Designers & Books Blog

 

856 blog entries
By Maria Popova February 12, 2015

Artist Lauren Redniss tells the story of Marie Curie through the two invisible but immensely powerful forces that guided her life: radioactivity and romance.  It’s also a remarkable feat of thoughtful design and creative vision.

Book List of the Week
January 26, 2015

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland), first published in 1865, will be 150 years old this year. To honor the anniversary, we’re highlighting the comments of our contributing designers who have been inspired by this childhood classic. More...

By Zuzana Licko January 26, 2015

One of the first books I read about design when I began my studies, it opened my eyes to the role that typefaces, and their design and implementation, play in communication. The answers may have less longevity than the questions the book poses.

By Fiona Raby January 12, 2015

The use of satire and the careful handling of the absurd is something Tony (Dunne) and I continue to pursue in our own work. How to make something sharp and knowing, layered and complex, and also, what to leave out. How to deliver a “lightness of touch,” which this book does beautifully.

Themed Book Lists
December 30, 2014

Happy New Year from Designers & Books! Entering a new year means looking to the future. To mark the occasion we’re highlighting 15 books that contemplate the future of design from different perpectives and at different times in history—from Buckminster Fuller’s utopias to recent digital developments. See more books about design and the future at the Designers & Books Online Book Fair. More...

By Dan Formosa December 29, 2014

This (and Edward Tufte’s subsequent publications) should be required reading for everyone, everywhere.

Book List of the Week
December 29, 2014

We often ask our contributors not only what books have inspired them in the past but also what they’re reading now. Here are a few of the answers we received in 2014. You can find the complete list of 135 books our designers and commentators have recently read in our section on Current Reading. More...

Themed Book Lists
December 23, 2014

Here are 10 books on set and theater design from our contributors, inspired by our Book List of the Week from David Rockwell. More...

Book List of the Week
By Steve Kroeter December 22, 2014

We received a list of a dozen books that have inspired David Rockwell—the acclaimed architect of restaurants such as New York’s famed Nobu Fifty Seven and hotels like the W, and the set designer of Oscar ceremonies and award-winning Broadway productions including Hairspray and the currently running Kinky Boots. More...

Books on Cities
December 16, 2014

We revisit our original list of books—now with 10 additional titles—about the city of Los Angeles and its design, past, present, and future. New additions to the list include L.A. [Ten]: Interviews on Los Angeles Architecture, 1970s–1990s by Stephen Phillips, 2013 (Lars Müller Publishers); Sense of Place: Elements of California Modernism, 2014 by Michael Webb and Kovac Architects (ORO Editions); and Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires & Riots: California and Graphic Design, 1936–1986 by Louise Sandhaus, 2014 (Metropolis Books). More...