Thursday, 10:59am
9 January 2020
Books received #41
Giovanni Anceschi, Shopfronts of London, Polish Design ABCs and a Swiss design manual by Müller-Brockmann
Here is a selection of four titles that caught our attention in recent months.
Published on the occasion of Giovanni Anceschi’s 80th birthday, Giovanni Anceschi 80 ∞ (écal) is a collection of writing about the Italian designer, illustrated by images of his work. Edited and designed by Davide Fornari and Silvia Sfligiotti (both former editors of Progetto Grafico), the book features texts in both Italian and English – although no translations – and contributions from Elena Brigi, Elisa Pasqual, David Reinfurt, Richard Hollis, Sfligiotti and Anceschi himself.
Cover and spreads from Giovanni Anceschi 80 ∞, edited and designed by Davide Fornari and Silvia Sfligiotti.
In Shopfronts of London (Batsfield / Spitalfields Life Books, £14.99), illustrator Eleanor Crow provides a visual survey of the small businesses that ‘furnish our wish and whim for any small portable item’. The book, from the Gentle Author’s imprint, features more than 100 illustrations that capture the remarkable design of London’s independent cafés, butchers, launderettes, bookshops and greengrocers and an eloquent introduction by Crow herself.
Crow states that she aspires to ‘capture the everyday in the spirit of the “Recording Britain” project in the last century.’ Sadly some of the places she depicts, including Arthur’s Café and Syd’s, are no longer with us, making Crow’s visual testimony more valuable than ever.
Cover and spreads from Shopfronts of London, designed by Friederike Huber.
The ABCs of Polish Design (Adam Mickiewicz Institute and POLSKA 100, £19.95) is a survey of 100 years of Polish design through 100 works, beautifully illustrated by a roster of 25 contemporary illustrators. Each design gets its own page and is accompanied by descriptions that situate the work within both disciplinary and cultural discourses. The book is written by Ewa Solarz, Agata Szydłowska and Agnieszka Kowalska and designed by Anna Niemierko.
Covers and spreads from The ABCs of Polish Design, designed by Anna Niemierko and featuring work by The Polish Poster School, Wit Płażewski, Marek Lisiewicz and Tomek Augustyniak.
Illustrations by Marta Ignerska.
Illustrations by Marianna Oklejak (left) and Paweł Pawlak.
Design Manual for the Swiss Federal Railways by Josef Müller-Brockmann (Lars Müller Publishers, €45.00) presents the first opportunity for English speaking audiences to engage with the logic behind Müller-Brockmann’s 1980 design. Fully translated, and accompanied by the original German, this handsome reprint also includes new introductory texts by Christian Brändle, Andres Janser and Peter Spalinger.
Cover and spreads from Design Manual for the Swiss Federal Railways, design by Integral Lars Müller.
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 and single issues.