Thank You, Jason
As y’all know — yes, I’m a Southerner now…;) — I’ve been a Macintosh user for, well, forever. From Mac Plus and early-nineties versions of Photoshop to the current setup, I’ve enjoyed every benefit Apple has had to offer.
Unfortunately, as service goes, it’s been a mixed bag. However, I’m pleased to report that the latest problem was handled in a manner that I have to talk about — in a good way.
The problem. Worse, those dots changed color and pattern as objects moved about the screen — rendering it basically useless. Worse still, it was coming up on midnight Saturday night, I was already in a bad mood, and had deadlines.
Thus, a big tip of the hat to Jason, the assistant manager at the Lenox Square Apple Store, who not only shoved me through service in two hours — but did it on an incredibly busy Sunday. Honestly, I had no idea how busy the Atlanta store was — wow. (Tampa? Nothing in comparison, especially for a Sunday. I thought Sundays were quiet in these parts — wrong. So much for being a Southerner…!)
Better still, without knowing it, he fixed another problem (of the computer not sleeping). Oh, how nice it is.
Jason, hats off. Your patience is to be admired, and service to the cause more than above and beyond. Steve’s getting a letter — of praise.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 2:04 AM.
Posted to Computers | Personal | Technology | Whatever
Power Tool
There is mucho behind-the-scenes work going on here at Foreword. Much of it is thanks to this:
A little Nikon love, late this Monday evening.…
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 2:19 AM.
Posted to Flickr | Love | Personal | Photography | Technology | Whatever
Remember These?
Found this 1970s-vintage calculator while photostrolling (for lack of a better term):
I remember using stuff like this. Makes me feel old.…
Posted by Giles, Friday, July 13, 2007, at 11:37 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Photography | Technology | Whatever
Catching up
Welcome the new year:
1145 messages. One account.
What happens when you step away from the computer for a few days! If you’ve emailed recently, I’ll get to it ASAP.…
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, January 2, 2007, at 12:58 PM.
Posted to Whatever
Happy 2007
Can’t let the day pass without wishing all of Foreword’s readers worldwide a happy New Year — and a healthful, prosperous, wonderful 2007.
#4 on the ten-item resolution list for the new year — I won’t bore you with the whole thing — is to blog more, with time set aside regularly instead of the current sporadically. (Read: whenever I can — which, as you all know, isn’t often enough.)
Here’s hoping!
Posted by Giles, Monday, January 1, 2007, at 11:50 PM.
Posted to Personal | Site news | Whatever
Happy Holidays
Bee — herself a gift — enjoying her new favorite spot. Typical!
Wishing you and yours the best of holiday seasons this year.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, December 23, 2006, at 5:46 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Whatever
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
Blogging to Peak in 2007?
From Ars:
The blogging “trend” could each its peak in 2007, according to a recent Gartner report. The prediction came as part of a larger report of the group’s top 10 predictions for 2007 and beyond, and predicted that the number of active bloggers would hit its all-time high in 2007 and level out soon thereafter.
[…]
However, the company says that the number of bloggers has been steadily growing over the years, and will peak at 100 million bloggers next year. Blog tracking site Technorati defines an “active” blog as one that is updated once every three months, and announced that it was tracking 57 million blogs as of this October, making the “blogosphere” over 100 times larger than it was in 2003. The rate of growth has begun to slow though, according to the company—the number of tracked blogs is now only doubling once every seven-and-a-half months or so compared to doubling every six months as it has in the recent past.
Once every three months!? Sheesh. And I stress when I can’t get an update in three times a week.
Would I love to do more? Sure. If someone can find the accompanying time.…
Posted by Giles, Thursday, December 14, 2006, at 12:13 PM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Site news | Whatever
Just Wrong
Commute? Want to pretend you’re learned? Carry your iPod in a book. A Flickr usr came up with a nice DIY to mask your illiteracy.
