We don’t get ’em like this in the United States. Oslo, Norway gets the win:
Even the ceilings are noteworthy (also seen below). Check the atrium:
More at ArchDaily.
The Spectacular Deichman Library
50 Books, 50 Covers
It’s time once again for AIGA’s 50 Books, 50 Covers:
This time-honored competition aims to identify the 50 best-designed books and book covers. With 696 entries from 36 countries, the juror-selections from this year’s 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2020 competition exemplify the best current work from a year marked by unparalleled change.
Picking favorites from this list is always fun, and often includes books and/or covers that I haven’t seen before — especially 2020, when seeing things in person was often … difficult. So without further ado (in no particular order):
The unique destinations of Accidentally Wes Anderson. This 50 Books item catches the eye with the cover and the photographs carry you inside and to places heretofore unknown. Great stuff. Design by Mia Johnson.
Manifesto is more than meets the eye, even though the cover does an excellent job leading you in. It’s easier to quote the existing description than write one, so: “The opening pages contain an original text employing the sort of bombastic rhetoric traditionally associated with the manifesto genre. The typeset text is then cut up and reassembled, repeating throughout the book, each iteration becoming source material for subsequent cut-ups. The project takes a critical approach to book arts to explore authorship, readership, and the materiality of language.” Yeah:
It’s tiny, too: 4.125 by 6. The design, by Victor Mingovits, is anything but. Well done!
Not Dead of Famous Enough, Yet compiles 10 years of work from a design firm into one place, with this surprisingly modest cover. DR. ME, as the duo of Ryan Doyle & Mark Edwards became known, not only do quality work, they know how to stitch together a quality book — to a point where they picked up a prestigious award. See more.
Talking Animals violates one of my usual cover-design rules: it’s not immediately apparent which title word is first. Nonetheless, it’s eye-catching enough to warrant an exception — and a 50 Covers award. Design by Na Kim.
Na Kim makes another appearance with Self Portrait with Russian Piano. Kudos for something that’s equally eye-catching yet about as completely different as humanely possible — talent, defined.
“Eye-catching and mysterious,” says the entry for Sestry. “Oppressive and mysterious,” says the description. Both work — it’s certainly mysterious enough to catch your attention, grab it off the shelf, and investigate further. Design by Jan Šabach.
Once Upon a Time, I Lived on Mars: Space Exploration, and Life on Earth is a loooooong title/subtitle combination. It’s something that, as a cover designer, you dread — but Johnathan Bush knocked it out of the park with this hand-lettered illustrated piece that’s 180 degrees from where you’d expect.
The Turn of the Screw is probably my favorite of the whole collection:
Almost simplistic … until you really look at it; the kind that makes you think, “I wish I’d done that.” Fantastic work by Kaitlin Kall.
Lastly, two covers previously mentioned here:
Verge, where unexpected choices lead to great new places here, especially with the yellow band overlaying the wolf. So, so good. Design by Rachel Willey. And:
Zo, which uses illustrations to huge effect — but this time with a huge typography effect to go along with it, and lo, it works. Great design choices by Janet Hansen.
Again, see the whole list at AIGA: 50 Books, 50 Covers. Props to Hyperallergic for the heads up.
Macon Downtown Gallery Updated
Took the TTArtisans 50mm ƒ1.2 for a brief stroll today after lunch with Gerald. Gotta say: this thing is fun:
Note how the sign is into the bokeh practically before you’re through the sign’s second letter. This, too:
Does it begin to challenge Leica, or even Voigtlander? Certainly not — it’s a $98 (!) Chinese manual-focus crop lens shunned by almost all “real” Leica shooters. But for this short-depth-of-field fan, it’s worth the embracing the flaws. The updates are at the bottom of the page, marked, “Macon-Downtown_June-2021-x.” Enjoy.
Dublin gallery updated
Gerald and I had an opportunity to return to Dublin last week, and as a result, the Dublin gallery has been updated.
As usual, it’s a combination of my detail shots with some old-fashioned stuff.
See the entire Dublin gallery here. Thanks for looking!
