Designers & Books: Day 1
By Steve Kroeter February 1, 2011
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Like good design, good books can make your life better. And designers are a great source of good book recommendations. That is why, today, we are launching Designers & Books.
The Three Ideas Behind Designers & Books
When we use the term "designers" we mean architects, fashion designers, graphic designers, interior designers, and product designers. There are three basic ideas behind Designers & Books:
- There is a special relationship between designers and books. Designers read books, write them, design them, collect them, learn from them, and are inspired by them.
- Similar to the way that “good design can make your life better”—we also believe that “good books can make your life better.”
- Because of #1 and #2, it is worthwhile to pay attention to the books that designers pay attention to.
You Are What You Read
The science behind our thinking is summed up in a special essay that Maryanne Wolf of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University wrote for us. In "You Are What You Read" Professor Wolf notes that, “our continuously increasing knowledge in the cognitive neurosciences teaches us that we are the sum of what and how and why we read.” The implications of this are profound and motivating generally, and are of particular importance for the design community.
Because of all this, Designers & Books has been developed to publish lists of books that esteemed members of the design community identify as personally important, meaningful, and formative—books that have shaped their values, their worldview, and also their ideas about design.
More than 650 Titles
As we launch today, you will see that the site includes book lists from 50 designers. In addition we also include book lists submitted by celebrated design community academics, critics, curators, editors, lecturers, and writers (we call this group “commentators”). In total, the book lists of the designers and commentators include more than 650 titles.
Among the designers and commentators whose book lists you will be seeing in the coming weeks and months are: architects Steven Holl, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Mikko Heikkinen; graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, and Massimo Vignelli; fashion designer Cynthia Rowley; the writers and critics Paul Goldberger, Dominique Browning, Alice Rawsthorn, and Rick Poynor; curators Barry Bergdoll, Zoe Ryan, Akiko Fukai, and Claire Wilcox; and Professor Sheila Danko. New book lists will be posted each week.
Book Lists and Conversations
We read somewhere that any book list is an invitation to begin a conversation. Because we believe this, you will see that the website has been designed to encourage comments, generate debate, and facilitate discussions about the books that are posted.
We hope you will find the book lists on Designers & Books to be enlightening, entertaining, and educational—as well as opportunities to initiate conversations.
Steve Kroeter
Editor in Chief
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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