Ouch. What a tragic ending to those 80 years! (And no “audiobook” jokes, please…;)
Posted by Giles, Thursday, November 23, 2006, at 3:00 PM.
Posted to Books | Technology | Whatever
Three of Potential Interest
Checking my email online tonight, to discover more than thirty open tabs in the browser; stuff to read later, stuff to blog on, stuff to deal with, etc. Here are three:
— Sports Artist Sued for Mix of Crimson and Tide:
In the solemn cathedral of college football devotion and instruction that is the Paul W. Bryant Museum here, a large painting dominates the main chamber. It is called “The Sack,” and it shows an encounter between a Notre Dame quarterback and a human locomotive in crimson and white.
“I’ve never been hit like that before,” the quarterback, Steve Beuerlein, said after his near-lethal sack by Cornelius Bennett in 1986, in the University of Alabama’s first victory ever over his team.
Daniel A. Moore, who painted “The Sack” and scores of other renditions of signal moments in Alabama football history, said he felt something similar last year, when his fax machine began to spit out a lawsuit from the university.
Downward spiral. Here’s a wish for recovery before impact.
— Droolworthy, and, uh, funny as hell:
MacRumors Apple ad contest winner. See more.
— I’d noticed the font used in the Sony Alpha ads recently, and wondered about it. Lo and behold, in my (astonishingly large stack of) email was an ad for it:
Vista Sans, from Emigre. (Natch. Love their stuff.) Read some of the designer’s notes on Vista and others at FontShop.
More ASAP.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, November 14, 2006, at 12:00 AM.
Posted to Advertising | Computers | Design | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Public domain | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever
Aperture 1.5.1, Plus a Trial Version
Apple has released a small version upgrade to its photo-management software, Aperture. It’s available for download here.
Apple’s also, finally, released a trial version — and better still, it’ll run on a good deal many more machines than earlier versions, so more of us can try the program out. And, of course, get us pining for new machines.…
Via Ars. Who, by the way, also identifies a nice Secret Santa gift…;)
Posted by Giles, Friday, November 3, 2006, at 1:41 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Computers | Photography | Technology | Whatever
NYT: Non-Bookstore Book Sales
Books are turning up in the oddest places these days.
With book sales sagging — down 2.6 percent as of August over the same period last year, according to the Association of American Publishers — publishers are pushing their books into butcher shops, carwashes, cookware stores, cheese shops, even chi-chi clothing boutiques where high-end literary titles are used to amplify the elegant lifestyle they are attempting to project.
What began as a trickle of cookbooks in kitchen shops and do-it-yourself titles in hardware stores has become, in recent months, the fastest growing component in many major publishers’ retail strategies.
“It’s a way for the book business to stay alive,” said Abby Hoffman, the vice president of sales and marketing for Chronicle Books in San Francisco, which sells most of its 350 offbeat titles each year to places like high-end grocery stores, children’s clothing stores and wineries. “Anyplace that sells merchandise is a place to sell books.”
When Starbucks got into the book business last month, it hitched its brand to Mitch Albom’s latest inevitable best seller, “For One More Day,” helping propel it to the top of the lists. But the shift in the business can more clearly be seen in the sale of lower-profile authors in lower-profile settings, where the right title in the right location can make all the difference for a book that might otherwise sink without a trace.
Is this the beginning of the end for bookstores? Lots of questions. The NYTimes article has more thoughts here.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, November 2, 2006, at 9:14 AM.
Posted to Books | Publishing | Whatever
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
New Biz for Pantone
Paint. But not just any paint: $133 per gallon paint.
Pantone is known as the standard resource for color choices: virtually every designer keeps the company’s color wheels — which divide the spectrum into 3,039 specific hues — close at hand. (There are roughly 300 shades of blue alone.) Today Pantone is introducing a line of paints based on its comprehensive system in partnership with Fine Paints of Europe, a Vermont company that imports paints from the Netherlands. The main benefit, aside from the Dutch quality, is a broader array of colors than is typically found at paint stores, according to Lisa Herbert, an executive vice president of Pantone. But be prepared to pay a premium. A gallon of Pantone paint costs about $133.
