Weekly Wrap-Up & Preview

Weekly Wrap-Up & Preview: July 25

July 25, 2014

With summer in full swing, this month we featured a talk with Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute curator Harold Koda about the Met’s current exhibition and accompanying catalogue on fashion designer Charles James. We’ll be giving away copies of the catalogue in our next installment of “Design Books to Win,” starting July 29, following our very popular recent giveaway with Phaidon Press of the iBooks edition of Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible.

We also published Witold Rybczynski’s review of Being: An Architect by Ian Ritchie and brought you special summer-themed lists of books on landscape design, bicycle design, and more.

Our Online Book Fair is expanding to include new art and photography as well as design books and in July we welcomed our first rare book dealer to the Fair.

Coming events to note:

August 5: Book launch for two new books by graphic designer and Designers & Books contributor Peter Mendelsund at The powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn, NY. Details.

November 6:  Register for SEGD’s Xlab 2014 in New York. Envision the future of immersive experiences. Details:
https://segd.org/2014xlab 

Weekly Wrap-Up

Interviews Charles James: Beyond Fashion: A Conversation with Harold Koda

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s Curator in Charge, Harold Koda, talks about the Met’s current exhibition Charles James: Beyond Fashion (on view through August 10) and the accompanying catalogue. Fashion designer Charles James (1906–1978) is often considered to be America’s first couturier—a sculptor of fabric who defined 1940s and 1950s glamour. Enter our drawing to win a copy of the catalogue, through August 4.

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Themed Book Lists 10 Books Featuring Buckminster Fuller

Most popularly known for his Geodesic Dome, visionary, inventor, environmentalist, and prolific author R. Buckminster—“Bucky”— Fuller (1895–1983) was born in July. Here are 10 books by or featuring Fuller that have been chosen by our contributing designers, publishers, and booksellers.

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Book List of the Week Book List of the Week: Five Hotel and Restaurant Designers

Traveling to hotels and restaurants are among summer’s (or any season’s) pleasures. Here are five major designers of notable hotel and restaurant spaces worldwide who list the books that have been influential for them. The designers include Jeffrey Beers, Ed Ng, Adam Tihany, and George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg.

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Themed Book Lists 25 Books on Gardens, Landscape, and Design

Summer makes us think of gardens and green spaces. Here are 25 books on gardens and landscape from our contributing designers and publishers—featuring gardens from Newport estates to Manhattan rooftops, and from Brazil to ancient Babylon.

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Book List of the Week Book List of the Week: Six French Designers and the Books That Inspire Them

France celebrates its national holiday today. In honor of Bastille Day, here are six French designers and the books that have inspired them. The designers include graphic designer Pierre Bernard, fashion designer Christian Lacroix, and product designers Ronan Bouroullec, Matali Crasset, Jean-Marie Massaud, and Inga Sempé.

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Themed Book Lists 15 Books on Bicycles and Bicycle Design

The world’s most famous annual bicycle race, the Tour de France, ended on July 27, 2014. In honor, we bring you our list of books on bicycles and bicycle design, now updated with new titles.

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Book List of the Week Book List of the Week: The Books That Inspire Four Names in Jewelry Design

The books that have left their mark on four notable names in jewelry design are spotlighted this week. Featured are designers Lisa Jenks, Temple St. Clair, and Gijs Bakker, and critic and author In Style’s Marion Fasel, who sent us a list of “Books Every Jewelry Designer Should Read.”

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Daily Features Online Design Book Fair Expands to Include Art, Photography, and Rare & Out of Print Design Books

Our Online Book Fair is growing—fast. To our over 500 titles, we’re continually adding new books on architecture, design, art, and photography for adults and children—many at specially discounted prices—and new publishers, too. We also welcome our first in a lineup of rare and out of print book dealers, offering you a showcase of vintage titles as well current and forthcoming books.

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Daily Features Tell Us Your Story: Designers & Books and The Art Directors Club

For a collaboration we are participating in with The Art Directors Club, Designers & Books invites you to share the story of how you navigated your creative career path—including the books that have inspired you. Your story and quotes will be posted on ADC’s blog and promoted on its social channels. The Art Directors Club (ADC) has a social community of more than 220,000 creative professionals in every stage of career development, and from all over the world.

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Notable Design Books: Reviews Being: An Architect: Notable Design Book Review

Critic Witold Rybczynski reviews vanguard British architect Ian Ritchie’s newest book—a combination of musings, writings, and photographs of the buildings that have marked Ritchie’s varied career.

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Next Week's Preview

Interviews Art Cars: A Conversation with BMW’s Thomas Girst

BMW’s Head of Cultural Engagement, Thomas Girst, talks about the company’s almost 40-year tradition of producing unique cars designed by artists—now collected into a book. BMW Art Cars, edited by Girst and published by Hatje Cantz, showcases the 17 artists invited to re-envision the look of some of the world’s most famous racecars.

Design Books to Win Win a Copy of Charles James: Beyond Fashion

Even if you can’t make it to the exhibition currently on view at the Met’s Costume Institute through August 10, you can still experience the glamorous designs and fascinating career of Charles James (1906–78), often considered to be America’s first couturier, through the the acclaimed catalogue of the show.

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