Chris Bangle
…probably doesn’t need any introduction to the readers of this site, but just in case, he’s the force behind recent designs at BMW, including the much-maligned 7-Series:
Photo from Car Enthusiast.
Back in April, I ran across an interesting video from TED — a fascinating site — with Chris discussing cars as art. Great stuff. Foreword was taking a break, though, so never wound up posting about it.
Initially, I disliked the 7 pretty intensely. However, it’s grown on me in a big way — enough so that I’ll actually defend it in a conversation. Never been able to do so succinctly, though; thankfully, a commenter in a forum on the Car Lounge, where I saw a mention of the video again, can:
Chris Bangle saved BMW.
By 1992, BMW had been essentially penning the same car for thirty years. Every new generation was lower, longer, and wider, but none of them represented anything like a stylistic advance. Furthermore, the end was in sight. The E38 and E39 represented the absolute dead end of BMW styling, in that the new ones couldn’t be any more stereotypically BMW.
When you’ve painted yourself into a design corner, you can do one of two things. You can do the Jaguar thing and simply keep designing the same car, which is why even I have trouble telling the difference between a 1995 X300 and the current XJ at a distance. This will eventually cause you trouble, as it has for Jaguar.
Or you can create an entirely new design language, which Bangle did. And he succeeded beyond his wildest imaginings. Nearly every new car for sale today has a bit of Bangle in it. The new LS460 might as well have been sketched by von Hooydonk. All the new Toyotas have the two-step trunk. Hyundai internalized the Bangle form language so well that the TCL morons are calling the new BMW 1 “Korean” for having an “Elantra” two-step trunk!
Bangle’s tremendous insight was that you could create a tension of concave and convex that went beyond the traditional interplay of the “Coke Bottle”.
I don’t like the look of most “Bangle BMWs”, which is really to say Hooydonk BMWs. But I’m not stupid enough to ignore the fact that the Bangle era needed to happen. [Emphasis in original.] Without Chris, BMW would be where Jaguar is today - furiously attempting to convince its buying public that the car in the showroom isn’t a decade-old used car.
Watch the video. Believe in the Bangle.
Update, 22 July: Corrected a link, provided photo credit. Apologies for not doing the first time.
Posted by Giles, Sunday, July 15, 2007, at 3:43 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Personal
Two from the NYTimes
One book-related, one not — but too important to me not to mention:
— A detailed and appreciated obit of Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera fame. That duo are responsible for some of my favorite cartoons, especially Tom and Jerry. RIP, sir.
— A fascinating look at those responsible for finding and returning looted art during WWII, the results of a new — and self-published — book on the subject. Check it out.
Saatchi's Stuart
In May Mr. Saatchi, famed for spotting young unknowns and turning them into art-world superstars, created a section on his Web site for artists of all ages to post their work at no charge. It is called Your Gallery, and now boasts contributions by about 20,700 artists, including 2,000 pieces of video art.
Everything there is for sale, with neither the buyer nor the seller paying a cent to any dealer or other middleman. About 800 new artists have been signing up each week.
And since Stuart (shorthand for “student art”) went online last month, some 1,300 students (including 450 in the United States) have created Web pages there. No one vets the quality or style of the art.
Interesting. Check it out.
From the NYTimes. Might be wise to check in with Stuart once the Times’ traffic has died off a little — it was a slooooow load this morning.
Posted by Giles, Monday, December 18, 2006, at 9:50 AM.
Posted to Art | Books, design, art | Design | Whatever
Ode: Challenging
Latest from Vertical:
Cover design by Chip Kidd. He’d just started work with them when I met him many moons back, and was genuinely excited about it — glad to see the collaboration continues to flourish.
And an interesting cover it is. Two different fonts, so close to one another, yet different. Spacing that doesn’t, at first glance, have alignment. A sliding slipjacket for the title. Like a good deal of Chip’s stuff, it pushes the boundaries — and begs examination.
