Weekly Wrap-Up & Preview: August 30
August 30, 2013
The last unofficial week of summer featured a fresh look at graphic design from many different angles as well as a book list from hospitality designer Jeffrey Beers. Among the highlights were a survey of children's books with an emphasis on design;, an interview with Steven Heller on the anniversary of a controversial essay on postmodern graphics he published 20 years ago; and our list of 45 books on type and typography. Next week we'll be introducing some new regular departments, including a monthly feature by Stephanie Murg of Unbeige on book covers.
Weekly Wrap-Up
Poised to become classics, a fresh crop of children's books seeks to capture young minds through design.
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The backlash against Steven Heller's now-infamous essay on 1990s graphics was swift and forceful. Now, 20 years after “Cult of the Ugly” was published, the author reflects on the the article that sparked one of the last great design debates in history.
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50 books on type, typography, and typographers spanning the centuries.
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Presented at Columbia's current exhibition “Wide Awake Typographer,” Ernst Reichl's handwritten notes—candid, witty, scholarly, and at times acerbic—give visitors a first-person tour of the typographic designer's lively mind.
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Prominent hospitality designer Jeffrey Beers chose many of the titles on his book list because “the subjects and authors are people I admire as leaders in their fields.” He adds, “Their personal philosophies have encouraged me to live passionately and fearlessly, and to always strive to create experiences that bring people joy.”
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Matali Crasset, whose work encompasses product design, interiors, architecture, and art installations, names among the books that have helped to crystallize her thinking titles ranging from a biting social critique by novelist Emile Zola (an author she says she “read and reread as a teenager”) to a book on the process and politics of organic wine-making.
Bruce Mau Design tackles the art of the large-scale makeover.
Announcements
Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister
Now is Better
By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023
Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
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Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)
By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023
This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
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