The Design Observer Twenty





2015 | 50 Books Selections

2011-2017 Winners
2017 Books
2017 Covers
2016 Books
2016 Covers
2015 Books
2015 Covers
2014 Books
2014 Covers
2013 Books
2013 Covers
2012 Books
2012 Covers
2011 Books
2011 Covers

AIGA Archives
(in matters of) Karl
(in matters of) Karl
AUTHOR: Annette Behrens
PUBLISHER: Fw:Books
DESIGNER: Hans Gremmen


A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War
A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War
AUTHOR: Written and edited by Jennifer A. Watts with contributions by Barret Oliver and Steve Roden.
PUBLISHER: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
ART DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
DESIGNER: Kimberly Varella
DESIGN FIRM: Content Object Design Studio


Alfred A. Knopf 1915–2015
Alfred A. Knopf 1915–2015
AUTHOR: Charles McGrath (Introduction), Sonny Mehta (Foreword)
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf
ART DIRECTOR: Peter Andersen
DESIGNER: Peter Andersen
DESIGN FIRM: Alfred A. Knopf


Alintaglio. Krzysztof Tomalski
Alintaglio. Krzysztof Tomalski
AUTHOR: Aleksandra Toborowicz, Krzysztof Tomalski
PUBLISHER: Faculty of Graphic Arts, Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kracow
ART DIRECTOR: Aleksandra Toborowicz
DESIGNER: Aleksandra Toborowicz, Krzysztof Tomalski


Architecture Papers Vol.3: MAKE ROOM: Afterlives of Theses
Architecture Papers Vol.3: MAKE ROOM: Afterlives of Theses
AUTHOR: HKU Architecture Papers Vol.3 Team (ed.)
PUBLISHER: MCCM Creations
ART DIRECTOR: Sam Cheng, Lam Lai Shun
DESIGNER: Serena Tse, Chen Lok Yan, Reyan Li, Cherry Fung
DESIGN FIRM: HKU Architecture Papers Vol.3 Team


Bats of the Republic
Bats of the Republic
AUTHOR: Zachary Thomas Dodson
PUBLISHER: Doubleday
ART DIRECTOR: Zachary Thomas Dodson
DESIGNER: Zachary Thomas Dodson
DESIGN FIRM: Doubleday


Blue Boy & Co.: European Art at the Huntington
Blue Boy & Co.: European Art at the Huntington
AUTHOR: Catherine Hess and Melinda McCurdy
PUBLISHER: DelMonico Books • Prestel / The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
DESIGNER: Abbott Miller, Yoon-Young Chai, Jesse Kidwell, Clara Scruggs
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram, New York


Charles Atlas
Charles Atlas
AUTHOR: Stuart Comer, Douglas Crimp, Lia Gangitano, Johanna Fateman
PUBLISHER: Prestel
DESIGNER: Alice Chung
DESIGN FIRM: Omnivore, New York


Connective Tissue
Connective Tissue
AUTHOR: Alex Carswell, Sean Adams
PUBLISHER: Designmatters
ART DIRECTOR: Sean Adams
DESIGNER: Sean Adams
DESIGN FIRM: Burning Settlers Cabin


Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta
Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta
AUTHOR: Howard Oransky
PUBLISHER: Katherine E. Nash Gallery and University of California Press
ART DIRECTOR: Matthew Rezac
DESIGNER: Matthew Rezac
DESIGN FIRM: Matthew Rezac (Graphic Design)


David Leventi: Opera
David Leventi: Opera
AUTHOR: Marvin Heiferman
PUBLISHER: Damiani
ART DIRECTOR: Luke Hayman
DESIGNER: Luke Hayman, Lucia Kim, and Craig Mangum
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination
Diana Thater: The Sympathetic Imagination
AUTHOR: Edited by Lynne Cooke and Lisa Gabrielle Mark; with Christine Y. Kim
PUBLISHER: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books/Prestel Publishing
DESIGNER: Lorraine Wild and Xiaoqing Wang for Green Dragon Office


Don Quixote
Don Quixote
AUTHOR: Miguel de Cervantes
PUBLISHER: Visual Editions
DESIGN FIRM: Fraser Muggeridge Studio


Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns
Drawing in Silver and Gold: Leonardo to Jasper Johns
AUTHOR: Stacey Sell and Hugo Chapman, eds.
PUBLISHER: National Gallery of Art and Princeton University Press
ART DIRECTOR: Wendy Schleicher
DESIGNER: Brad Ireland
DESIGN FIRM: National Gallery of Art


