Massimo Pitis’s Book List
My selection of books reflects my interests in history, sociology, design, and education. In particular what I propose here is a dive into the depths of design thinking—a sea where letters and ornaments, thoughts and words, passions and theories fluctuate constantly, producing new ideas and new words.
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If I had to write a shortlist of five of the best graphic designers ever I would probably put Kenya Hara among them. This book is an extensive presentation of his best work over the years. It witnesses the ability to play with tradition and creativity with eyes open to the requirements of the market and the light touch of a deep cultural and ethical sensibility.
Ken Robinson has a wonderful way of telling stories (check out his speeches at TED). In this book he tells many and make you feel like yours could be among them. It’s a book about the need to become ourselves against all the limitations that modern society and schools impose. Brilliant!
An essential guide to size, shape, and secrets of the written page. A journey through typography, layout, paper, lettering, and all the rules and tips every designer (and writer) should know when approaching the empty page.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Richard Hollis for this simple and (in fact) concise book, which was able to walk me, as a student, through the most important moments and authors of graphic design. One small criticism: it is very Anglo-centric and mainstream. Still, a good read for students.
Quite enlightening essay (not translated into English) on the alphabetical system and its influence in shaping Western culture. It also examines the myth of the alphabet as a mirror of the spoken word.
I keep finding reasons to go back to this book, which I have read and read since the early 1990s. I often carry it with me in my bag and when I open it I find new ideas and radical ways of seeing the world. Together with another book by Baudrillard, The Perfect Crime, it’s one of the reasons I decided to stop watching TV years ago.
The section “Myth Today” was one of my favorite readings when I was in my twenties. During my school days at the University of Bologna I came across this book by chance in a little remainders store. It was real discovery for me to learn to see another side of “reality,” from a different and critical perspective and under a strong cultural microscope.
A comprehensive, even maniacal, catalogue of ornament in architecture and design from pre-history to the late 19th century. The original was printed in Leipzig, with text and drawings by Speltz himself. I wonder if he had a real life during the making of this book—take a look at it and you’ll understand!
From the calligram to concrete poetry, from design to art, this book collects hundreds of very good examples of great typography. Designed by Massin, it’s a book Herbert Spencer might have done after his experience as editor of the design journal Typographica.
Not simple reading, this book questions the very basis of design practice. A must!
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Understanding Understanding: New from Richard Saul Wurman
Understanding Understanding
by Richard Saul Wurman
Publisher: Richard Saul Wurman and Jack Dangermond
Published July 30, 2017
From the author of Information Architecture, who says about his newest book: “This is a book for people to dip into, as they would walk in and out of the room of a dinner party and embrace their interests. . . Before the rules on how to organize information, before you learn grammar, before you work hard at expanding your vocabulary and go through the exercises of parallel meanings of things as using a Thesaurus and as one writes papers in class, before any learning one must understand.”
The Hard Life by Jasper Morrison
The Hard Life
by Jasper Morrison
Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Published in US: May 22, 2017
Photographs taken by designer Jasper Morrison of objects in the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology in Lisbon, Portugal. “The objects photographed and described may be appreciated both for their beauty and for the example they set of design at its purest. The Hard Life is a continuation of Morrison’s celebration of the ordinary and offers a new perspective on his design philosophy.”
Paula Scher: Works - Order from Unit Editions
Paula Scher: Works
Editors: Tony Brook & Adrian Shaughnessy
Design: Spin
Publisher: Unit Editions
Published April 2017
New book covering the career of of master designer Paula Scher, called “the most influential woman graphic designer on the planet.” (Ellen Lupton), This definitive, chronological visual record spans Paula’s early days in the music industry as an art director with CBS and Atlantic records; the launch of her first studio, Koppel & Scher; and her 25-year engagement with Pentagram.
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Type Tells Tales: New from Steven Heller and Gail Anderson
Type Tells Tales
by Steven Heller and Gail Anderson
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published May 30, 2017
Reveals how type can become both content and illustration, as letters take the form of people, animals, cars, or planes. With numerous illustrations by F. T. Marinetti, Bruno Munari, and Francis Picabia, among others, as well as by contemporary designers such as Richard Eckersley, John Hendrix, Maira Kalman, and Corita Kent.
The Moderns: Midcentury American Graphic Design: New from Steven Heller and Greg D’Onofrio
The Moderns
by Steven Heller and Greg D’Onofrio
Publisher: Abrams
Published September 19, 2017
Featuring more than 60 designers whose magazine, book, and record covers; advertisements and package designs; posters; and other projects created the visual aesthetics of postwar modernity in America. Some were émigrés from Europe; others were homegrown; all were intoxicated by elemental typography, primary colors, photography, and geometric or biomorphic forms. Some are well-known, others are honored in this volume for the first time, and together they comprised a movement that changed our design world.
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