Filed under: Books
I do feel a little overly dramatic thanking people I have never actually met (and probably never will meet) for bringing me back to my senses. And that right here on my possibly deceased blog. But I really have to thank this brilliant guy. If you haven’t already read his books you should click STRAIGHT in to Amazon (or whichever bookstore you prefer, I’m not in their pockets ;-)) and buy them. I read “Steal Like an Artist” a while back and kinda forgot its’ brilliancy (SHAME ON ME!) but on a recent holiday to Barcelona I stumbled upon his latest book “Show Your Work” in a museum shop and thought it might be a lovely holiday inspirational read and I was right! Seriously, my first thought when I had read it was: I HAVE TO GET BACK TO BLOGGING!!! And here I am. So thank you Austin, I know you don’t answer e-mails (says so in your book) so I’m just gonna put my humble thanks right here :-)
Go see his fab TED talk from a few years back too.
And I’m gonna go ahead and “steal” this chart from “Steal like an Artist” for a coming course on originality…ofcourse paying my credits to the man ;-)
I’ve been a fan of Job Wouters for a long time and getting my hands on his book Letman was SUCH a treat. I HIGHLY recommend it (no, I don’t get a percentage!). The variety of the work is amazing, I really like how different styles are explored without any notable desire to be cool or hip but just to create something new and great. Success! The control of the tools used is so superior to anything I’ve seen for a long time. A bonus info: The book is set with my former student Julian Hansen’s font Zimmer.
See more: http://letman.com
Here’s one of those must have books, by Steven Heller and my idol Louise Fili. It is just PACKED with wonderful script specimens, a page turner of eye candy, YUM!
Buy here on Amazon.
Uhhhh! Yesterday there was a newsletter in my mail that I actually rejoiced getting. It was Taschen telling me that there’s a new Mark Ryden book out (LOVE him!) and I can get my hands on it for a mere 800€….huh? Yes you read correctly. Well, it is part of the collector’s edition so quite pricy and a little out of my range. But I can dream looking at these spreads from the book. If any of you guys have that kind of money go here. The rest of us can still enjoy his work at http://www.markryden.com
If you’re into packaging design then I don’t think you’ll be able to live without this book. Actually, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s probably the best packaging book out there, how about that?! It has quickly become a fave in my HUGE collection of books even though I am not a packaging designer myself. It is just brimming with great work, great ideas and beautiful executions all around. Go get it!
See more about the book at Gestalten.
Just buy it at Amazon.
It’s been a super busy week of exams and I’m starting to look forward to summer break. It’s been so busy that I forgot to share on of my fave talks at TYPO with you. I was so lucky to catch Niels Shoe Meulman’s talk about his new book Calligraffiti which is definitely worth picking up. I love his merge between calligraphy and graffiti, it’s best of two worlds. Be sure to check him out in action in the video bellow.
Buy the book at Amazon.
Visit Niels’ website and Calligraffiti site.
If you love packaging as much as I do then here’s a great Christmas wish. I am definitely hoping that this book will be under my tree this year, it is just brimming with amazing work from all over the world.
Order on Amazon.
If you love books and book covers as much as I do then you should definitely pop round The Book Cover Archive and have a feast. There you will find a gigantic collection of some of the best work yet. VERY inspiring!
See more: http://bookcoverarchive.com
Well by now you know I have a bit of a weakness for crazy ceramics. I just love when someone uses an unexpected media to do something great. That is why I was over the moon when I stumbled upon the book “Fragiles” from Gestalten in New York. It is literally bursting with great examples and it is really inspiring to any creative. The book contains loads of talented people but just to mention a few, I am so in love with the work of Charles Kraft, Stephanie DeArmond and Yvonne Lee Schultz.
You can buy the book through Amazon. Also visit the website for Fragiles.
Yesterday I spent a lovely evening at Barnes & Nobles (another of my designer vices). I do love to just walk around and look at bookcovers, and I thought, why not make a post out it if. So here’s a load of what I found.
First a bit of retro…
Next, a very bold crop…
Then, some intricate illustration work…
There’s always cool type work…
I found this interesting series of very graphic Albert Camus books too, they looked great lined up, their backs forming a great pattern…
Last but not least a few examples of great ambience in the visual communication.
Inspiration Lab 