Eating with the eyes
Eating with the eyes
AUTHOR: Harry Pearce
PUBLISHER: Unit editions
ART DIRECTOR: Harry Pearce
DESIGNER: Harry Pearce
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram Design


Edges of the Experiment - The Making of the American Landscape
Edges of the Experiment - The Making of the American Landscape
AUTHOR: Marie-José Jongerius
PUBLISHER: Fw:Books
ART DIRECTOR: -
DESIGNER: Hans Gremmen


El Anatsui: New Worlds
El Anatsui: New Worlds
AUTHOR: Amanda Gilvin & John Stomberg, editors
PUBLISHER: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
ART DIRECTOR: Barbara Glauber
DESIGNER: Barbara Glauber
DESIGN FIRM: Heavy Meta


Gabriel Kuri: with personal thanks to their contractual thingness
Gabriel Kuri: with personal thanks to their contractual thingness
PUBLISHER: Aspen Art Press (Aspen Art Museum)
ART DIRECTOR: Michael Aberman
DESIGNER: Michael Aberman
DESIGN FIRM: Aspen Art Museum Design


Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana
Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana
AUTHOR: Dan Michaels
PUBLISHER: Chronicle Books
ART DIRECTOR: Eddie Opara and Neil Egan
DESIGNER: Eddie Opara, Brankica Harvey, and Yo-E Ryou
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


High Yield, Future Tense: Cracking the Code of Speculative Debt
High Yield, Future Tense: Cracking the Code of Speculative Debt
AUTHOR: Martin S. Fridson, CFA and Karen Sterling, Ph.D. (Editors)
PUBLISHER: New York Society of Security Analysts
ART DIRECTOR: Eddie Opara
DESIGNER: Eddie Opara, Brankica Harvey, and Yo-E Ryou
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia
Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia
AUTHOR: Andrew Blauvelt
PUBLISHER: Walker Art Center
ART DIRECTOR: Emmet Byrne
DESIGNER: Emmet Byrne, Andrew Blauvelt, Nani Albornoz, Logan Myers
DESIGN FIRM: Walker Art Center design studio


Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Long Never
Hiroshi Sugimoto: The Long Never
AUTHOR: Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jonathan Safran Foer
PUBLISHER: Damiani/Matsumoto Editions
ART DIRECTOR: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGNER: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGN FIRM: Matsumoto Incorporated


International Pop
International Pop
AUTHOR: Darsie Alexander, Bartholomew Ryan, et al.
PUBLISHER: Walker Art Center
ART DIRECTOR: Emmet Byrne
DESIGNER: Andrea Hyde
DESIGN FIRM: Walker Art Center design studio


Jennifer Bartlett: Epic Systems
Jennifer Bartlett: Epic Systems
AUTHOR: Jennifer Bartlett, Barry Schwabsky
PUBLISHER: Damiani/Matsumoto Editions
ART DIRECTOR: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGNER: Takaaki Matsumoto
DESIGN FIRM: Matsumoto Incorporated


Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic
Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic
AUTHOR: Eugenie Tsai, editor
PUBLISHER: Brooklyn Museum, DelMonico Books • Prestel
ART DIRECTOR: Barbara Glauber
DESIGNER: Barbara Glauber
DESIGN FIRM: Heavy Meta


Laying Foundations for Change: Capital Investments of The Atlantic Philanthropies
Laying Foundations for Change: Capital Investments of The Atlantic Philanthropies
AUTHOR: The Atlantic Philanthropies
PUBLISHER: The Magnum Foundation/The Atlantic Philanthropies
ART DIRECTOR: Luke Hayman
DESIGNER: Luke Hayman and Shigeto Akiyama
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
LEAP Dialogues: Career Pathways in Design for Social Innovation
AUTHOR: Edited by Mariana Amatullo with Bryan Boyer, Liz Danzico and Andrew Shea
PUBLISHER: Designmatters at ArtCenter College of Design
ART DIRECTOR: Lupi Asensio & Martin Lorenz
DESIGNER: Lupi Asensio & Martin Lorenz
DESIGN FIRM: TwoPoints.Net — Hamburg, Berlin, Barcelona


Legacy
Legacy
AUTHOR: MAS Context
PUBLISHER: MAS Context
ART DIRECTOR: Rick Valicenti and Bud Rodecker
DESIGNER: Bud Rodecker and Iker Gil
DESIGN FIRM: Thirst


