Rudy VanderLans

Graphic Designer / United States / Emigre

Rudy VanderLans’s Book List

The books I’ve listed here came to mind immediately upon receipt of the invitation. They have inspired my design, photography, and editing work, and I know that I’ve learned from them and often refer back to them. What exactly I’ve learned from them is difficult to determine. But my work has improved over the years—at the very least it has grown more mature—and that didn’t happen all by itself. I blame that on the books I’ve read, particularly the ones listed here.

Also, I love this website. Just the fact that anybody would care to make such a big deal about books and about what designers read gives me hope. It feels good to know that people are still interested in books, particularly printed books. And I love it when a new technology is used to celebrate an old one.

1 book
Michael Ondaatje

I'm unsure what I like more about this little book: the story, or the way the story is told. The book is a collage of various writing forms including memoir, verse, interview, poetry, newspaper account, dime store novel, even a sprinkling of images. It is a postmodern portrait of Billy the Kid and the West. It is like no other book on the topic. It opened my eyes to new possibilities of how to tell a story.

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