From today’s NYTimes.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, September 13, 2006, at 9:41 PM.
Posted to Design | Whatever
Off Topic: iTV
I want one:
Breaking with Apple’s tradition of not announcing unreleased products [sic], Jobs said that the company will release a wireless, set-top box for the TV called… iTV. Approximately half the size of the Mac mini, the iTV will feature Ethernet, 802.11g, USB ports, component video, optical audio, and HDMI ports. It will work with the Apple Remote and sport an interface much like that of Front Row.
iTV will allow music, TV shows, and movies residing on a computer to play on a television in another part of the house with what Jobs describes as instantaneous access. It is slated to ship during the first quarter of 2007 and will retail for $299.
More on the new iPods, the update to iTunes, etc., at Ars, or, watch the Apple event.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, September 12, 2006, at 3:18 PM.
Posted to Computers | Personal | Technology | Whatever
DO: This is My Process
The Design Observer’s Michael Beirut notes, somewhat tongue-in-cheek:
When I do a design project, I begin by listening carefully to you as you talk about your problem and read whatever background material I can find that relates to the issues you face. If you’re lucky, I have also accidentally acquired some firsthand experience with your situation. Somewhere along the way an idea for the design pops into my head from out of the blue. I can’t really explain that part; it’s like magic. Sometimes it even happens before you have a chance to tell me that much about your problem! Now, if it’s a good idea, I try to figure out some strategic justification for the solution so I can explain it to you without relying on good taste you may or may not have. Along the way, I may add some other ideas, either because you made me agree to do so at the outset, or because I’m not sure of the first idea. At any rate, in the earlier phases hopefully I will have gained your trust so that by this point you’re inclined to take my advice. I don’t have any clue how you’d go about proving that my advice is any good except that other people — at least the ones I’ve told you about — have taken my advice in the past and prospered. In other words, could you just sort of, you know…trust me?
Great article. Check it out.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, September 12, 2006, at 11:36 AM.
Posted to Advertising | Book and design blogs | Business | Design | Jobs | Whatever | Writing
"Red-Hot and Filthy Library Smut"
By “library smut” I am in no way referring to the photo books on native peoples, or the illustrated health manuals, or any of the other volumes which, in your childhood, you lurked about the library aisle to find with the sole purpose of sneaking guilty glances at naked bodies. Nor am I referring to the “risqué” novels by Miller, Cleland, Réage, or Lawrence you leafed impatiently through as a teenager. No. What I’m talking about here is the full-frontal objectification of the library itself. Oh yeah.
Only one word from here: Wow.
Check out the rest of the models here. Enjoy!
Posted by Giles, Thursday, September 7, 2006, at 12:50 PM.
Posted to Books, design, art | Libraries | Whatever
Photoshop: What's Appropriate
Quick mention of something sent along by a friend here in Macon:
This is from the NY Post, a publication I’m not in the habit of reading — but nonetheless a good catch. Altering photographs like this for magazine use, even CBS’s internal magazine, are beyond what Photoshop’s for, I believe, when it comes to people — or anything, for that matter.
For the record, nearly every photo I take runs through Photoshop at some point — especially now that I’m using a camera that shoots RAW. Altering things like exposure and color temperature are standard practice.
Further, I’ll often do a smidgen of “touch up.” Telephone/power lines, dust, something in someone’s teeth, zits — all often get removed in Photoshop. But there’s a line that, for me, rests well shy of altering an image’s character — and making someone twenty pounds thinner definitely crosses that line.
When it comes to photography, I’m more artist than journalist, I guess, but still feel like I have to respect some of journalism’s rules to get “authentic” photographs. What do you think? It is worth following some “rules,” or is this sort of alteration okay?
