Ronan Bouroullec
Ronan Bouroullec’s Book List
Alexander Girard, Donald Judd, Poul Kjaerholm.
Nonfiction, Product/Industrial Design
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This was the first art book I ever bought. I remember precisely that I bought it in a bookshop in Quimper Brittany, probably 17 years ago. Ever since (I’m 41), it has remained the most important art book for me because of—especially—the relationship of Judd’s highly refined pieces to the rustic interiors.
One of the most recent books I've bought. I often complain about the quality of designers’ monographs. This is one of the few I like.
Three years ago, I was invited to meet some extraordinary craftsman in Japan. Just before coming back I discovered an antiquarian bookstore from which I bought 20 kilos (about 44 pounds) of books (the maximum weight I was allowed to carry back on the airplane). This book is the most interesting one out of that group. It is part of a two-volume series that covers a repertoire of old Japanese objects—from door handles to canoes to guitars to shoes.
This was given to me by Rolf Felhbaum. It’s a marvelous repertoire of folk art and toys from the collection of Alexander Girard, with photographs taken by Charles and Ray Eames.
I bought this book when I first traveled to Japan, 15 years ago. It is a monograph designed and produced by Yanagi on his own work, which I think is the best way for a designer to do something clear and unique.
Over the past 15 years, I have looked at this book almost once a month, but it was not until recently that I discovered that there were some translations from Japanese into English. The book is so clear and precise that I never required any further explanation beyond the images to understand the meaning of his work.
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.
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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.
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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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