Design Books
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100 Diagrams That Ch...
Chart the history of the world through this collection of the most significant plans, sketches, drawings, and illustrations over the last 32,000 years. This book is particularly interesting if you're in the graphic design arena, but it's just as enthralling if you care anything about the progress of mankind. From cave paintings to the creation of the iPod, you'll get a glimpse of how people have recorded innovations and breakthroughs, and maybe, just maybe, that'll inspire your own. Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Plume (October 30, 2012) ISBN-10: 0452298776 ISBN-13: 978-0452298774 Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches Also available at…
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Plydesign
PlyDesign: 73 Distinctive DIY Projects in Plywood is a new book by carpenter and author Philip Schmidt. It presents 73 sleek and smart home furnishing projects from common sheet-good materials.  All woodworking skill levels are taken into consideration, and only basic hand and power tools are necessary for every project. I've had a chance to thumb though the book, and there's a lot to love. Besides the sheer variety (wine holders, credenzas, desks, chairs, organizers, headboards, doghouses, art panels) of projects, I especially love the introduction to the materials and tools. Wood types, carpentry tricks, and best practices are covered, giving the novice…
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Beautiful Evidence b...
This week I had the pleasure of seeing Edward Tufte speak at a one day course in Los Angeles. Heralded by The New York Times as "the Leonardo da Vinci of data," Tufte is an innovator in information design and data visualization, specializing in transparency and clarity. The emphasis is on disseminating unbiased, accurate content to your audience and to do whatever it takes to do so. Beautiful Evidence is one of four books that is handed out at the course, each book is beautiful, with charts and diagrams that had all the design nerds salivating. I recommend all of…
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Social Memories
Ah yes, of course, an analog version of your Facebook data. Here's how it works. You add the app to your Facebook and it manipulates data over a time period (selected by you) and then the app transforms it to a 28-page book format. Haven't you always wanted to read your Facebook like an actual book? Eh...no...but, everything's going analog these days anyway, haven't you heard?
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A Collection A Day B...
If you've enjoyed following Lisa Congdon as she documented her 2010 Collection a Day project, then you'll most likely want to buy a signed copy of her book, right? All 365 collections are shown in full color photographs, and in chronological order, of course. Available from Collection A Day, $35.00. Designed and published by UPPERCASE.
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Graphic USA: An Alte...
Cicada Books presents Graphic USA, an alternative guidebook to 25 American cities written and illustrated by graphic designers. Graphic USA gives you an insider's view of the best (and occasionally weird) restaurants, hotels, galleries, bars and coffee shops, all with quirky illustrations/graphics by the artists that live in each city. It's quite like reading a friend's notes on interesting places that you should see, with tidbits and paragraphs to help you along your way. The book has been designed by Joana Niemeyer at design studio April and edited by Ziggy Hanaor at Cicada. Here's a few pages to give you…
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Phaidon Design Class...
We featured Phaidon Design Classics "a monstrous 3 volume set of books that covers the last 200 years of product design " a few years back. Recently released is a digital version specifically for the iPad, taking full advantage of its gesture interface and gorgeous display. It's quite a deal at just under 20 bucks, and well, you don't need to spend any more money if you bought yourself an iPad to begin with. Non iPadders can purchase the original 3 book set for $175.
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3D Typography
Whether you're interested in typography or not, this book is one visual treat that will leave an impression. Featuring experimental 3D typography from over 100 international designers, typographers and artists, there's all sorts of interesting methods of creating typography captured through photography, with some pictures truly worthy of hanging-on-the-wall-as-art. As stated on the publisher's website, the featured artists "return the literal heft to letters." Nice. To learn more about the book visit 3D Typography's website. Excerpts/pics shown below. Jeanette Abbink & Emily CM Anderson Size: 8.7 x 11 inches Publication Date: June 2010 ISBN: 978-0-9841906-2-1
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Less and More: The D...
I'm a bit young to have a direct personal attachment to Dieter Rams' work, but it goes without question that there is an absolute timeless quality to his work. Whenever I visit MOMA's design section, I always find myself gravitating towards his collection (that, and of course the Jaguar XKE Roadster). So, I'm quite excited about this new (808 page!) book that covers the full breadth of his work, just full of endless inspiration. Anyone want to buy me an early birthday gift? Editors: Klaus Klemp, Keiko Ueki-Polet Language: bilingual German/English 808 pages, full color, PVC cover, in slipcase
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I Swear to Good You ...
Maybe you've seen this little book by Holiday Matinee? If you haven't, you're in for a treat. It's full of 25 creative people (and their projects) who've escaped the hum-drum and are now doing what they love to do. Sounds like just the thing to give you a kick in the pants, doesn't it? If you're sitting on a good idea but too scared to get it going, a read through this might help you believe the risk is worth it. More on Dave Brown's vision & company: Holiday Matinee.
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Jean Prouvé
If you have as much of a crush on Prouvé as I do, then you'll appreciate these two links that'll save you mucho denero (the list price is $250.00). Today the oeuvre of French architect and designer Jean Prouve is considered essential to the history of twentieth century design. Prouve's furniture designs were determined by the interior spaces the pieces would inhabit, and they developed in tandem with the Modernist principles of the "art of living" and "harmonious habitat" that were so characteristic of the time. This exquisitely produced and comprehensive volume, which was put together by Paris' Galerie Patrick…
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Over and Over: A Cat...
This is a complete treasure trove of patterns. I swear, even if you're not an artist or a designer, it'll have you itching to pick up a pencil and mess around, or maybe at least overcome any objection to defacing a book so that you don't have to feel guilty when you take one of the pages out to frame it. Or maybe you'll just enjoy perusing all the hand-drawn patterns and that'll be enough for you. Either way, it's a refreshing compilation of work from a lot of talented designers. While patterns have been around forever, there's a recent…
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Area_2
It seems like Phaidon just can't go wrong with their curated collections; this large volume of recent contemporary graphics seems to call for some serious sit-down-and-absorb-everything kind of time. Area_2 is the second volume in the graphics version of Phaidon's award-winning series of curated compendiums, which includes Cream, Fresh Cream, Blink, 10x10, 10x10_2, and Spoon. Covering all manifestations of printed graphics created by the world's most visionary designers, Area_2 presents the posters, books, magazines, typography, packaging, and ephemera that has influenced visual culture over the past five years. An international, up-to-the-minute overview of graphic design today 100 of the most…
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Bent Ply by Dung Ngo...
There have been countless amounts of furniture made from plywood, several designs of which are considered iconic, and it's impressive to think of the process and history behind the widely used material. Plywood is arguably the most modern design artifact: it is a material born of natural wood and formed by vigorous industrial processes that can assume the most organic of shapes through bending, laminating, and molding. plywood truly fulfills that most modern of dreams: bridging the gap between technology and nature. Bent Ply is the first book devoted to plywood in modern design. The book consists of two parts:…
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Le Corbusier Le Gran...
One of the greats of architecture, Le Corbusier, now has an enormous monograph available. At 768 pages with 1000 colour illustrations and 1000 black and white illustrations, it might take a while to get through it, but man, I think it would be worth the time spent. A spectacular visual biography of the life and work of Le Corbusier (1887–1965), one of Modernism's most influential architects, urban planners, and theorists Approximately 2,000 images and documents, many previously unpublished, feature his major built works, urban plans, paintings, publications, and furniture as well as sketches, archival photographs, and personal correspondence Rarely seen…