The Online Design Book Fair Launches Today
A new way to discover and buy books about design
By Steve Kroeter October 7, 2013We are excited to be introducing the Designers & Books Online Book Fair. This new approach to discovering books combines the serendipity and spontaneity of browsing at an “offline“ fair or in a bookstore with the refined search, sort, and filter capabilities of the Internet. The combination is intended to provide a helpful, enjoyable, and well-designed way to discover books about design—some at a significant discount.
Last October in New York, we launched the Designers & Books Fair—a weekend-long celebration of design, books, authors, and design book publishing. While our choice of weekends turned out to be less than ideal—it was the weekend of Hurricane Sandy—we offered a well-received mix of author presentations in three auditoriums, books signings, an exhibition hall full of publishers selling both brand-new and backlist titles, and attendees from three continents.
Afterward, as we were reflecting on the Fair, we realized that it was probably the first time that publishers, book designers, authors, editors, rare and out of print dealers, and book buyers interested in the full spectrum of design disciplines had ever assembled at one event.
We thought that if the event had been a good idea for two days, it might be worth exploring the possibility of extending it. Eventually this evolved into the idea of an online fair—which we are launching today with nearly 400 books from 13 internationally distinguished publishers.
The focus of the online book fair is on architecture, fashion, graphic design, interior design, landscape design, product and industrial design, urban design—and all the related design fields: 14 in total.
With 62 filter options that can be sorted 8 different ways, the site has been designed to make the discovery of books both pleasurable and pinpoint effective. With ease you’ll be able to find broad categories of books, like architecture titles (148 books on the site)—and with equal ease you’ll also be able to “drill down” and find specific architecture books; for example books that have been tagged “North American” and “20th-century,” “priced between $50 and $75” (8 books on the site).
And if you want to take the opposite approach of pinpoint precision because you are in the mood for surprises—you can choose the “random browse” sort for any filtered set of books.
The publishers currently participating are:
- AMMO Books
- Applied Research + Design Books
- DAAB
- Gestalten
- GOFF Books
- Lars Müller Publishers
- Laurence King Publishing
- The MIT Press
- ORO Editions
- Paintbox Press
- Pointed Leaf Press
- Prestel Publishing
- Yale University Press
Purchases are made directly from each publisher, with different publishers offering different discounts—in some cases up to 50% off:
- AMMO BOOKS: 50% off
- Applied Research + Design: 50% off
- DAAB: 30% off
- Goff Books: 50% off
- The MIT Press: 30% off
- ORO Editions: 50% off
We hope you’ll take a moment to look over what we’ve put together—and we hope that you’ll enjoy what you find there. Whether you’re looking for a classic backlist book or a new title being released next month, we’re pretty sure you’ll find what you are looking for—or perhaps something that you didn’t know you were looking for. Our goal is to continually expand the offerings and features of the Fair, so if you have comments or questions to pass along, we will be eager to hear from you.
Follow the online design book fair by using the hashtag #DBFair and @designersbooks on Twitter, find us on Facebook, and subscribe to our updates.
Announcements
Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister
Now is Better
By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023
Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)
By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023
This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
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