The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition

To mark the centennial in November 2013 of the publication of the first volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Designers & Books posed its own version of the Proust Questionnaire, Book Edition, to contributors and friends in the design community. We posted a new set of answers daily in November and December 2013.
31 blog entries
The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Adrian Shaughnessy November 14, 2013

As November 14 is the actual 100th anniversary date of the first publication of Swann’s Way—the almost 500-page first book in Proust’s lengthy and leisurely journey into his thoughts—we thought it fitting to post Adrian Shaughnessy’s answers today, the longest and most detailed we’ve received, and as Adrian says about a book in one of his answers, “fatally compelling.” More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Alexandra Lange November 25, 2013

Critic and author Alexandra Lange is a fan of Jane Austen: “In my dreams I wake up one day and write the Pride and Prejudice of the contemporary design world,” she says in one of her answers to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Alice Rawsthorn November 26, 2013

Alice Rawsthorn’s favorite place to buy books (it’s in Cambridge), the best “book as object” she owns (it’s very small), and more answers to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Angus Hyland December 12, 2013

Question: “If for some reason it turned out that you could save one and only one book from among those you own, which would it be?” Answer from graphic designer (Pentagram, London) Angus Hyland:  “Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination or Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady. Whichever was first at hand and whether I was in a Gothic panic or a more reflective mood.” More answers from Angus to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Steve Kroeter October 31, 2013

Designers & Books poses its own version of the famous questionnaire to contributors and friends. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Coralie Bickford-Smith November 8, 2013

If Penguin book cover designer Coralie-Bickford Smith could be any author, who would she be? Her answer to this and 15 more responses to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Debbie Millman November 19, 2013

Design Matters host and branding expert Debbie Millman next wants to read all about “the power of glamour,” and (if she has a chance to plan it), the last thing she’ll read will be a poem by Charles Olson. These and other answers to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Harry Pearce November 21, 2013

Jung’s Memories, Dreams, Reflections, a “bright orange sketchbook,” and the book he can’t stand are among Harry Pearce’s answers to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By The Editors, Designers & Books December 30, 2013

We showcase highlights from among the many memorable answers in the 29 Proust Questionnaires we published during November and December. More...

The Proust Questionnaire — Book Edition
By Inga Sempé November 22, 2013

Harriet the Spy, I Spy: Mystery, why she doesn’t take notes when she reads (she doesn’t feel like “having a discussion with the writer”), and more answers from Inga Sempé to The Proust Questionnaire—Book Edition. More...