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, August 30, 2006, at 10:00 AM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Ethics | Photography | Whatever
Arranging Books by Color
Rob writes, over at Design Observer:
I have never found the Dewey Decimal Classification system to be an accurate reflection of how books are organized in my own mind — or anybody else’s for that matter. Certainly I understand the DDC’s advantages when when it comes to large-scale collections, but if how we choose to organize our personal effects says something about who we are, then an arbitrary numeric system says very little about me.
[…]
Recently, I stopped by a design studio in my building called Thumb to see my friend Luke Bulman. He’d just reorganized his books by color, and I asked him why he did it. A few reasons that resonated with me, and helped to illuminate his logic.
Read the rest — an interesting post indeed.
Here in my office and library, books are organized according to subject, but not with any recognizable system. Type books are together, books about book design are together, then books about types of art, etc. It is, as Rob suggests, organized according to the way that works best for the user — me.
How are your books arranged?
Those of you with good memories will remember one subject of Rob’s post being mentioned here on Foreword back in 2004.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, August 30, 2006, at 9:45 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Books | Books, design, art | Libraries | Whatever
Yet Another Personal Post: Why, #12
A client said something to me the other day that I hadn’t expected — and welcomed gratefully:
Giles … you nailed [this cover]. I didn’t expect to come home tonight and
find this gift. I’m downright excited about it.
Gift. Few things have made me feel as good about the work I’ve been doing recently, and emails like that are exactly the reason I’m a freelancer doing what I love, rather than sacrificing standards or autonomy to work at a firm or — gasp — publisher.
As most of you know, 2006 has not been an easy year; divorce aside, too many ospreydesign-related items have been started and not enough finished. A good chunk of that is because I always put my stuff at the bottom of the “to do” list, but I’d honestly rather do book covers than web site updates any day.
Thankfully, the quality of my book design continues to improve as I learn — from you, Foreword’s readers, from my fellow book designers, and from photographers. This is especially important to me; understanding the components I use most in book cover design is vital to where I want to go professionally.
So, a big thank you for your help — and patience — this year.
As a stop-gap measure ahead of the updated main site, which is still waiting on a related project (that’s been suffering delay after delay, grrrrr) before the almost-completed redesign can be finalized, I’ve updated the gallery with eleven new items. Most have been posted before, here or on Flickr, but some are new to all. Hope you like.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at 8:06 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Site news | Whatever
In the Drink: HC, PB, and Something I Don't Do Well
Bumped into this title today:
I like it. It’s not great, but it’s eye-catching, almost there. The changes I’d make are all tweaks (I’m strongly dislike the author/novel font choice, for instance), and all on the periphery — the title treatment is perfect.
This cover represents something I don’t do well. It caused some reflection and a reminder to work on being better at the “style” this represents, especially in the subtlety of the background.
As designers, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. One of my biggest strengths, different, dynamic, or dramatic photography, can also be a weakness — in that I think of that sort of photography first, sometimes negating a simple solution like the one above, which, with the aforementioned tweaking, could be very good indeed.
The hardcover for this title goes in a completely different direction, more “photographic,” playing to the novel’s New York setting:
Again, I have font reservations, but although I’d make changes, the “style” is more in line with how I’d approach this cover. But is it “better?”
It’s a fine line between playing to your strengths and falling into the trap also known as “having a style.” Or is that okay, as long as the versatility to produce different styles well — and appropriately, as in when a book deserves it, instead of “forcing” your style — enough?
Thoughts as I stare at two different projects stuck on the desk for far too long, suffering from cliché hell.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, August 10, 2006, at 10:59 AM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Personal | Photography | Whatever
WWDC Bingo
Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference keynote is August 7th — much later than usual, probably so that new machinery can be introduced (Intel just announced new chips, so the timing makes sense, at least). Speculation online is rampant. Reminds me of the “old” days, where there was a viable summer MacWorld.…
Anyway, the clever folks at Ars have come up with a brilliant idea: Keynote Bingo.