The Toon Zone had more to say about the book and design. Here’s a highlight:
Vertical would earn kudos simply for bringing such a challenging and uncommercial project to press, but their edition of Ode to Kirihito is exemplary. Vertical presents the work in “flipped” format to allow for a left-to-right reading style more familiar to Western eyes and commissioned an excellent translation by Camellia Nieh. Normally, the binding isn’t something that calls attention to itself in a book, but it proves to be exceptionally noteworthy when the book is 800+ pages and is still easy to open and read. The only criticism of the book’s design comes from designer Chip Kidd’s use of a separate half-sleeve on the cover, similar to the colored bands he used on Vertical’s Buddha hardcovers or the half a dust jacket on DC’s Batman: Year One deluxe hardcover. These design elements may look wonderful on a desk but are often far more trouble than they’re worth in bookstores or on bookshelves. However, the one on Ode to Kirihito isn’t quite as fragile as those on Kidd’s earlier books, and also serves an interesting artistic function as it slides back and forth on the cover.
Someone else is challenged, it would seem…! What do you think? Leave a comment.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, December 7, 2006, at 10:04 AM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Books, design, art | Type and typography
AMC's Magazine Cover of the Year
Okay, sure, it’s not exactly book design, but I enjoying looking at these nonetheless — and the winning cover is just about perfect, IMHO:
The ineptness of the response by FEMA and the U.S. government after Hurricane Katrina was an outrage to everyone who watched it unfold. The images of bodies floating unclaimed in murky waters were clear signs of the lack of care and empathy by those at the top of the government. In his cover, “Deluged,” Barry Blitt turns the tables on the situation. As the Oval Office is slowly submerged, the reader gets a release that goes beyond the first laugh and unleashes the floodgates of the nation’s collective anger.
Funny how it still seems relevant today, huh?
Check out the rest of the selected covers, in several categories — and available in hi-res — here.
I’ll be out of town later today and over the weekend. Please do continue to leave comments, with the understanding that I won’t be able to moderate them until late Sunday night. Thanks!
Posted by Giles, Friday, October 27, 2006, at 9:46 AM.
Posted to Art | Design
Covering Photography
Okay, this is interesting:
Covering Photography is a web-based archive and resource for the study of the relationship between the history of photography and book cover design. Our database contains images of and information on approximately 1200 books so far, which may be accessed via Photographer, Author, Publisher, Publication Date and Designer.
Covering Photography is by it’s nature a work in progress, and meant to be interactive. Titles are added on a regular basis, and commentary is encouraged, whether it refers to the site as a whole, to individual phortographers or to any of the covers (every page, including the home page, contains a link to post comments). Because the site, due to my own background, emphasizes a photohistorical point of view, I am particularly interested in comments which approach the material from a literary or book design context. My hope is that this website and database may function as an alternative, albeit atypical, take on the nexus of literature, graphic design and photographic history.
Check it out. (And if anyone would like to redesign their “cover”.…..)
Posted by Giles, Saturday, October 14, 2006, at 11:51 PM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Book design | Photography
Masters of American Comics
“Masters of American Comics” is a landmark and a pleasure. For many people, I suspect, it will be a revelation too.
[…T]he show shouldn’t be missed. It spotlights artists like Chris Ware and Gary Panter, amazing state-of-the-art talents and endearing in the tradition of all those shy, gifted kids who drew endlessly in their rooms when other kids wouldn’t play with them, dreaming about someday telling the world, “I told you so.”
Ahh, to be in NYC. The Times has more.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, October 14, 2006, at 9:31 PM.
Posted to Art | Books, design, art | Design | Whatever
GalleyCat Penguin Poll
[…] the two images that left the biggest impressions on me from the batch of books published this month, a mostly abstract cover for Gravity’s Rainbow by Frank Miller and Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s manga-style images for “Rashomon and 17 Other Stories,” and ask what you think.
I love ’em both! And said so, on their poll. Go vote!
