Tuesday, 12:00pm
19 November 2024

Books received #59 (catalogues)

Three catalogues: 100 Beste Plakate 2022, 28th International Poster Biennale in Warsaw and Paula Scher: Type is Image

This ‘books received’ focuses on a trio of graphic design catalogues.

100 Beste Plakate 2022 catalogue

This collection of posters demonstrates the affection many designers have for the poster as a medium, and the resilience of the form. Based in Berlin, the 100 Beste Plakate association organises an annual competition for designers from the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A five-person jury chaired by Barbara Kotte decided on the final selection, which then became the content of an exhibition that went to fourteen locations worldwide.

Typographic cover of the 100 Beste Plakate, cataloguing posters from 2022. Book design by studio lindhorst-emme+hinrichs.

The subject matter is predominantly cultural, and there is a mix of established designers (Niklaus Troxler, Henning Wagenbreth) and less well known names.

Spread with A1 offset poster designed by Anja Kaiser for Aeolian x PH17 clubnight.

Series of posters designed by Neue Gestaltung (Anna Bühler, Nina Odzinieks, Pit Stenkhoff and Johanna Zech) commissioned by Theater Magdenburg for their 2022 programme.

28th International Poster Biennale in Warsaw catalogue

Catalogues are invaluable companions to biennales, offering a tangible, curated snapshot of the event that extends well beyond its closing date. In the 28th International Poster Biennale in Warsaw, hosted by the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, the theme ‘Home’ encouraged designers and illustrators to explore complex issues around identity, tradition and the concept of home.

Cover of the 28th International Poster Biennale in Warsaw catalogue.

The weighty green publication was designed by Ania Wieluńska, and curator Mateusz Machalski created a structured yet dynamic flow that reflects the diversity of entries.

Spread from the 28th Biennale catalogue. Left. Russian Bear by Paweł Jońca, 2022. Right. My wife left me for our female therapist by Michał Jońca, 2023.

With roots dating back to 1966, the International Poster Biennale in Warsaw has a legacy of celebrating the power of posters to communicate cultural, political and social messages.

Spread from the 28th Biennale catalogue. Left. The Storm by Riour Kuncert, 2023. Right. 49 Years of the Nowe Dynasy Velodrome by Grafiki Kwiaciarnia, 2021.

Paula Scher: Type is Image exhibition catalogue

Accompanying her recent exhibition at Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum in Munich, Paula Scher (see Reputations in Eye 77) has designed a large-format, unbound artist’s book that includes 101 removable posters from an oeuvre that spans nearly five decades. Scher has sequenced these posters in a book where the halves of two different posters are juxtaposed in the spread.

The cover of Paula Scher: Type is Image, published by Cornerhouse Publications Ltd.

Paula Scher’s posters in juxtaposition.

Big type and hand-lettering. Spread from Paula Scher: Type is Image.

Spread combining two of Scher’s celebrated posters for The Public Theater in New York.

Eye is the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published 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.