Mark Garry – A New Quiet
Mark Garry – A New Quiet
AUTHOR: Mark Garry
PUBLISHER: Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
ART DIRECTOR: David Smith
DESIGNER: David Smith
DESIGN FIRM: Atelier David Smith


Matisse in the Barnes Foundation
Matisse in the Barnes Foundation
AUTHOR: Karen Butler, Claudine Grammont, Barbara A. Buckley, Jennifer Mass, and Thomas Primeau
PUBLISHER: Thames & Hudson
ART DIRECTOR: Abbott Miller
DESIGNER: Abbott Miller and Kim Walker
DESIGN FIRM: Pentagram


Mongrel Rapture: The Architecture of Ashton Raggatt McDougall
Mongrel Rapture: The Architecture of Ashton Raggatt McDougall
AUTHOR: Mark Raggatt, Maitiú Ward (editors)
PUBLISHER: Uro Publications
DESIGNER: Stuart Geddes and ARM Architecture
DESIGN FIRM: Stuart Geddes and ARM Architecture


Observing
Observing
AUTHOR: Liu Ming
PUBLISHER: Da Yuan Circle
ART DIRECTOR: Carolina de Bartolo
DESIGNER: Carolina de Bartolo
DESIGN FIRM: 101 Editions


On Kawara: Silence
On Kawara: Silence
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Weiss et al.
PUBLISHER: Guggenheim Museum
ART DIRECTOR: Joseph Cho & Stefanie Lew
DESIGNER: Joseph Cho & Stefanie Lew
DESIGN FIRM: Binocular Design Ltd


Phaidon Classics
Phaidon Classics
AUTHOR: VVAA
PUBLISHER: Phaidon
ART DIRECTOR: Astrid Stavro
DESIGNER: Astrid Stavro and Mark Neil Balson
DESIGN FIRM: Atlas


Platform 8: An Index of Design and Research, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Platform 8: An Index of Design and Research, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
AUTHOR: Zaneta Hong
PUBLISHER: ActarD
ART DIRECTOR: Laura Grey + Zak Jensen
DESIGNER: Alexander Louis Cassini, Mikhail Thomas Grinwald, Vi Vu


Rain,Gravity, Heat, Cold
Rain,Gravity, Heat, Cold
PUBLISHER: superkül
ART DIRECTOR: Creative Director: Vanessa Eckstein / Marta Cutler
DESIGNER: Vanessa Eckstein / Monica Herrera
DESIGN FIRM: Blok Design


Richard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed
Richard Diebenkorn: The Sketchbooks Revealed
PUBLISHER: Cantor Arts Center & Stanford University Press
ART DIRECTOR: Barbara Glauber
DESIGNER: Kellie Konapelsky
DESIGN FIRM: Heavy Meta


Roman Vishniac Rediscovered
Roman Vishniac Rediscovered
AUTHOR: Maya Benton
PUBLISHER: ICP / Delmonico Prestel
ART DIRECTOR: Lorraine Wild
DESIGNER: Amy Fortunato
DESIGN FIRM: Green Dragon Office


Scorched Earth: Mark Bradford
Scorched Earth: Mark Bradford
AUTHOR: Connie Butler
PUBLISHER: Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; distributed by DelMonico Books, an imprint of Prestel Publishing
DESIGNER: Michael Worthington
DESIGN FIRM: Counterspace, Los Angeles


The Archives of Tony Oursler
The Archives of Tony Oursler
AUTHOR: Author(s) Jordan Bear, Karen Beckman, Noam Elcott, Tom Gunning, Branden W. Joseph, Peter Lamont, Fred Nadis, Stephanie O'Rourke, Jim Steinmeyer, Christopher Turner. Edited by Tom Eccles, Maja Hoffmann, Beatrix Ruf
PUBLISHER: JRP | Ringier
ART DIRECTOR: Zak Group
DESIGN FIRM: Zak Group


The Encyclopedia of Kurt Caviezel
The Encyclopedia of Kurt Caviezel
AUTHOR: Kurt Caviezel
PUBLISHER: Rorhof
ART DIRECTOR: Nicoló Degiorgis
DESIGNER: Nicoló Degiorgis, Walter Hutton


The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Museum
The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum Museum
AUTHOR: Kate Jarboe
PUBLISHER: AK/OK
DESIGNER: M. Wright
DESIGN FIRM: Index


The Meadow
The Meadow
AUTHOR: Barbara Bosworth
PUBLISHER: Radius Books
ART DIRECTOR: David Chickey
DESIGNER: David Chickey
DESIGN FIRM: Radius Books