Thanks, Ron.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, October 5, 2006, at 1:23 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book design
Artdaily.com on Books
Book lovers and aesthetes alike will often cite the material qualities of a book, the cloth covers, glossy pages, rough or gilded edges, or the personal touch that one can experience through a book’s design — even more than a book’s contents — as the basis for the medium’s lasting significance in contemporary society. These characteristics add up to the overall significance of a book as an object to behold, rather than simply a source of information, something appreciated by artists and readers since the first illuminated manuscript was published over ten centuries ago.
From “the first art newspaper on the net,” Off the Shelf: New Forms in Contemporary Artists’ Books. Cool.
Posted by Giles, Friday, September 22, 2006, at 3:59 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book design | Books, design, art | Libraries
Amazing
…photograph by Joe Reifer, titled Mojave #189:
Now if that’s not a book cover waiting to happen!
From The Online Photographer, (still) perhaps the best photography blog going.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, September 19, 2006, at 5:18 PM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Photography
Astonishing.
Perhaps love is a better word:
The quality of photography in my work is about to take a quantum leap forward.
More over the weekend.
Posted by Giles, Friday, July 14, 2006, at 4:23 AM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Technology
Artist I Love Tonight
Binder. Maurice Binder.
May be a short work week, but it’s long hours around here — which means that most of my “breaks” are at the computer, just long enough to watch the latest news reports, perhaps an episode of a television series, or even part of a DVD. Finished You Only Live Twice tonight.
Gotta say, Bond wouldn’t be Bond without the titles sequences, pioneered by Maurice Binder. There’s a nice little documentary regarding his work on the “Special Edition” of the DVD. Check it out next time you need a “real” Bond fix. (Ahem. Sorry…;)
For the record, the above image is a photograph of my computer screen. Apple doesn’t allow screen captures during DVD playback.
Artist I'd Like to Work with Soon
Meet Els Overkleeft, a photographer and graphic designer from my old stomping grounds of Maine:
In addition to wonderful photos like the one above, Els uses a combination of photos and overlays on some of her work that’s just beautiful — check out many more examples at her web site. Check out the book she’s put together, too.
I especially enjoyed seeing some of the places I’ve known well in the past — it’s been too long since I’ve been back to Maine. Thank you, Els, for the mini-vacation down memory lane.
Posted by Giles, Monday, July 3, 2006, at 12:18 PM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Book design | Book people | Books | Design | Photography
Microsoft Buys iView
Now here’s an interesting change to the digital-file/media-management landscape:
iView said on its Web site that Microsoft has many plans for iView’s technologies and product line, but those plans would not be announced right away.
iView made a point of noting that its Macintosh versions will continue to be made available and supported.
“Microsoft will fully support the existing Mac products, will continue to sell Mac versions of the current iView product line and will offer upgrade pricing to all Mac users of future products that may be available based on the iView products,” said notes on the iView Web site.
I worked with iView MediaPro at the juice company, and found it great for nearly everything except EPS files, which is what we used most. I looked at it again just recently, but decided that Aperture was the better route for my digital media workflow. Glad I did.
This comes hot on the heels of Adobe’s announcement yesterday of the purchase of the RawShooter conversion engine for use in the Lightroom product. The big boys are definitely solidifying their positions — seems like the battle for who “controls” the media market is just heating up.
Notice that iView promises an upgrade path, not a Mac one. Peter Krogh, author of a digital management book for O’Reilly, calls it a good move — but cautions M$ to keep Mac support.
Time will tell.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 6:49 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Business | Computers | Photography | Technology
Artists I Love Tonight
Craig Hamilton. I’ve been fortunate to work together with and, more importantly, learn from this amazing comic arts genius (Aquaman is among the many characters he’s worked on), and can’t resist the temptation to post his take on a Peter Pan cover:
It’s for sale, too; alas, my art budget at the moment is about equal to my font budget — which is to say, zero. Good news for someone out there, though.…
Meanwhile, there’s a comment on that page from Michael Bair. Who’s responsible for this:
Oooooooo. In layout, even! Love. Want a big-scale print of that, but it’s not for sale. Just as well.
