Notable Books of 2011

Our designers, commentators, guest bloggers, and specially invited guests have chosen these as the most notable design books of 2011

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102 books

Toward a New Interior Lois Weinthal On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Designing for Emotion Aarron Walter On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Gerrit Rietveld Ida von Ziji On Stanley Abercrombie’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Gijs Bakker’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Hussein Chalayan Robert Violette, ed. et al. On Daijiro Mizuno’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Less and More Keiko Ueki-Polet et al. On Juergen Riehm’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	The Toaster Project: Or a Heroic Attempt to Build a Simple Electric Appliance from Scratch Thomas Thwaites On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Edward Durell Stone Hicks Stone On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Design with the Other 90%: Cities Cynthia Smith On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Helvetica and the New York City Subway System Paul Shaw On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Urban Design Since 1945 David Grahame Shane On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul Howard Schultz et al. On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Maps Paula Scher On list of Books by Paula Scher On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Sagmeister: Another Book About Promotion and Sales Material Stefan Sagmeister et al. On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Stefan Sagmeister Add to My Reading List	Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention Zoë Ryan, ed. On list of Books by Zoë Ryan On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	The Agile City James Russell On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Richard Prince: American Prayer Robert Rubin, ed. On Deborah Berke’s Book List On Deborah Berke’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
And I Shall Have Some Peace There Margaret Roach On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Cultural Connectives: Bridging the Latin and Arabic Alphabets Rana Abou Rjeily On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Star Wars: The Blueprints J. W. Rinzler On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Atlas Gerard Richter On Juergen Riehm’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Radioactive Lauren Redniss On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Food Rules Michael Pollan et al. On list of Books by Maira Kalman On Louise Fili’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Redheaded Peckerwood Christian Patterson On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	The Embodied Image: Imagination and Imagery in Architecture Juhani Pallasmaa On list of Books by Juhani Pallasmaa On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
A Taxonomy of Office Chairs Jonathan Olivares On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Jonathan Olivares Add to My Reading List	Alexander Girard Todd Oldham et al. On Jonathan Adler’s Book List On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Todd Oldham Add to My Reading List	Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life Todd Oldham et al. On list of Books by Todd Oldham On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	OLIVE (A Handbook to Protect Your Life) Nosigner On Daijiro Mizuno’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Ready to Print Kristina Nickel On Erik Spiekermann’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Floating Worlds Peter F. Neumeyer On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	To Make a World Alexander Nemerov On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Believing Is Seeing Errol Morris On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Combinatory Urbanism Thom Mayne On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Wirrwarr Jürgen Mayer H. et al. On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Jürgen Mayer H. Add to My Reading List	The Ruins of Detroit Yves Marchand et al. On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Maharam Agenda Michael Maharam On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Michael Maharam On Richard Sachs’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Katie Ridder: Rooms Heather MacIsaac On Peter Pennoyer’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Graphic Design: Now in Production Ellen Lupton On list of Books by Ellen Lupton On Rudy VanderLans’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Julius Shulman, Los Angeles Sam Lubell et al. On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible Sophie Lovell On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
The Houses of William Wurster: Frames for Living Caitlin Lempres Brostrom et al. On Stanley Abercrombie’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Kissing Architecture Sylvia Lavin On Galia Solomonoff’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Neil Denari’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Greg Lynn’s Current Reading list Add to My Reading List	Ootje Oxenaar: Designer + Commissioner Els Kuijpers On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Beauty Is in the Street Johan Kugelberg et al. On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Project Japan Rem Koolhaas et al. On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Neil Denari’s Current Reading list On Florian Idenburg’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Alan Balfour’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Aric Chen’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Visual Storytelling Robert Klanten et al. On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design Pat Kirkham et al. On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Gail Anderson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Ken Carbone’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	KieranTimberlake: Inquiry Stephen Kieran et al. On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