There are 42 versions of the cards — grab your own and play along. Someone yelling “Bingo!” during the keynote would be side-splittingly funny.
Note especially the “Adobe Universal demo” square. Could care less about M$ Office, but an Intel version of Photoshop and InDesign sooner rather than later would be a Good Thing™!
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, July 26, 2006, at 9:40 AM.
Posted to Computers | Technology | Whatever
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.
That Reminds Me....
Many, many moons ago, I posted on a cover that wound up being abandoned in favor of another designer’s work. I promised an update, but, as often happens, life moved on and I forgot.
However, I was at the Online Photographer, reading a satire post — with serious implications, of course — this morning, and it featured an image that triggered that memory.
So, finally, what I presented (again):
And, what the author went with:
One word: Ew.
I’d leave a comment on the Online Photographer, but it suffers the same fate as Joseph’s NYT Covers blog and everything else from Blogger: it doesn’t allow me, using Firefox on a Mac, to enter the necessary letters to approve comments — just keeps asking for ’em over and over. Unfortunately, the Online Photographer doesn’t have a contact form for me to let him know.
Blogger: Enough already. Please Fix That!!
Posted by Giles, Sunday, June 25, 2006, at 1:28 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Photography | Type and typography | Whatever
The long-awaited POD Update
…isn’t. The project’s pretty much fizzled out.
[Shrugs.]
That’s the risk of being involved on the ground level instead of being hired once plans are in place. In the end, I have to say I don’t think the project going away is such a bad thing.
If nothing else, it’s given me a great introduction of some local business folks I didn’t know before, and, perhaps more importantly, it’s given me some specific ideas and contacts for things that might work — perhaps I’ll spill more of those plans later.
Posted by Giles, Monday, June 12, 2006, at 9:53 AM.
Posted to Book printers | Printing | Site news | Whatever
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
Preserved for Posterity
Found myself downright barking at a professional photographer tonight who had argued that restricting access to her work online was better than dealing with a few people out to cause trouble. I felt kinda bad afterwards; I was perhaps a little harsh. (Who? Me?)
I’m not a professional photographer, in the sense that I earn a living exclusively selling photographs, but I do sell photos, deal with photographers’ rights, and sell a creative, copyrighted or work-for-hire product/service that, while not as easily “stolen for use elsewhere,” is subject to a good deal of competition. Above-board, honest people and grab-your-ideas-and-undersell-you-later types alike.
Pushing your work farther and farther out into the world instead of walling it off clearly works. Foreword is my evidence.
Click through to Flickr and look at all the little notes by moving your mouse over the boxes on the photo. They’ll run you through all the stuff in the picture, including the icons, menu items, etc. (Warning: geek alert…;)
Sure, there are hassles. (Looking at new web servers [hosts] this week, for instance, so we can rebuild pages in the middle of the day without timeouts. You wondered why so few mid-day posts…?) It’s definitely a challenge to post regularly with the quality we’d all like to see — and that keeps traffic growing. Oh, and have I mentioned there’s still the rest of the web site to finish?
But it’s so worth it. Glad we can be here together, learning about book design. Whether it’s your first visit or your thousandth, thanks for coming by.
Posted by Giles, Monday, April 10, 2006, at 5:51 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Computers | Design | Ethics | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Jobs | Love | Personal | Photography | Public domain | Publishing | Site news | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever | Writing
Another New Logo: Volvo
Slightly off topic, but hopefully interesting nonetheless. A “Sunday design diversion,” if you will…:
When the decision was taken to start producing Volvo cars in August 1926, financial backer Svenska Kullagerfabriken – SKF – reactivated a company that had been idle since 1920 for the purpose. The name of that company was VOLVO and it had been formed in 1915 for the manufacture and marketing of bearings for the automotive industry.
Not only was the name ingeniously simple, it was also easy to pronounce in most places around the world and with a minimal risk of spelling errors. And best of it all was its immensely strong symbolic connection to the company’s entire operations.