Click on either illustration for a larger version, more information, and samples from both artists.
Next up on the comic arts front: a history. Too much I don’t know about an area of design with pretty astonishing depth.
Need more time to feed these obsessions. The curse of the curious, someone once told me. I’m sure I’m cursed daily on all sorts of fronts, so adding another to the list doesn’t seem so bad.…
Posted by Giles, Thursday, June 15, 2006, at 12:40 AM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Books | Books, design, art | Personal
Artist I (Still) Love Tonight
Good show at the Arts Exchange here in Macon Friday night; I’ve learned to go with camera instead of checkbook. Else I’m sure I would have walked out with more than just a photo of this — a detail of Eric Wakefield’s Smoking and Playing Guitar:
Some progress behind the scenes here at Foreword; have a few posts queued up for the new week. Stay tuned.
Posted by Giles, Sunday, May 7, 2006, at 11:08 PM.
Posted to Art
More on Richard Eckersley
…at the Design Observer:
That legacy is enormous. His books and jackets have been annually included as selections in the annual Association of American University Press competition, as well as frequently included in the AIGA “50 Books” competition, and among them are many that were instantly hailed as masterpieces of the publishing arts: Karl Bodmer’s America and The Journals of Lewis and Clark, of course, but also Jacques Derrida’s Glas and Cinders, Avital Ronell’s The Telephone Book: Technology, Schizophrenia, Electric Speech, Warren Motte’s Small Worlds, a steady stream of translations of contemporary French writers (including books by Marcel Benabou, Marguerite Duras, Jean Echenoz, Maurice Blanchot and Gérard Genette), and many, many more.
The article includes links, but in case you’re busy and need to get back to it, here’s a taste — also called out by Joseph in response to the original post — of Glas:
Thank you for the link, William. Been too behind the curve to surf and am sure folks appreciate the follow-up.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, April 25, 2006, at 6:37 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Computers | Type and typography
RIP, Richard Eckersley
UnBeige notes:
Eckersley was born into a family of graphic designers in England and worked as a junior at Lund Humphries, which published the now-cult-classic Typographica magazine. He was in the US only one year before he took a job at the University of Nebraska, where he had lived since 1981. He focused on innovative book design, and was most famous for his typographic tricks in The Telephone Book, the first book he designed on a computer.
Stephen Heller wrote a nice piece for the NYTimes that also includes a wonderful cover. Here’s a larger version:
Rest in peace, sir. Your work will continue to be treasured.
Posted by Giles, Friday, April 21, 2006, at 12:00 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Computers | Technology | Type and typography
Covered Forever: Germano Facetti
From the UK’s Guardian:
Germano Facetti - who died, aged 77, at the weekend - probably wouldn’t have liked the idea much, but he was the master of branding long before the word entered the popular consciousness. Facetti’s book covers for Penguin, where he was art director from 1961 to 1972, gave an extraordinary unity and unmatched visual impact to a publisher already regarded by readers as a vital part of British cultural life.
One of Mr. Facetti’s covers caught my eye (pun intended…;) early in my book design career:
Thoughtfully included in their extensive gallery of book he’d designed. Definitely worth a moment’s tribute.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, April 13, 2006, at 5:01 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Personal | Publishing | Type and typography
What Not To Do
Now if this ain’t the truth:
Found through a commenter, Tuesday Gutz, who listed a very nice blog with her comment. Thanks, Tuesday!
Posted by Giles, Thursday, April 13, 2006, at 4:54 PM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Business | Design | Personal | Whatever
Kool-Aid Never Had It So Good
Another week, another major hat tip to Joseph. This time for some Kool-Aid:
I haven’t seen it in person, But electronically — whew. That’s a 10 in my book. (Well, on my blog…;) Oh, and there’s this:
[Y]ou have to check out Toure’s Web site. How long has it been since you’ve seen the Web site-as-city metaphor? Yeah, me too. 1998.