Beautifully Briefed: Icons and Typography, Mid-June, 2021
Three items for you here, starting off with the 2021 Logo Trend Report, from the Logo Lounge. From the Asterisk to Electric Tape, Quads, Chains, and more:
Bill Gardner discusses all fifteen different trends, with logos to back ’em up (naturally).
Next, “A Cabinet of Curiosities” from Hoefler & Co.
Printers once used the colorful term ‘nut fractions’ to denote vertically stacked numerators and denominators that fit into an en-space. (Compare the em-width ‘mutton fraction.’)
This is beautiful:
A Dutch curio, representing the letters z-i-j.
Lastly, these are amazing . . . and simple, the better form of “simply amazing.” Yeah:
See the rest at This is Colossal.
Happy June!
Peace, Ken Garland
All of us recognize this symbol:
Now, let’s take a moment to celebrate the creator: Ken Garland. Not your typical graphic designer, he reached out, embraced the 1960’s and ’70s, and never looked back.
I couldn’t remember where I’d heard his name until I realized he was in toy and game design, and likely mentioned in one of the toy books I’ve worked on over the years. But there’s so much more. Read more of his life story at Dezeen (“Graphic designer Ken Garland dies aged 92“) and It’s Nice That (“Adrian Shaughnessy on Ken Garland, a ‘disruptive and questioning spirit‘”).
Mercer University Gallery Updated
Memorial Day weekend brought what is likely the last of the spring-like weather to Middle Georgia, and while it lasted, I was out with the camera. This time, the beautiful, historic Mercer University campus here in Macon:
That building is from the 1800’s. The bear — and the building in the background — are not:
Had my black-and-white “classic camera” filters handy, too (same building in the background, FYI):
Thirty new photographs join the Mercer University gallery. Peruse, purchase, or just enjoy.
Middle Georgia State University Gallery Updated
Visited Middle Georgia State University over the Memorial Day weekend, and have an updated look at campus:
The Wellness Center wasn’t even there last time I was there with a camera:
Take a look at the whole set here. Thanks!
(More) Beautifully Briefed, Books and Design, May 2021
On David Hockney’s Piccadilly Circus logo:
It’s been a minute since I’ve been in London — 2011, to be exact — and I’d love to go back. The food, the parks, the museums, the Thames, the short train rides to more interesting places (Hello, Cambridge?), and even the Tube. (We’ll leave the anti-Americanism aside for right now — we’re post-Trump and post-Covid, so traveling is at least an option!) Yet even the cultural masterpiece that is London is showing some cracks; from the New Statesman:
Hockney’s Piccadilly Circus has also drawn criticism for its simplistic approach. Over on the cesspit of arts criticism that is Twitter, anonymous accounts that decry all art made post-1920 as an abomination have ridiculed Hockney’s scrawl as indicative of the death of art. Other critics have rightly argued that the work feels like a red flag to a bull: fuelling culture-war debates about the legitimacy of public art, rather than encouraging the public to get onside.
I like it more every time I see it. Read more at It’s Nice That.
On the NYC subway map:
Speaking of It’s Nice That, an interesting new book from Gary Hustwit . . . on the debate over the New York City subway map. On the one side, the iconic Massimo Vignelli version, introduced in 1972, representing the less-is-more approach. On the other, the replacement version from John Tauranac, introduced in 1979, representing the more-accurate-is-more approach. (An updated version of the latter is still in use today.)
But back in 1978, the two got up on stage at Cooper Union’s Great Hall — home to debates of, among others, Abraham Lincoln — and pitched their case:
Newly discovered photographs and audio lead to this new, smartly-designed, book. Read more at It’s Nice That; Dezeen has an interview with the author. Pre-order the book and get a limited-edition letterpress print at Oh You Pretty Things.
On books and book design:
Nice new cookbook chock full o’ seventies-era design, “Violaine et Jérémy returns with a cookbook for Molly Baz, featuring three of the studio’s much-loved typefaces,” at — wait for it — It’s Nice That:
Sandwich Nicoice. Mmmmmmm.
