaf Hesse’s self-published accordian-fold book Vingt-Six Stations Service, 2007.
Spread from The Roundel showing Every One an Island by Ruth Proctor (left) and Art on the Platform by Imran Qureshi (right). Book design: Fraser Muggeridge Studio.
Spread from The Roundel showing Around stretches the vast expanse of the world by Simon & Tom Bloor (left) and Playtime Underground by Martin Boyce.
The Designer Says: Quotes, Quips and Words of Wisdom by Sara Bader (Princeton Architectural Press, £8.99, $14.95) bundles together quotations from many well known practitioners, including Eric Gill, Otl Aicher and Elaine Lustig. This compilation offers advice, wisecracks and the occasional verbal whiplash, but no sources – revealing its genesis in the website Quotenik.com.
The Designer Says by Sara Bader. Book design: Elana Schlenker.
Various Small Books by Jeff Brouws, Wendyn Burton, Hermann Zschiegner and Phil Taylor (MIT Press, £27.95, $39.95) is a compendium of small books made in homage to Ed Ruscha and his series of photobooks of the 1960s and 70s that began with Twentysix Gasoline Stations. The subject matter ranges from Fifteen Pornography Companies to Various Unbaked Cookies and Milk.
Various Small Books edited and compiled by Jeff Brouws, Wendyn Burton, and Hermann Zschiegner; text by Phil Taylor. Book design by Jeff Brouws.
Spread from Various Small Books features the cover and interior pages of Various Studios and Homes Inhabited by Ed Ruscha by Chris Svensson, 2009.
The Fundamentals of Interactive Design by Michael Salmond and Gavin Ambrose (AVA Publishing, £26.99, $42.95) is an introduction to interactive design for the uninitiated designer, or those interested in rounding out their knowledge of the field. The book covers the creative process from inspiration to user testing while providing explanations and case studies of motion graphics, shareable media and games along with interviews and project briefs.
The Fundamentals of Interactive Design by Michael Salmond and designed by Gavin Ambrose. Cover image: The World’s Biggest Pac-Man by Soap Creative.
Unearthing by Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins (co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics, £19.99, $29.95) is the biography re-imagined; Alan Moore maps the life of author and friend, Steve Moore, on to the living landscape of South London. Photography and typography are used in this excavation of a life to illustrate the moods, moments and dreams with a decidedly 1990s design aesthetic that lends itself well to the experience this book creates.
Unearthing by Alan Moore with photography by Mitch Jenkins and design by Mark Millington.
Spread from Unearthing by Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins.
Eye is the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published quarterly for professional designers, students and anyone interested in critical, informed writing about graphic design and visual culture. It is available from all good design bookshops and online at the Eye shop, where you can buy subscriptions, back issues and single copies of the latest issue. You can see what Eye 85 looks like at Eye before You Buy on Vimeo.