Bonus: Hardcover (left) and paperback versions of the author’s previous title.
There’s some (soul) food for thought!
Posted by Giles, Monday, April 10, 2006, at 7:09 AM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book design | Publishing | Type and typography
Bookmarkable: BibioOdyssey
Via BoingBoing comes this fascinating look at books, illustrations, science and history — including lots and lots of historic photos and illustrations, great reading, and tidbits like this:
A History of Color Systems. The above illustration is by Philipp Otto Runge, from 1810, for instance; the text includes ten other historical illustrations and several other reference sources. Very cool.
Check it out.
Posted by Giles, Friday, March 31, 2006, at 2:04 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Books | Books, design, art | Design | Printing | Publishing | Type and typography | Whatever
Reasons I Love Flickr Tonight
Some of the sheer artistry:
No idea what/where this is. Doesn’t really matter; I’d love to use it on a book cover.
Found because someone with the nickname Daydream Scream tagged a photo of mine as a favorite. There’s no way I’m not going to follow up on a name like that — and found this.
Sweet Flickr.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, March 23, 2006, at 8:48 PM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Computers | Flickr | Photography | Technology | Whatever
The Vagina Monologues
Poster for two performances of this amazing play:
I’m glad to have been able to use a model (it’s an original photo) that isn’t a supermodel, because it just feels more appropriate for the material. The jeans and black shirt are the “costume” for the play; the purple is from the folders the actors will be holding. I’ll be up front and say that I would have gone for something a little more racy (unbuttoned jeans, for instance), but erred on the side of conservative — Mercer is a Baptist school.
Major kudos to the director, student Calvin McCullar, for making it happen on campus in the first place. (For the second year in a row.) Happy to donate a few hours to this one, even at the last minute.
Heads off to press in the morning. Any suggestions before it does?
Apologies, once again, for the lag in posting. Been mired in what’s become an all-consuming project. Realized I had to break that into pieces and will keep working on; the above was a “break.” More posts tomorrow and over the weekend, however, in celebreation of Foreword’s third birthday.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, March 15, 2006, at 12:05 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Photography | Type and typography | Whatever
Artist I Love Tonight
Local painter Eric Wakefield:
Nice graphic design, too.
Thank you, Eric, for the tour of Macon Arts, the great conversation, and for the introductions. Not to mention the paintings I want everywhere…;)
Macon’s community of artists, photographers, and genuinely interesting people continues to impress.
Posted by Giles, Friday, March 3, 2006, at 10:30 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Personal | Type and typography
You Want to do What!? Cool.
[Yale]: What are your plans following graduation in May?
Ashley Linnenbank: I want to work in graphic design, but I didn’t major in Art, so I’m going back to school for that. Starting in early July, I’ll be attending The Creative Circus in Atlanta. I’d really love to go into book design or maybe fuse my love for music with that of art and design for bands and such. So two more years of school and then I’ll be prepared to conquer the world.
Wow. I’d really love to go into book design. We’re on students’ radar…! Is book design becoming more than a niche?
Good luck, Ashley!
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, February 22, 2006, at 11:14 AM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Design | Jobs
Atlanta Design Museum
Anybody been?
Was in Atlanta yesterday and today, and it was on the agenda, but just didn’t make it. It’s part of the Smithsonian, so theoretically it should be decent — but have to admit the broken links on the web site are worrying. (As if I’m one to talk…;)
Will try again next time I’m up there, but please leave a comment if you have any experience with the Atlanta Design Museum you’d like to report. Thanks.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, February 21, 2006, at 10:40 PM.
Posted to Advertising | Art | Design | Personal
MSC Arts Festival Poster, Final
They went with this version, with one major change: maintain the margins!
