Swipe Design | Books + Objects

Swipe is an independent bookstore with a focus on graphic design, urbanism, and architecture. We also carry a thoughtful selection of aesthetically and functionally interesting products for adults and children alike.

www.swipe.com

401 Richmond Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 3P1, Canada
416.363.1332. toll free: 1.800.567.9473
info@swipe.com
@SwipeDesign

Best-Selling Design Books (January)

The Images of Architects Add to My Reading List

Valerio Olgiati Editor

In this book we find 44 individual "musées imaginaires". The most unique architects living today each present up to 10 images to explain the autobiographical roots of their oeuvre.

Art Cities of the Future Add to My Reading List

Antawan Byrd
Reid Shier

The contemporary art world is increasingly global, with a larger population, wider territory, and greater number of nationalities than ever before. This book uncovers twelve distinct avant-gardes that have surfaced in recent decades, exploring their artistic heritage, cultural climate, and contemporary milieu.

Color Works Add to My Reading List

Eddie Opara
John Cantwell

This is the go-to guide for designers as it outlines and details the essential color design skills needed to create successful, meaningful, and aesthetically compelling designs.

Punk 45 Add to My Reading List

Jon Savage Editor
Stuart Baker Editor

Punk 45 is an exhaustive, thorough and exciting celebration of the stunning artwork of punk music, including everything from the most celebrated and iconic designs through to the stark beauty of the cheapest do-it-yourself lo-fi obscurities.

Produced with Love Add to My Reading List

Index Book

Produced with Love celebrates design that represents the love that goes into a product’s creation. This book collects a series of different works that are exactly this, the kind of design is more than a mere product.

Staff Recommendations

Ten Thousand Stories: An Ever-Changing Tale of Tragic Happenings Add to My Reading List

Matthew Swanson
Robbi Behr

A new story unfolds with every turn of a flap in this playful jigsaw puzzle of a book. Part Exquisite Corpse and part Choose Your Own Disaster, this offbeat treasure is an addictive pleasure to play alone or to share. More

Rock the Shack Add to My Reading List

Sven Ehmann Editor
Sofia Borges Editor

Rock the Shack is a survey of contemporary refuges from around the world—from basic to luxury. The book features a compelling range of sparingly to intricately furnished cabins, cottages, second homes, tree houses, transformations, shelters, and cocoons. More

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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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