Lastly, just because, Kottke collects pencil photography to examine the typography. Nice.
Beautifully Briefed: Books and Design, May 2021
Four things for you in this edition of Briefed, starting with a redesign for Grist:
“Climate. Justice. Solutions,” now looking good. Still worth reading (and bookmarking). Love that shade of green, too. Read about the hows and whys at Upstatement. Kudos for the excellent work.
Next, from the regularly-brilliant Jason Kottke — which he got from Print magazine — winners of the 2021 Type Directors Club Design Awards, including this fave:
Read more about the SF Symphony redesign at the (also) regularly-brilliant Brand New (very worthy subscription required).
And two books, starting with a nice interview with NPR:
Really like the design, more so than the others in the series.
Lastly, a reminder that this blog originates in Middle Georgia, home of the Cherry Blossom Festival — which might explain why this title and its quite awesome cover design caught my eye:
Enjoy!
New: Cochran and Dublin Galleries
Spring is fleeting here in Middle Georgia — a heat wave next week promises triple-digit weather — so took the camera for a wander. Cochran and the other Middle Georgia State University was up first:
A few shots from Cochran’s downtown, as well:
See the new Cochran gallery here.
Next up was a brief stop on Chester — single photograph posted here — then Dublin, where Martin Luther King made his first public speech, in 1944. There’s a little park to commemorate:
Downtown, alas, prominently features a Confederate monument (like so many places here in Georgia):
We’re working on it. Meanwhile, check Dublin’s new gallery here.
Last but not least, added a few shots to Macon’s miscellaneous gallery:
Check the whole thing, covering almost fifteen years, here.
Special thanks to Prof. Gerald Lucas for the continued use of his Voigtlander 21mm ƒ1.8.
Milledgeville Gallery Updated
Beautiful spring day in Middle Georgia yesterday, so I took advantage:
Added a few from a January visit, as well; a total of 44 new photographs posted.
More New and Updated Middle Georgia Photography Galleries
New this week is the delightful little town of Yatesville, on the road from Macon to Thomaston:
See the rest in the new Yatesville gallery. And speaking of Thomaston:
Only a few photographs in that gallery, but more when I get a chance. Next, Barnesville:
I could have sworn I had more photographs from there, but am glad to have at least added to that gallery. Lastly, I’ve added to the Forsyth gallery:
All of the new photographs are from Forsyth’s City Cemetery.
Enjoy!
Beautifully Briefed: Covers & Design, April 2021 (Updated)
Three items for your update this month, starting with one of the best logos I’ve seen in a long while: Realm. Check this out:
Just … wow. Colors aplenty in the supporting materials, but the logo itself in beautiful black and white — and that GIF. (Update: the GIF isn’t working here, which lessens its appeal. CRAP. See it at either link below, but either way, see it. So worth it!) Congrats to Mother Design on this triumph.
Read the story at It’s Nice That or visit the source at Realm.fm.
Update, May 4: Brand New says, “A Nightmare on Realm Street.” Frankly, I’m surprised:
The animations for both the full wordmark and monogram are a little clunky. Maybe it’s on purpose, maybe not, but something about them feels half-cooked. Some killer animations would have really taken this to the next level.
Hmph. Read the rest.
Next. a Guardian item on book covers — and how being “Instagrammable” is now, thanks to Covid and bookstores being less accessible, what’s expected:
I’ve famously chosen to boycott social media, so it’s probably not a surprise that I’m not 100% in agreement with the sentiment that Instagram is necessary for successful cover design. Nonetheless, supporting quality design — and acknowledging that more than a few do, in fact, judge a book by its cover — is a good thing. Read the rest.
Last but not least, from Spine’s fantastic University Press Cover Round-Up, this:
Check the shadow of the bottle cap. Now, go to Spine and check the texture in the background. Revel. Repeat.
Macon Downtown Gallery Updated
Gerald loaned me his Voigtlander 21mm/ƒ1.8 yesterday, and I took it for a brief spin downtown:
More here — the latest shots are at the bottom of the page — and more soon. Thanks and stay tuned.