Also, Dystopos’s suggestion to justify the “Lectures…” and “Macon State…” lines has been rattling around my head, and works well with the type off the bottom — reinforcing the margin box. Thanks.
So, now that it’s off to press, let’s bleed on it. What should I do better next time? (The previous versions of this poster are linked through Flickr if you’d like to refer back.)
Posted by Giles, Friday, February 3, 2006, at 10:39 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Flickr | Photography | Type and typography
"Creative Nonfiction"
Had an interesting conversation with someone yesterday about creative nonfiction, a category of literature I didn’t even know about. We were discussing it because of this:
The person I was speaking with specifially mentioned that Oprah had stood behind it, but I noticed in this morning’s NYTimes that she “rebuked” the author and kicked him out of the book club. Heh.
And the cover? Well, let’s say I didn’t need the Times to tell me someone needed a rebuke…! “The sticker’s an improvement,” I can hear someone saying. Newsflash: not for long.
A customer on Amazon left an image of this title as an alternate — and I like the cover:
It asks more questions. (A million more? Sorry. Had to go there.) Not perfect, certainly, but gets you thinking about what’s inside — an excellent measure of “success” in my book.
We have this second cover to think about because someone left a comment on Amazon. Been a good trend here recently, too. Thanks.
Posted by Giles, Friday, January 27, 2006, at 10:40 AM.
Posted to Art | Book design | Book people | Book prizes | Books | Books, design, art | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Writing
"Designers are in an explosive mood."
“Product designers are showing their angst,” the headline says, backed up by “Protests against war and politics are showing up in graphic arts and design.”
More:
Murray Moss, a New York retailer who serves on the board of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, says there hasn’t been a period of such fertile creativity since pre-World War I Vienna. That’s when radical expressionist artists shattered established notions of beauty and designers revolutionized their field, too.
Interesting, if perhaps a wee bit hyped. Read on at the Miami Herald.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, January 24, 2006, at 1:45 AM.
Posted to Advertising | Art | Book design | Books, design, art | Design | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Whatever
Surf Those Links
…with Designpedia, from Airbag.
It’s a little web-centric now, but some great stuff nonetheless — please go and add sites you like! (I’ll keep and eye on it, too, and generate a new list for the blogroll (in the left column) before the site is redesigned. As always, suggestions welcome.
Posted by Giles, Sunday, January 22, 2006, at 2:48 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Books, design, art | Computers | Design
Poster, V2
Okay, here you go:
Past even my usual four-something posts; I’ll try to be brief. But I thought you’d appreciate some details.
Ironically, the same day I was on a soapbox about culture, the poster was rejected — for a lack of cultural understanding.
The three artists talking about their work are from India and the Caribbean, areas of the world culturally sensitive to being grouped (generally) with the African culture the mask represented.
Monica and I discussed it a little, and her take — she chose the mask photo, by the way — was that the mask was a “diverse take on comedy/tragedy.” Worked for me at the time, but both Dr. Young-Zook and the “esteemed designer” learned a lesson. I said in one of the comment threads that I’m glad it’s not easy, because it’s more interesting. You also learn more. Case in point.
So, Monica wanted to go back to the panel of fellow doctors, to coin a phrase, with some photo options. I sent her to iStock, where she found a few good potential photos — but I really didn’t want to see something that I’d liked that much go to an iStock photo. I wanted one of my photographs. Thankfully, I knew I had this. I’d just taken it (December 26th, as part of the Ringling Museum photo series that My Life is from) and knew as soon as I’d seen it that I wanted to use it for something.
Non-offensive, it fits both India and the Caribbean — the palm shadow works especially well, I think — but needed, well, work. Five hours later, here we are.
Am I going out on a limb, taking this time for something that could — might very likely be — rejected again? Maybe. But the “panel” will get this developed poster and the two iStock photos undeveloped. Hoping it’s enough to nudge them to using a design based on my photograph, and I enjoyed the exercise. It was worth the time.