California Design 1930–1965 Wendy Kaplan. ed. On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	The Death and Life of Great American Cities: 50th Anniversary Edition Jane Jacobs et al. On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Steve Jobs Walter Isaacson On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Gail Anderson’s Current Reading list On Carola Zwick’s Current Reading list On Jeffrey Beers’s Book List On Temple St. Clair’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel Lisa Immordino Vreeland On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Symbol Angus Hyland On list of Books by Angus Hyland On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Pamphlet Architecture 11–20 Steven Holl, introduction On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture John Hill On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by John Hill Add to My Reading List	New York: The Story of a Great City Sarah Henry. ed. On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Menu Design in America Steven Heller et al. On Louise Fili’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Why We Broke Up Daniel Handler et al. On list of Books by Maira Kalman On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	By the City/For the City Anne Guiney et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Tomorrow’s Houses Alexander Gorlin et al. On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Textiles, the Whole Story: Uses, Meanings, Significances Beverly Gordon On Stanley Abercrombie’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Gerhard Richter: Panorama Mark Godfrey et al. On Alan Balfour’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Triumph of the City Edward Glaeser On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Cino Zucchi’s Current Reading list Add to My Reading List	Collected Malcolm Gladwell et al. On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Bob Gill, so far. Bob Gill On list of Books by Bob Gill On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Reveal: Studio Gang Architects Jeanne Gang On list of Books by Jeanne Gang On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Galia Solomonoff’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Bals Nicolas Foulkes On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	The Architectural Detail Edward R. Ford On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Bossypants Tina Fey On Ellen Lupton’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Todd Oldham’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Latin American Photobook Horacio Fernández, ed. On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Roberto Burle Marx: The Modernity of Landscape Fares El-Dahdah et al. On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Rebels in Paradise Hunter Drohojowska-Philp On Alissa Walker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Cédric Delsaux: Dark Lens Cédric Delsaux On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Flying Without a Net Thomas J. DeLong On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Seven Books Grey Tacita Dean On Daijiro Mizuno’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Spacesuit Nicholas de Monchaux On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky Joshua David et al. On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	100 Artists’ Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists Alex Danchev, ed. On Rick Poynor’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Usefulness in Small Things Kim Colin et al. On Daijiro Mizuno’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Sam Hecht Add to My Reading List	Architecture in Uniform Jean-Louis Cohen On Paul Makovsky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Identify Ivan Chermayeff et al. On list of Books by Ivan Chermayeff On list of Books by Tom Geismar On list of Books by Sagi Haviv On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	New York Bikes Michele Castagnetti On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Chi ha paura...?-Who’s afraid...? Alba Cappellieri On Gijs Bakker’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Rethinking Design and Interiors Shashi Caan On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Shashi Caan Add to My Reading List	Typography for Lawyers Matthew Butterick On Erik Spiekermann’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Living in the Endless City Ricky Burdett et al. On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	344 Questions Stefan Bucher On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey Tony Brook et al. On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Adrian Shaughnessy On list of Books by Tony Brook Add to My Reading List
Balenciaga and Spain Hamish Bowles On Cynthia Rowley’s Book List On Cynthia Rowley’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive Christopher Boucher On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	TD 63-73: Total Design and Its Pioneering Role in Graphic Design Ben Bos On Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Design*Sponge at Home Grace Bonney On Debbie Millman’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Andrew Bolton et al. On Cynthia Rowley’s Book List On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Ed Ng’s Book List Add to My Reading List	People Blexbolex On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Missed Connections Sophie Blackall On Maria Popova’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Rising Currents Barry Bergdoll et al. On list of Books by Barry Bergdoll On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List
Groundwork: Between Landscape and Architecture Diana Balmori et al. On list of Books by Diana Balmori On Julie Lasky’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Spatial Agency Nishat Awan et al. On John Hill’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Voiture Minimum Antonio Amado Lorenzo On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	Cecil Beaton Donald Albrecht On Phil Patton’s Notable Books of 2011 list Add to My Reading List	African Metropolitan Architecture David Adjaye On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by David Adjaye Add to My Reading List	A House for an Art Collector David Adjaye On Justin Davidson’s Notable Books of 2011 list On Stanley Abercrombie’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by David Adjaye Add to My Reading List

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.

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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
Published: 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.

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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.

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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.

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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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