The Walking Society
The Walking Society
AUTHOR: VVAA
PUBLISHER: Lars Müller Publishers
ART DIRECTOR: Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martín
DESIGNER: Dani Rubio, Astrid Stavro, Pablo Martín, Maggie Adrover, Nuria Cabrera
DESIGN FIRM: Atlas


Theodore Roosevelt in the Field
Theodore Roosevelt in the Field
AUTHOR: Michael R. Canfield
PUBLISHER: The University of Chicago Press
ART DIRECTOR: Jill Shimabukuro
DESIGNER: Jill Shimabukuro
DESIGN FIRM: The University of Chicago Press


Transart
Transart
AUTHOR: Nicoló Degiorgis and Lisa Mazza
PUBLISHER: Rorhof
ART DIRECTOR: Nicoló Degiorgis
DESIGNER: Nicoló Degiorgis


Typo 9010
Typo 9010
AUTHOR: Tomas Brousil, Petra Docekalova
PUBLISHER: BiggBoss
ART DIRECTOR: Tomas Brousil, Petra Docekalova, Zuzana Lednicka, Radek Sidun
DESIGNER: Zuzana Lednicka, Radek Sidun


Volez Voguez Voyagez
Volez Voguez Voyagez
AUTHOR: Louis Vuitton
PUBLISHER: Rizzoli
DESIGN FIRM: SpMillot, Paris


Walid Raad
Walid Raad
AUTHOR: Edited by Eva Respini
PUBLISHER: The Museum of Modern Art
DESIGNER: Adam Michaels and Grace Robinson-Leo
DESIGN FIRM: Project Projects


Wim Crouwel Modernist
Wim Crouwel Modernist
AUTHOR: Frederike Huygen
PUBLISHER: Lecturis
ART DIRECTOR: Lex Reitsma
DESIGNER: Lex Reitsma





Observed


Is the future of refugee housing permanence?

It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby,” explores Picasso‘s legacy through a feminist lens, asking if, when, and how modern audiences can separate the artist’s work from his infamously misogynistic behavior.

Quite possibly the most fascinating job opportunity in design right now.

Jessica Helfand on using AI as a tool to reverse-engineer a historical narrative.

Rethinking the city.

Rethinking the planet.

The problems of the user interface, one streaming service at a time. More here.

Urban design, with safety in mind. And that includes parks.

Think design thinking is over? Think again.

A museum renames a vegetable still life by Van Gogh that identified the wrong kind of allium.

Graphic design and typography obsessives—look no further!

“The challenge isn’t just that our systems default to keeping the “unlike” out,” notes Jens Martin Skibsted, “but we are, rather, in need of an interconnected worldview that appreciates the existence of other realities and contexts.”

Neville Brody’s new monograph (his THIRD)—covering his work for Nike, Coca-Cola, Tate Modern and Channel 4, as well as various informational graphics and magazine editorials—will be published next month by Thames&Hudson.

Milan Design Week wants to know your most memorable experience. Ours is easily Shaped by Water, an immersive experience exploring water as a source of inspiration for design. Co-created by Ivy Ross and her design team in collaboration with the water, light, and sound artist, Lachlan Turczan. Vote for your favorite here.

Non-profit design advocacy agency Where are the Black Designers? (WATBD?) has announced a year-long partnership with digital product studio Ustwo.

“He was mulling a career in graphic design when, at 17, he saw a searing image that would change the course of his life.” The American photographer Kwame Brathwaite has died. Considered the catalyst fo the “black is beautiful” movement in the 1960s, Braithwaite’s career spanned art, music, and more. He was 85.

The subtley, simplicity, and curious symbolism of the humble serif.

After a career of looking at pictures, she is now making them. George Gendron talks to Kathy Ryan, longtime director of photography at The New York Times Magazine.

COLLINS co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Brian Collins and co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Leland Maschmeyer will speak on branding and creativity at OFFF Barcelona this weekend.

“I can’t imagine any person with a background in graphic design made that thing without a committee of bland politicians sanding away its edges until they felt safe enough to unveil that to the public.” Behold: Logogate!

Black designers, curators, and more.

How do you stop deep-sea trawlers from harming ecosystems? Commission 10-ton marble sculptures and place them on the ocean floor, of course.

For ten years, Matt Needle has reimagined every best picture award nominee by redesigning their posters.

Coca-Cola...and art?



Jobs | June 05