Win Five Books Designed by Pentagram

Three winners will each receive a copy of: OfficeUS Agenda (designed by partner Natasha Jen, published by Lars Müller with Storefront for Art and Architecture); the mini edition of Symbol by Steven Bateman and Pentagram London partner Angus Hyland, who also art-directed the book (published by Laurence King); Hair by Guido Palau (designed by Abbott Miller, published by Rizzoli); and two books designed by partner DJ Stout in the Austin office and published by the University of Texas Press—Boyhood: Twelve Years on Film, photographs by Matt Lankes (designed with Stu Taylor); and Jack Allen’s Kitchen by Jack Gilmore and Jessica Dupuy (designed with Julie Savasky).

Enter to win:

Win Five Books Designed by Pentagram

The giveaway runs through Tuesday, December 16, 11:59 PM (EST). The books are courtesy of their respective publishers and Pentagram.

Here are the Pentagram graphic designers on the books they designed:

Abbott Miller on Hair:

“Hair began its life as a collaboration between the extraordinary stylist Guido Palau and the equally talented photographer David Sims. My job was to build a framework that carried the spirit of the project to its logical conclusion in the form of a book. The design really plays up the almost regal sense of grand portraiture, with so many echoes throughout art history. I think that is what really inspired me about the project: it’s an arresting hybrid that scrambles codes of gender and beauty, seriousness and humor, but all in the pursuit of something quite sincere and earnest. It’s a different kind of beauty that sits next to the ebb and flow of fashion: it’s a part of it, but it’s taking a very long view. The sequencing and scale of the images was really the most tricky and obsessive aspect. I think dividing the images into these coherent groups was something that made the book have an internal logic, and lacing the interview through the book on different paper stocks, helped give the sequence a spine and a sense of procession.” 

Natasha Jen on OfficeUS Agenda, the official catalogue ofthe U.S. Pavilion at the 14th International Venice Architecture Biennale:

“Having designed this book may not get us an honorary PhD in American architecture history, but it was in an incredibly fulfilling experience to figure out––along with the curators and editors––how to unpack and make sense of the enormity of US architecture office history that spans over 1000 projects, 100 years, and 25 themes.”

Angus Hyland on Symbol (Mini Edition):

“As a child I used to love leafing through the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This was not symptomatic of a thirst for knowledge on my part so much as an instinctive interest in lateral thinking. What had me hooked was the manner in which the entries appeared: bizarre juxtapositions and marriages of subject matter, all arranged by the superimposed and seemingly arbitrary framework of alphabetical order. Such enjoyment may partly have been a result of my short attention span, of course, but the presentation of such diverse entries cheek by jowl did open up new and unexpected pathways of appreciation and absorption of information.

“The idea behind the book is to explore the visual language of symbols according to its most basic element form. We have brought together symbols conceived all over the world, in different times and for different purposes, and categorized them by visual type. They are laid out for view divested of all the agendas, meanings and messages that might be associated with them in their own customary contexts. Arranged in this way, the symbols are essentially isolated so that the effectiveness of their composition and impact can be assessed without distraction and so that the reader can enjoy them as a pictorial language in their own right.”

DJ Stout on Boyhood: Twelve Years on Film:

“It took director Richard Linklater twelve years to film his latest movie Boyhood but we had to design the book in a month. The tight time-frame was a challenge but in some ways it was a very good thing. There wasn’t time to mess it up.

“Matt Lankes had an amazing opportunity to photograph the actors and crew over twelve years. He would set up a makeshift photo studio on the movie sets and set up his 4X5 camera and then he’d wait. Sometimes he’d wait all day for an actor to give him a couple minutes to shoot his large format portraits. His stately, classically composed portraits don’t give the viewer a hint of the hurried frenzy that was revolving around the sitting.

“My favorite parts of the book are the composites of twelve years of portraits composed on a single spread. It’s fascinating to see how the younger actors aged and matured over the twelve years of filming.”

DJ Stout on Jack Allen’s Kitchen:

“Jack Gilmore, chef and owner of Jack Allen’s kitchen, has spent a lifetime developing relationships with local farmers and other purveyors of natural, fresh food. The book features those salt of the earth folks and gives them credit for Jack’s success.

“Photographer Kenny Braun’s soulful, unfussy photographs of the dishes, natural landscapes and farmers captures the essence of Jack Gilmore’s passion for fresh, natural food.”

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