Tiana Vasiljev
Tiana Vasiljev’s Notable Books of 2011
Every designer will agree that there is something truly wonderful in picking up a well-written and beautifully designed book.
The following publications focus on the areas of typography, graphic design, and product design. The selection of books on this list have been impeccably written and designed to the highest standards. They are all new and essential publications that have surprised, inspired, and informed me throughout the year. I can only hope that they will all one day find a place in your design library.
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I fell in love with the work of Dieter Rams when I first visited his exhibition at the Design Museum in London. There is nothing as exciting as seeing such a large collection of his products on display in one place. However, I must say that this book comes extremely close. As Little Design as Possible is by far the most elegant and well-documented book written about Dieter Rams. The range of selected paper stock, minimalist design, and wide variety of visual matter displayed throughout the publication makes this book an essential for every designer. It is a very clear, comprehensive, and beautiful presentation of the designer's work and philosophy. It is a crucial piece for anyone interested in Rams’s products, legacy, and ideas.
This book is a true type nerd’s delight. Helvetica and the New York City Subway System is one of the most well researched books I’ve ever read. Shaw’s beautifully illustrated publication is impeccably documented throughout and very well written. I was blown away by the amount of information and visuals contained throughout the book. Paul Shaw combines the facts and visual evidence, taking the reader on a historical journey into the world of the New York city subway system.
Anyone with a love for Dutch design will be fascinated by Ootje Oxenaar's latest monograph. A key public principal of Dutch graphic design, his portfolio of work is phenomenal. The publication showcases decades of brilliant design work along with Kuijpers’s wonderfully documented text. With a collection of hundreds of images and photographs, Oxenaar's intelligent and innovative works are once again given new light. Ootje Oxenaar: Designer + Commissioner will delight and surprise every designer lucky enough to get the chance to read it.
I have long been a Sagmeister fan. His innovative work has proven that design really does have the power to move people. His latest publication is a very elegant and classic book, designed by Martin Woodtli, a previous intern of Sagmeister's. Unlike his previous books, this publication deals entirely with the studio's commercial projects and explores the art of selling. The sections that I found most interesting are Sagmeister's honest and insightful stories of his various life experiences scattered throughout the book. They're a very funny, honest, and intensely personal look at the life, work and philosophy of this design legend.
The latest book by Unit Editions is based on the personal memories of Ben Bos, a key member of the Total Design studio. TD 63-73 chronicles the story of Total Design’s golden period through a series of written accounts and a very impressive collection of images from the TD archive. The publication is wonderfully documented, well researched, and designed to the highest standards. It is by far one of the most inspiring and insightful publications of the year and is an essential piece for every designer's library.
Wim Crouwel: A Graphic Odyssey is a catalogue that offers a very rare and insightful glimpse into a large collection of Crouwel’s posters, documents, and manuals. The center pages are dedicated to an interview with Crouwel (conducted by Tony Brook) offering an insight into his early life, his formative years, and his design philosophy. The book takes us on a truly inspiring voyage through the life and work of this design master.
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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