“Volvere” is the infinitive form of the verb “roll” in Latin. In its first person singular form, the verb “volvere” becomes “volvo”, i.e. “I roll”.
At the same time as VOLVO was reactivated, the ancient chemical symbol for iron, a circle with an arrow pointing diagonally upwards to the right, was adopted as a logotype.
My fave, actually, is this flavor from a 1937 prototype — just lovely:
Meanwhile, fast forward to 2006.
Almost 80 years old, it now makes a grand comeback as an updated logotype – the Volvo iron symbol.
Read the rest of this article and tons of other Volvo news, tuning information, and stuff for Swedish car fans at SwedeSpeed.
So, why’s this logo here? I was on “heightened logo awareness,” to coin a phrase, after visiting with Quark’s new effort — and seeing Volvo’s invited the comparison. I believe it an appropriate comparison, too: both are large corporate efforts aimed at the “above-average” consumer; both are round symbols (more or less) that use text as part of the overall piece (Quark’s requires the word “Quark,” remember); both logos will feature prominently in the companies’ marketing; and, both logos are three-dimensional.
Volvo uses a custom flavor (as far as I can tell) of Egyptian for its typeface, original to the logo (1920/6). Quark’s on #2 in six months. Volvo’s icon is tastefully shadowed, conveys strength, taste, and modernism, and portrays the brand with dignity and honor. Quark’s is flashy, feels amateurish, and, let’s say, might appropriately reflect that company’s dignity and honor, too…;)
In short: The old Swede on some new vitamins knocks out the former heavyweight from Denver in a few short rounds. No TKO here — Quark’s deservedly bruised.
By the way, some of you may note that Volvo’s car operations were purchased by Ford in 1999:
The brand name was consequently put into a holding company, Volvo Trademark Holding AB, which is co-owned fifty-fifty by Volvo and Ford, and whose management decides on how the name can be used and in what contexts. Currently, the holding company’s management group consists of Leif Johansson, President & CEO of AB Volvo and Bill Ford Jr, Chairman & CEO of Ford Motor Company.
Smart. Bet those conversations are fun!
Waaay off-topic: I hope Volvo produces the C30. Would be on my shopping list, if so; a European hatchback would be cool and I think I’m getting too old for a GTI — even if it is fast. Heh.
Posted by Giles, Sunday, April 2, 2006, at 1:38 PM.
Posted to Business | Computers | Personal | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever
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
56 Steves
Kuo Design has put together an online collection of every magazine and periodicial cover (that they’re aware of, that is) starring Steve Jobs:
Interestingly, there’s an index page where you can see all of the covers in thumbnail — and most of them stand out for being unremarkable.
When you have a few minutes to go down Mac memory lane, check it out. Many of the articles are online, and the graphic design of all those covers together is worth a moment’s stare by itself. Enjoy.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at 10:13 AM.
Posted to Computers | Design | Technology | Type and typography | 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
Software Conflict 2.0
Closed out Software Conflict 2.0 for new publisher developer.* Books — that’s pronounced “developer-dot-star,” by the way — and wanted to thank owners Dan and Gayle for selecting this title. It’s rare that I enjoy the text being formatted into book form as much as I did here; Robert Glass is a talented and insightful essayist.
As I mentioned when the cover was posted, it’s an interesting size, too: 7.5 x 9.25. Chosen as a nod to the myriad of software “how-to” titles out there, it makes for a comfortable interior page:
Software Conflict 2.0. Available soon.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 10:33 AM.
Posted to Book design | Book people | Computers | Personal | Publishing | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever
"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
Widen the Debate
Blatently stolen from Joseph, because it’s such a great question:
Well, this should spur some debate. Would you feel comfortable designing this? Under what circumstances?
Let’s talk about it! Here or there, leave a comment. Thanks.
Posted by Giles, Monday, January 23, 2006, at 11:14 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Ethics | Personal | Publishing |