And damned if I don’t like it just as much as the first one, for a ton of very different reasons. What do you think? Leave a comment.
Note: In the interests of full disclosure, I wanted everyone to know that I posted a (very) slightly tweaked version Saturday evening.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, January 21, 2006, at 5:21 AM.
Posted to Art | Book people | Books | Books, design, art | Design | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Type and typography
Follow-Ups
Trying to break the (bad) habit of posting at four in the morning. Wish me luck…;)
If you haven’t alredy, read yesterday’s entry first. Thanks.
1. The poster went down in flames today. One word: “groupthink.” Monica defended it well, I understand, but that’s the way it goes. They’re going to pick another photo and we’ll try again. (Will save the details for another time, heheh.)
2. Managed to get through the missive last night without mentioning Google. Foreword is the #1 response to a search for book design, with or without quotes. Ahead of Amazon! That’s seriously cool.
That’s also exactly why I’d love to spur more conversation. The description on Google, a community in the service of books and book design, is exactly the purpose. Yes, it’s about me. But it’s also about Todd, Chip, Joseph, J., Amanda, and so many others, past, present, and future. Us. A diverse “community,” in the best sense of the word.
3. I don’t feel the “arrogant American” thing was worded well. I absolutely do not care where you physically work from, what language you grew up speaking, what color you are, or how you live your life. I do care about the quality of your work a great deal, however. And I want to help make it better. Because I learn — we all learn — as part of that process.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, if you’re here, it’s for the same reason I am: to have a greater knowledge and understanding of book design.
When I said “quest for expertise,” I meant “collective quest.” By posting a comment that brings an idea to the table, we all benefit. Good design ideas can, thankfully, transcend cultures — someone, somewhere, will look at that idea, and it will lead to another.
For freelancers in a trade such as book design, the internet is the great equalizer. It no longer matters where you live, only that you know what you’re doing. But that doesn’t remove culture.
Foreword is American-centric because the posters and active commenters are mostly American. I’d love to broaden that — we’d all benefit. Bring something to the table, though. Don’t just ask how to do it. Get involved in how to do it. That’s why we’re all here. Let’s share those ideas.
4. Speaking of sharing, I welcome feedback and ideas for improving how this site actually functions. The redesign includes some improvement in code related to comment moderation and posting, but will mostly be a visual thing. I’m currently going around (and around) regarding “quickie” posts; whether I’d do enough “Hey, this is cool…” posts to justify a third column and the CSS tricks necessary to do that properly. Probably not. Site loading speed’s a consideration, too. Simple code with striking visuals (well, and good posts…;) works best for me.
Now is the best time to talk about it. What would you like to see next? Leave a comment.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, January 19, 2006, at 10:46 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Business | Design | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Photography | Publishing | Site news | Whatever | Writing
Thanks, Monica
For the second time this week, I’m posting at four-something in the morning — without client approval. Heh. Feeling naughty:
See a larger version here. Done at the request of Dr. Monica Young-Zook as a follow-up to last year’s well-received effort.
Very happy to be using a photograph I took instead of iStock, too. Cart that camera with me everywhere for a reason — this photo’s a hand-held snapshot taken during a holiday party.
Monica and her husband, Dan, are near the top of the list of reasons I settled in Maon. Glad she’s making sure that, now that I’m here, I don’t get complacent…;)
Bonus: discovered Be a Design Group through their group on Flickr. Sweet.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, January 14, 2006, at 4:16 AM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Design | Flickr | Photography | Type and typography
Typography I Like Tonight
From the always-interesting Dave Gorman:
It only took three trips over two nights to get a complete alphabet of these. They’re by a graffiti artist called Eine apparently.
Hats off to Dave, the commenters who helped him score the whole set, and especially Eine. Nicely done.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, January 11, 2006, at 9:14 PM.
Posted to Art | Ethics | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Photography | Public domain | Type and typography | Whatever
